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Solana Bulls Eye $150, What’s Next For The Asset?
Solana (SOL) has gained traction as crypto assets start the week with slight gains. A look at the market shows crypto prices attempt a breakout after previous losses. At press time, the total market cap grew to $2.31 trillion, a 2.33% increase in the last 24 hours sparking a wider bullish projection.
Assets like Solana outpaced the market in the last attempted rebound as price fluctuations continued. Today, SOL price maintains a lead in weekly gains among the top 10 assets rallying on the heels of previous inflows after two ETF applications. While bulls eye the $150 mark, bears opine that poor sentiments and volatility might make the mark unsustainable.
Solana To Climb?
Solana’s price has moved above other assets in the top 10 cryptos by market cap except for Cardano (ADA). SOL trades at $148.15, a 3.78% increase in the last 24 hours behind only ADA with a 5% rebound. The asset’s growth takes its market cap above $68.5 billion while daily trading volumes jumped a massive 45.8% to $1.89 billion.
The weekly growth of Solana points to a renewed upswing as it notched over 16% gains while monthly figures are still in the red zone. Based on recent on-chain data, market analysts have projected an upward trajectory for the asset.
At the moment, SOL is behind previously hit resistance levels after taking a tumble with the wider market. As a result, a reduced uptick was recorded in Solana meme coins and decentralized finance numbers, bearish traders argue.
Bulls Look To Spot ETF
The recent filing of spot Solana ETFs remains a major driving factor for the asset’s price. This year, ETFs have rallied the crypto market following huge institutional investments in the sector. Spot Bitcoin ETF approval in January changed the dynamics after the asset soared to an all-time high above $73,000. Ethereum products are also expected this summer which also ignited bullish activity. Solana holders point to institutional inflows as a pathway to sustained growth.
Also Read: Dogecoin Price To Attempt $2 With Memecoin Supercycle Says Analyst
The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.
Crypto Highlights This Week: The broader market concludes another interesting week, primarily keeping investors on their toes. Cryptocurrency exchange behemoth Bybit suffered a $1.4 billion hack this week, whereas BTC and altcoins remained stagnant despite market advancements. Simultaneously, the meme coin sector panicked amid the emergence of the Argentinian LIBRA token.
Here’s a brief collection of some of the top crypto market updates reported by CoinGape Media over the past week.
Weekly Crypto Highlights: ByBit Exchange Hacked By N. Korean Group
The renowned cryptocurrency exchange Bybit was hacked by ‘The Lazarus Group’ this week, resulting in a massive exploitation of funds. Reportedly, the North Korean criminal organization stole $1.4 billion worth of ETH from the crypto exchange.
As a result, the broader crypto market saw a whopping $566 million liquidated in a day as investors started panic selling. In turn, BTC and altcoins reversed recent gains, backtracking to previous lows. BTC price closed the week at around $96K, whereas ETH was near $2,800. XRP & SOL also reversed recent gains, trading in the red this weekend.
It’s also worth mentioning that ByBit rolled out a $140 million bounty for cybersecurity experts to recover $1.4 billion stolen in Ethereum.
LIBRA Token Panic: What Happened?
Meanwhile, Argentinian President Javier Milei endorsed the Solana-based LIBRA meme token this week, which soon rocketed in value. However, the market was taken by storm when insiders cashed out massive amounts amid the rally, urging LIBRA price to crash over 90%. This saga raised rug-pull concerns surrounding the crypto, further bringing heat to its price.
However, President Javier Milei ordered a probe into the launch and KIP Protocol, aiming to rectify the error and bolster the token. This saga has emerged as another noteworthy crypto highlight this week, underscoring the market’s risky nature.
ETF Filings This Week
Simultaneously, a stockpile of ETF advancements was witnessed this week. Canary Capital’s Litecoin ETF emerged on Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), solidifying chances of approval.
Further, Grayscale’s XRP ETF entered the U.S. SEC’s review mode.
Also, asset manager Franklin Templeton filed an S-1 to launch a spot Solana ETF with the U.S. SEC this week. Mentioned above are the top crypto market highlights for this week, which appear to have substantially impacted investor sentiment.
Coingape Staff
CoinGape comprises an experienced team of native content writers and editors working round the clock to cover news globally and present news as a fact rather than an opinion. CoinGape writers and reporters contributed to this article.
Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.
Bybit, a popular crypto exchange, is reeling from the massive hack worth $1.5 billion in digital assets. According to reports, the hackers targeted the crypto exchange’s cold wallet, an offline storage system, to steal the exchange’s assets, primarily Ether. On-chain data reveals that the stolen funds were quickly transferred into different wallets and liquidated on several platforms.
Ben Zhou, Bybit’s CEO, promptly addressed the hack and told users that the site’s other cold wallets are secure and withdrawals are processed “normally”.
As the company struggles with a surge in withdrawal requests, it received over 88,000 ETH (worth around $239 million) from popular exchanges like Binance and Bitget. The fresh crypto transfers from these two popular exchanges boosted Bybit’s liquidity, allowing it serve the customers’ withdrawal requests.
Bybit detected unauthorized activity involving one of our ETH cold wallets. The incident occurred when our ETH multisig cold wallet executed a transfer to our warm wallet. Unfortunately, this transaction was manipulated through a sophisticated attack that masked the signing…
— Bybit (@Bybit_Official) February 21, 2025
Authorities Link Breach To North Korean Hacking Group
Friday’s hacking of the Bybit cold wallet is considered the biggest crypto hacking on record. Arkham Intelligence and Elliptic said the stolen digital assets were quickly transferred to different accounts and liquidated within minutes. Elliptic reports that the hacking is by far the biggest in the industry and easily surpassed the stolen $570 million from Binance in 2022 and the $611 million worth of crypto assets drained from Poly Network in 2021.
ByBit CEO says the platform is experiencing “massive withdrawals.” https://t.co/Xi5vhqMqWI
— FORTUNE (@FortuneMagazine) February 21, 2025
Elliptic speculated that the Lazarus Group, a state-backed hacking team in North Korea, perpetrated the hack. The Lazarus Group is known for its crypto-hacking activities, stealing billions of dollars from different sites.
Bybit Gets Help From Binance And Bitget
As Bybit struggled to service the surge of withdrawals, it received help from other popular exchanges to cover the requests. Arkham said the exchange received more than 88,000 Ether or roughly $239 million from Binance and Bitget addresses.
The fund infusion can boost the exchange’s current liquidity as it addresses the massive withdrawal requests. Bybit confirmed that its users moved funds from the exchange after the hack was made public.
Arkham said Bitget transferred 40,000 Ether, or $106 million, to a Bybit cold wallet on February 21st at 19:44 (UTC). Lookonchain argued that Bitget transferred its funds to the exchange to boost its liquidity and serve as a vote of confidence.
After 10 minutes, a Binance hot wallet transferred 11,800 Ether or $31 million to the same Bybit cold wallet address. In total, Binance has transferred 47,800 Ether or $127.48 million.
CEO Explains Crypto Exchange Remains Solvent
Bybit’s CEO, Ben Zhou, has assured its users and customers that the exchange is solvent. In a Twitter/X post, the CEO explained that the customers’ funds are backed 1:1 and that the company can service the losses even if it fails to recover them.
Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from TradingView
VanEck has announced a bold prediction that Bitcoin will play a critical role in managing the United States’ rising national debt. The study, based on Senator Cynthia Lummis’ proposed Bitcoin Act, shows that a strategic Bitcoin reserve may partially balance the country’s debt by 2049. But how feasible is this concept?
The Potential Impact Of Strategic Bitcoin Reserves
The study examines a scenario in which the US government obtains up to 1 million BTC during a five-year period. If this strategy comes to fruition, VanEck believes that such a reserve may help balance almost $21 trillion in national debt by 2049. Based on forecasts of future debt growth, this equates to around 18% of the expected total debt at the time.
However, this positive forecast is heavily reliant on Bitcoin’s price trajectory. VanEck’s model forecasts that BTC will grow at a 25% compounded annual rate (CAGR). Starting with an estimated acquisition price of $100,000 per unit in 2025, the crypto would need to see sustained price increases over the next two decades.
Source: VanEck
Debt Growth Versus Bitcoin Appreciation
The study considers the expected 5% annual rate of increase in US debt trajectory. Any effort to balance the predicted $100 trillion national debt by 2049 will need assets with big appreciation potential.
Though highly volatile, Bitcoin presents both a challenge and an opportunity. A 25% CAGR is an ambitious aim considering past pricing volatility, regulatory uncertainties, and industry acceptance patterns. Should the slow down in the crypto’s expansion, the reserve might not meet expectations, therefore lessening its value in addressing national debt.
Bitcoin As A Government Asset
VanEck’s view is consistent with a broader discussion concerning the leading digital currency’s role in national economies. Countries such as El Salvador have already adopted the top coin into their financial plans, albeit on a far lesser scale. If the US took a similar strategy, it would be an unparalleled shift in monetary policy.
The practicality of building such a massive Bitcoin reserve raises concerns. Would the government buy the crypto asset gradually or in bulk? How would it safeguard and govern such an asset? These uncertainties complicate VanEck’s vision.
A High-Risk Gamble Or A Financial Breakthrough?
VanEck’s research presents an intriguing possibility, despite these obstacles. The potential of BTC as a long-term wealth reserve is still a topic of debate among economists and policymakers. It may be feasible to employ the digital asset to mitigate national debt if its value continues to increase.
For now, the feasibility of this strategy remains uncertain. The US government has yet to indicate any concrete plans to acquire the alpha crypto on a large scale. But with national debt rising and Bitcoin’s influence growing, discussions around this unconventional solution are far from over.
Featured image from Gemini Imagen, chart from TradingView
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