Introduction
Despite the turbulence Solana [SOL] has experienced over the past six months, it continues to be a top-10 asset by market cap in the crypto sphere. This demonstrates the trust investors and holders have in Solana, often referred to as the “Ethereum [ETH] killer” by some of its enthusiasts. Even Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin is an admirer of the protocol.
SEC Lawsuits and Buterin’s Remarks
When the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) filed lawsuits against Binance [BNB] and Coinbase [COIN] in early June, it labeled several altcoins, including SOL, as securities. Recently, even Vitalik Buterin expressed regret about the regulator’s approach in targeting projects like Solana.
Solana’s Price Movements
Heading into 2023, SOL was hovering around the $10 support zone. It was already experiencing a downtrend that began in November 2021 when SOL was trading at $200. However, the sentiment shifted to bullish as Bitcoin [BTC] climbed past $17k in January.
Solana benefited greatly from this shift and recorded gains of 175% in just 21 days. Nevertheless, it encountered resistance in the $26-$28 range, which has acted as support since June-November 2022.
Decentralization and Nakamoto Coefficient
Meanwhile, the on-chain analytics firm Messari published a report analyzing the degree of decentralization among different chains. Solana, a proof-of-stake (PoS) network, exhibited an aggregate Nakamoto coefficient of 1.9, suggesting that it outperformed its peers in terms of decentralization.
Price Predictions and ChatGPT’s Insights
The most bullish scenario of 2023, according to AMBCrypto’s prediction bot, could see SOL valued at $75.5. However, another bot’s take on the price, the network health, and the trajectory of Solana is yet to be explored after providing relevant data points.
ChatGPT has been a remarkable chatbot, and recent updates have made ChatGPT 4.0 quite impressive. It is a powerful tool for learning, well-trained on a vast array of topics. However, it is essential to remember that the bot is designed to mimic a human and may not always be factually accurate.
While we cannot coerce ChatGPT into providing a definitive Solana price prediction, we can obtain some insights by providing details about recent price movements and other relevant information.
Solana’s Recent Setbacks – FTX and Its Impact
FTX, one of the largest crypto exchanges, was a vocal proponent of the Solana network. The CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, was seen as a credible and smart entrepreneur. However, the SEC has charged him with defrauding FTX’s equity investors and commingling customer funds with Alameda’s to make undisclosed venture investments. This has significantly affected the reputation of Solana.
The foundation also sold a substantial amount of SOL to FTX Trading and Alameda Research, amounting to 58.08 million SOL or 11% of the circulating supply when FTX filed for bankruptcy. This transaction was valued at close to $1.1 billion at the time.
As a consequence, the price of Solana experienced a nosedive in November, falling by 45% from November 11 to December 31, dropping from $18.08 to $8. Prior to this, rumors of FTX’s insolvency circulated from November 5, and SOL had already lost 50% the previous week when it was trading near $38.
