How to Use This Price Tracker
Cryptocurrency pricing data can help investors find opportunities in the market and make more informed investment decisions. NextAdvisor’s price tracker shows historical price, trading volume, market capitalization, and other important metrics for investors, especially those who are just starting to dip their toes into crypto investing.
While everyday investors probably don’t need every last bell and whistle to make informed investment decisions, there are some generally applicable key crypto metrics and indicators worth considering:
Crypto Indicators and Metrics for Beginner Investors
Price: As with any investment, price is where it starts and ends for investors. Pricing is highly volatile in cryptocurrency, but viewed over time can give investors an idea of how a given coin’s value has gone up (or down) over time.
Market Capitalization: In general, the higher the value of the market cap the safer the investment. Market cap is the total value of a cryptocurrency, and is calculated by multiplying the price of the cryptocurrency with the number of coins in circulation. The amount of tokens or coins circulating can be viewed as an indicator of a coin’s demand.
Volume: Higher volume typically means a given cryptocurrency has more market liquidity, meaning more ability for investors to sell an investment when they want to realize a profit. It represents how much crypto is bought and sold over a period of time, typically 24 hours.
About Solana
There are a lot of “ethereum killers” out there, but if there’s one that you should pay particular attention to, it’s solana (SOL). The blockchain platform has picked up steam over the last year, becoming the second-largest smart-contract network behind ethereum.
“Solana is supposed to do what ethereum does, but better, quicker and cheaper,” says Georgiy Roykhman, crypto investor and founder of the financial education channel Funancialism. “It’s especially gaining ground for those who want access to NFT projects because it’s a cheaper point of entry.”
Solana’s transaction fees are a tiny fraction of ethereum’s, making it much more affordable to do things like buy, sell, or trade NFTs, which exploded in popularity in 2021. The explosion of NFTs led solana’s price to skyrocket to an all-time high of $260 last year, placing it in the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap. Solana is also faster and more technologically developed than other blockchains, though it has been criticized for having several major network outages over the last year. Like other cryptos in the market, solana (SOL) is currently experiencing a pullback in price as investors retreat from risky assets amid macroeconomic uncertainty.
“I would have expected solana to drop a little faster than other altcoins,” says Roykhman. “However, it’s on pace with the rest of the crypto bear market and has managed to hang in there.”
How Does Solana Work?
Solana was born out of a white paper published in 2017 by Anatoly Yakovenko, a Russian computer engineer and now CEO of solana, who described a way to verify transactions on the blockchain using a system known as proof of history (PoH). Developers Greg Fitzgerald and Stephen Akridge also worked on the project, publishing code that relied on timestamps to verify transactions on the blockchain. The SOL coin launched in 2020.
Solana was largely unknown until 2021 when it began gaining traction in the marketplace. Considered an “ethereum killer,” solana is known for faster transaction times and lower costs than ethereum and considered a popular alternative for building decentralized apps and trading NFTs. Additionally, as concerns about energy use by blockchain technology grow, solana claims it’s a more environmentally-friendly blockchain. An average Solana transaction uses less energy than three Google searches, according to a March energy report published by the crypto network.
What sets Solana apart from other cryptocurrencies is its proof of history (PoH) technology to verify transactions on the network. Timestamps are used as part of the process, allowing computers around the world to agree on a time that the transaction took place and to determine which order the transactions occur.
According to solana, an individual computer could verify the entire public transaction record on the blockchain because of the timestamp — and accomplish this without the need to be connected to the network. Even with this assurance, however, solana has experienced several recent network outages and failures. In the beginning of June, validators in the network stopped processing new blocks for several hours and apps built on solana’s blockchain were taken offline, which sent solana’s price down more than 12%.
“When something gets hyped, like an NFT project, all the traffic can overwhelm the network and it goes down,” Roykhman says. “Solana gets hammered for halting trades and network outages.”
What Gives Solana Its Value?
Like other “ethereum killers,” solana’s value lies in its fast transaction speed and low cost. Its blockchain processes more than 2,000 transactions per second, and its average cost per transaction is $0.00025, according to its website. That’s significantly less than ethereum, which averages 30 transactions per second and costs as high $200 per transaction.
Crypto investors looking for a blockchain platform that has proven its use case but that isn’t as expensive as ethereum are often drawn to solana, Roykhman points out. However, even with increased speed and lower fees, it’s important to be careful when evaluating a cryptocurrency for long-term value. Medhin suggests that a lot of hype around altcoins drives prices, and many of them may not hold value or survive the market in the long term.
Solana Market Cap
Solana’s market capitalization has seen a huge range recently, from about $12 billion to more than $75 billion. The exact number is found by multiplying the current number of coins in existence — nearly 342 million — with its price at a given time. As solana’s price fluctuates, which it does frequently, so too does its market capitalization. In the past few weeks, solana’s price has been between $30 to $130, which translates into a significant range in market capitalization:
- $30 x $342 million = $ 10.3 billion
- $70 x $342 million = $23.9 billion
- $120 x $342 million = $41 billion
How to Buy Solana
Because solana is a fairly popular altcoin, it’s easy to buy. You can buy solana by first choosing an established cryptocurrency exchange that guarantees security, ease, and the ability to pull out your funds at any given moment. Popular exchanges that allow you to buy solana include Coinbase, FTX.US, Crypto.com, Binance.US, and Kraken. Using an exchange like Coinbase or Crypto.com may have higher fees, but may be worth the additional cost for ease and security, especially if you’re just starting to invest in crypto.
After researching cryptocurrency exchanges, you can choose one that works for you and open an account. You’ll need to connect your bank account or use another funding source to transfer fiat currency into your crypto wallet on the exchange. Once you’ve set up your account, you can purchase as little as $1 of solana on most crypto exchanges.
Before investing in any crypto, make sure to do your due diligence and limit your exposure to risk. Only invest what you’re OK with losing as all cryptocurrencies are highly speculative and volatile. Experts recommend that you limit your total cryptocurrency exposure to 5% of your investment portfolio. Before investing in crypto, make sure you have a well-stocked emergency fund, paid off high-interest debt, and are investing in a tax-advantaged retirement account.
Once you have your solana coins, you have several options of where to store them. With many exchanges, it’s possible to keep your SOL in a hot wallet on the exchange. You can also move your coins off the exchange into a cold crypto wallet, which is typically the most secure option.
Solana Price History
Even though solana was first conceived in 2017, the coin wasn’t released until 2020. It first hit the market with a price of around 78 cents, and the price of SOL remained below $2 for most of 2020, though it briefly reached a high above $4 in August 2020.
The price of solana skyrocketed in 2021. It went from almost $2 at the beginning of 2021 to nearly $56 by May. In early November 2021, the price of solana peaked at almost $260. That run-up sparked a lot of interest in solana. One of the main reasons solana saw such a big bump in price, according to both Roykhman, is because NFTs became also very popular in 2021. Solana offered a chance for those interested in NFTs to buy them at much lower prices and with lower fees.
“Solana saw a big rally in price, growing from less than $2 to peaking above $250 in 2021. In some ways, the way solana grew, it sacrificed security for a big splash and to see a price gain” says Yoni Medhin, founder of Grain4Grain and a member of the advisory board for crypto investing firm Energy Funders, referring to solana’s network outages. “But now it’s fallen to close to $30.”
Solana has fallen more than 50% since reaching its all-time high in November 2021 as investors have moved away from risky investments amid broader macroeconomic uncertainty. By June 2022, the price of SOL was just above $30.
Solana vs. Ethereum
Ethereum and solana are similar in that they’re both designed for smart contracts. They are used by developers and others to build decentralized apps in the blockchain space, as well as for gaming and NFTs. But there are a few key differences between the two: Solana relies on proof-of-history, while ethereum uses proof-of-work (PoW) to validate and verify transactions.
Ethereum is slated to become faster, cheaper, and more sustainable when it goes through its massive upgrade later this year and transitions to proof-of-stake (PoS). Experts are waiting to see how investors and companies building their tech on ethereum’s platform respond to the changes and how it’ll affect ethereum’s competitors.
Roykhman points out that ethereum is older and more established and has a more diverse ecosystem for decentralized finance (DeFi) apps, but solana has a robust gaming community. Solana has been trying to attract developers by offering bounties to those who identify bugs and promote its gaming functions.
Medhin says that one of the main issues with solana or any other “ethereum killer” is the fact that the project relies on branding itself relative to the ethereum platform.
“It’s kind of pie in the sky to want to be an ethereum killer,” Medhin says. “It’s kind of futile. You have to build momentum in the market and you need time and a huge user base to build it up.”
Solana’s proof-of-history approach has given it an edge in the ability to process transactions quickly and cheaply, but it’s unreliability as a network raises questions. Roykhman says solana will likely continue to hold some share of the market, but might not achieve its full potential if it can’t minimize its outages when the network becomes overwhelmed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is solana worth?
Solana has ranged drastically in price, from 78 cents to almost $260. But that’s just par for the course — prices for cryptocurrencies are volatile and change frequently.
How high can solana’s price go?
Solana’s high was almost $260 in 2021. However, it has fallen dramatically from that price since. Whether solana go back up depends on its long-term viability, as well as general market conditions.
Does solana coin have a future?
Whether solana has a future depends on whether it can prove its long-term ability to solve a problem and remain stable. Some experts believe solana needs to become a more reliable network, with fewer outages, if it expects to truly become an ethereum killer.
The information contained herein is provided “as is” for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as investment advice or for trading purposes. Information contained herein is not and should not be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation to buy or sell securities or any assets. The information has been authored from sources we believe to be reliable; however no guarantee is made or implied with respect to its accuracy, timeliness or completeness. Presenters may own the assets they discuss. You should not treat any opinion expressed by presenters as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of their opinions. The information and content are subject to change without notice. We are not under any obligation to update or correct any information provided herein. Past performance is not indicative of future results. We do not provide any individualized investment advice. Accordingly, this material does not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and is not intended as recommendations appropriate for any person’s individualized circumstances. You must make an independent decision regarding any investment suggestions covered by the material. Before acting on any investment suggestions from the material, you should consider whether it is suitable for your particular circumstances and strongly consider seeking advice from your own financial or investment advisor. You should be aware of the real risk of loss in following any strategy or investment discussed.
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