3 Reasons to Buy Solana Before January 2026

It hasn't been a great year for Solana (CRYPTO: SOL). The world's sixth-largest cryptocurrency is down nearly 30% in 2025. While all cryptocurrencies have taken a hit over the past 30 days, Solana has been especially hard hit as it fell through the $200 price level.

But three big catalysts are on the horizon for Solana. If everything goes according to plan, then the price of Solana could take off in 2026. Here's what to watch.

Comprehensive new crypto legislation

During the summer, the U.S. Congress made enormous headway on crypto legislation. The highlight, of course, was the passage of new stablecoin legislation known as the GENIUS Act.

Once that was signed into law, the next step was supposed to be the passage of comprehensive new crypto legislation. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (H.R. 3633) passed the House in July, and all lights were flashing green.

But then came the federal government shutdown. Suddenly, all the momentum for crypto came to a grinding halt. That helps explain why investors suddenly soured on the crypto market and why sentiment is still at very low levels for Solana right now.

Image source: Getty Images.

But all that could change within the next few months. The Senate is coming up with its own version of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, and the thinking now is that it might be ready to go by early 2026.

If so, it would provide a huge boost to Solana and its blockchain ecosystem. As a layer 1 blockchain network, Solana is a core building block of everything that happens in the blockchain world. So any legislation that pushes forward the mainstream adoption of blockchain technology could be a tremendous driver of value for Solana.

I wouldn't be surprised if all layer 1 blockchains -- including Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) -- receive a huge boost from the new legislation.

A new blockchain upgrade

At the same time, Solana just received an important new blockchain upgrade in the form of the new high-performance Firedancer validator client. In layman's terms, it will be easier, cheaper, and faster to add blocks to the Solana blockchain, and that will lead to dramatic improvements in transaction processing speeds and overall efficiency.

Solana has already far surpassed Ethereum in terms of transaction processing speeds, attracting the attention of high-profile investors such as Cathie Wood of Ark Invest. Now, Firedancer is going to put Solana into an entirely new class of its own.

The thinking now is that Solana could be well on its way to processing 1 million transactions per second. That's blazing fast, and that type of speed has always been one of the Holy Grails of the blockchain world. Ethereum, for example, has been talking about 1 million transactions per second for years now.

A surge in usage and activity

Speed matters. It's what leads to dramatic upticks in users and overall blockchain usage. And right now, the Solana blockchain ecosystem is firing on all cylinders. According to a recent research report from 21Shares, the Solana blockchain ecosystem generated nearly $3 billion in revenue over the most recent 12-month period.

One area where Solana is fast becoming a star is decentralized finance (DeFi). While Ethereum is still the acknowledged market leader here, Solana is making huge strides. It now ranks second behind Ethereum, with a roughly 10% market share of the DeFi market. And it has already passed Ethereum in terms of 24-hour trading volume on its decentralized exchanges.

Is Solana a $300 crypto?

All three of these catalysts could help catapult Solana forward in 2026. Solana is currently trading at a healthy 55% discount to its all-time high of $294 from January. That seems like a dramatic investor overreaction to the global macroeconomic outlook. How much has really changed for Solana over the past 12 months?

My prediction is that Solana could make a serious run at the $300 price level in 2026. If that's the case, then the time to buy is now. If you wait until January, it might be too late.

Dominic Basulto has positions in Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.