Down 77%, Is It Time to Give Up On This Once-Popular Cryptocurrency?
Key Points
Due to its fast speeds and low costs, Solana has become the top blockchain challenger to Ethereum.
In key areas of decentralized finance (DeFi), Solana is actually growing faster than Ethereum.
As Solana pivots away from meme coins, its risk profile should become more attractive to investors.
- 10 stocks we like better than Solana ›
To say that Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) is in free fall would be an understatement. As soon as it hit an all-time high of $294 in January 2025, Solana began to decline in price. It's now down a head-spinning 77%, and investor sentiment on Solana is decidedly bearish.
But I'm not giving up on Solana. Here's a closer look at why the world's seventh-largest cryptocurrency might be able to regain its former momentum sooner than anyone expects.
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The top Layer 1 blockchain network?
First and most importantly, Solana remains the top challenger to Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH). All the other top Layer 1 blockchain competitors have fallen by the wayside. The latest challenger to bow out is Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA), which has all but declared that its blockchain ecosystem is on the verge of collapse.
Image source: Getty Images.
Solana is faster, cheaper, and more efficient to use than Ethereum. That has made it a favorite of users and developers -- so much so that Cathie Wood of Ark Invest has spoken glowingly of Solana's potential to disrupt Ethereum.
Right now, Solana is growing faster than Ethereum in several key areas, including decentralized finance (DeFi). But Solana's growth is hardly limited to DeFi. According to an October 2025 report from investment firm 21Shares, the Solana blockchain ecosystem generated nearly $3 billion in revenue over the most recent 12-month period. Aside from DeFi and trading on decentralized exchanges, areas seeing growth within Solana's blockchain ecosystem include decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) and artificial intelligence (AI).
Solana's pivot
In other words, Solana is hardly a one-trick pony. That goes against the popular narrative that Solana is a blockchain ecosystem built only for meme coins. Admittedly, Solana made its name through meme coins, and President Donald Trump launched a meme coin on Solana last year.
But now that meme coin enthusiasm has fizzled out, Solana is pivoting into other areas. These include both stablecoins and asset tokenization. These are two of the fastest-growing segments of decentralized finance, and if Solana is successful here, it could have a significant impact on its future growth trajectory.
How high can Solana go?
Just keep in mind that it will take some time to see the payback from this pivot. Unfortunately, in the crypto industry, the investment horizon can be incredibly short. It's an industry of "What have you done for me lately?" So perhaps it's no surprise that many crypto investors have given up on Solana entirely.
But I'm not one of them. As recently as October 2023, investment firm VanEck projected that Solana could eventually reach $3,200. Standard Chartered thinks Solana will be worth upwards of $500 by 2029.
So now is no time to throw in the towel on Solana. At a price of just $67, it might be the best investment you can make right now if you think the crypto market is about to rally in 2027.
Should you buy stock in Solana right now?
Before you buy stock in Solana, consider this:
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Dominic Basulto has positions in Cardano, Ethereum, and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool recommends Standard Chartered Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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