KEYTAKEAWAYS
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SOL has returned above $240 after six months, driven by treasury reserve firms, concentrated holdings, and renewed meme coin activity.
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Liquidity may rotate into Solana ecosystem tokens, from infrastructure plays like Jupiter, Raydium, and Kamino to meme coins such as PUMP, PENGU, BONK, and TRUMP.
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While new sectors like PayFi, tokenization, and DePIN are emerging, Solana still lacks a clear leading theme compared with Ethereum’s DeFi expansion.
CONTENT
PRICE RECOVERY AND MARKET DRIVERS
After more than six months, SOL has finally climbed back above $240, briefly touching $250 before pulling back to $234 at press time. This rally came from three main drivers. First, the growing presence of DAT treasury reserve companies like SOL Strategies has expanded market demand. Second, after a period of undervaluation, holdings have become more concentrated in strong hands. Third, Solana ecosystem tokens and meme coins such as PUMP saw a short rebound, bringing new demand and use cases for SOL.
This return sparked intense discussion across the community. Some traders see SOL’s rebound as proof of Solana’s staying power, while others focus on the next destinations for liquidity. As with Ethereum earlier this year—where linked tokens like LINK, WLD, and DOGE followed ETH’s surge with gains of 60–100%—the question now is which Solana ecosystem assets might benefit from a similar overflow effect.
INFRASTRUCTURE AND MEME COINS
Infrastructure tokens remain the first stop for liquidity rotation. Jupiter (JUP), the aggregation platform; Raydium (RAY), the DEX; and Kamino (KMNO), the lending and yield platform, form the backbone of Solana DeFi. These projects provide essential services, and while their token performance does not always mirror their product strength, they remain key candidates when capital looks for the next trade.
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KMNO: $0.067
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JUP: $0.52
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RAY: $3.3
At the same time, meme coins continue to drive attention and speculation. Pump.fun (PUMP) has revived with its “live launch” model. Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) is building a brand that mixes IP, physical goods, and ecosystem growth. BONK (BONK) keeps its role as a community-driven meme coin and launchpad token. Even TRUMP (TRUMP), riding on the U.S. presidential narrative and Fed rate cut speculation, has gained short-term attention.
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PUMP: $0.0076
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PENGU: $0.033
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BONK: $0.000022
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TRUMP: $8.57
NEW FRONTIERS: PAYFI, TOKENIZATION AND DEPIN
Solana’s low fees and fast execution continue to make it a testing ground for new sectors. In PayFi and tokenized U.S. equities, projects like Huma Finance and MyStonks are gaining traction. They remain small in size but attract long-term interest as experiments in connecting traditional markets with on-chain assets.
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HUMA: $0.0255
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STONKS: $0.026
Another area is DePIN (decentralized physical infrastructure). Cudis (CUDIS) focuses on smart fitness devices linked to the blockchain, while Roam (ROAM) explores virtual roaming SIMs for communication. These projects are still limited by narrative reach and market adoption, but they hold mid-term speculation value.
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CUDIS: $0.13
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ROAM: $0.11
CONCLUSION: A BOOM WITHOUT A MAIN THEME
Beyond these names, other tokens like Saros (SAROS at $0.40), Pyth Network (PYTH at $0.16), and Polyfacts (POLYFACTS at $0.0063) also deserve attention. Still, compared with Ethereum’s DeFi-driven expansion, Solana has yet to find a clear leading theme for its ecosystem.
The network has recently hit a record $13.3 billion in stablecoin issuance, showing its capacity to host large flows. Yet for SOL to reach new highs, ecosystem activity alone may not be enough. Strong institutional buying by treasury reserve companies and catalysts like a potential Solana spot ETF could prove decisive.
As one fund manager put it: “Ecosystem projects provide the narrative, but at the end of the day, it’s the institutional wallets that decide the ceiling.”
