Solana, the layer-one blockchain platform, celebrated five years since the launch of its mainnet on March 16, 2020.

To celebrate the milestone, the network shared its accomplishments, which include more than 1,300 validators, nearly $1 trillion in trading volume, and over 408 billion total Solana transactions, in a post on its official X account.

Solana (SOL) was founded in 2017 by Anatoly Yakovenko with the goal of addressing the primary challenge facing blockchain technology. The network aims to strike the right balance between scalability, security, and decentralization.

When combined with proof-of-stake, Yakovenko’s proof-of-history system speeds up transaction processing. Solana has been able to grow while maintaining low costs as a result.

More than 254 million blocks have been generated by Solana since its mainnet went live in March 2020. Since then, the network has grown to be a major force in decentralized finance, with over $7 billion in total value locked in its protocols, according to DeFiLlama data.

Meanwhile, Solana’s stablecoin market has reached $11 billion, down from its peak of over $12.6 billion in February 2025. Similarly, its market cap, which once peaked at $127.5 billion, now stands at $65 billion.

Developer interest in Solana has also significantly increased. It surpassed Ethereum as the most popular blockchain for new developers in 2024. According to Electric Capital’s 2024 developer report, Solana attracted 7,625 new developers in the previous year, accounting for 19.5% of all new entrants in the market.

On Mar. 17, CME Group plans to introduce Solana futures contracts, subject to regulatory clearance. These futures, which are intended to assist investors in protecting themselves from price swings, indicate that Solana is becoming a more widely accepted asset in the cryptocurrency market.

Furthermore, Solana has been included in several exchange-traded funds applications, indicating its increasing mainstream acceptance and room for growth.

Cryptocurrency prices rose modestly during the weekend as investors embraced a risk-on sentiment following Friday’s surge in the US stock market. 

Bitcoin (BTC) held steady above $84,000, while the market cap of all coins rose to over $2.8 trillion. 

The crypto market will have two main catalysts this week: President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions. A sign of Trump easing his stand on tariffs and a more dovish Fed will be bullish for cryptocurrencies and other risky assets. 

The top cryptocurrencies to watch this week will be Binance Coin (BNB), Cronos (CRO), and ZetaChain (ZETA).

BNB

BNB price will be in the spotlight this week as the developers activate the Pascal hard fork on March 20.  This is one of the three upgrades scheduled for the year’s first half. It is set to introduce newer features, including more Ethereum compatibility, native smart contract wallets, and more security. 

The other two upgrades will improve BNB Chain’s speed and security. This is happening as the BSC Chain becomes one of the best alternatives to Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL). Ethereum has higher fees and is slow, while the Solana network is highly associated with meme coins. 

Cronos 

A key Cronos vote will conclude on March 17. This crucial vote seeks to determine the creation of the Cronos Strategic Reserve. It aims to do that by undoing a 70 billion token burn that happened in 2021. 

If the vote passes, Cronos will create 70 billion tokens and use them to create a reserve that will be used to support the ecosystem. Critics argue that creating these new tokens will dilute existing investors by adding to the supply.

Voting data shows that 45.8% of users have voted in support of the proposal, while 44.4% have rejected it. 9.27% have abstained. If the vote ends like this, the proposal will be rejected as the turnout is less than the quorum. 

ZetaChain

ZetaChain is another top cryptocurrency to watch after its price crashed to a record low of $0.2070. It has dropped by over 92% from its all-time high, bringing its market cap to $151 million. 

One reason for the ZETA price crash is that the total value locked in its ecosystem has crashed to $13 million from its all-time high of near $20 million. 

The other reason is that Zetachain is highly dilutive as it has a circulating supply of 731 million against a total supply of 2.1 billion.

The network will unlock tokens worth over $6.6 million, representing 4.29% of the float this week. Cryptocurrencies are often highly volatile when there is a major unlock. 

Solana’s price has come under pressure over the past two months amid growing concerns about its ecosystem.

Solana (SOL) has dropped from its year-to-date high of $295.52 to a low of $112 this week, wiping out $71 billion in market value as its market cap plunged from $139 billion to $68 billion.

Solana’s crash was because of the ongoing crypto crash that has brought the total market cap of the whole industry to $2.8 trillion.

The price drop has also been fueled by rising concerns about Solana’s ecosystem, which has become increasingly linked to meme coins. The market cap of all Solana meme coins tracked by CoinGecko has fallen from over $25 billion earlier this year to $7.7 billion. A key concern is that many of these meme coins have turned out to be rug-pull scams.

Another factor weighing on Solana’s price is a large token unlock that took place earlier this month, tied to recent FTX distributions. A token unlock introduces more tokens into circulation, leading to potential dilution and downward pressure on price.

Solana has also lost its market share in the DEX industry to Ethereum (ETH). According to DeFi Llama, the total volume handled by DEX protocols in the network in the last 30 days stood at $76.95 billion, lower than Ethereum’s $84 billion.

Solana price technical analysis

On the positive side, signs suggest that Solana could stage a strong comeback once the current crypto crash eases.

The weekly chart shows that the accumulation and distribution indicator has continued rising over the past few months, signaling that investors have been accumulating SOL during the downturn.

Most importantly, Solana has been forming a cup-and-handle pattern, a bullish formation characterized by a rounded bottom, a horizontal resistance line, and a pullback.

In Solana’s case, the horizontal line connects the highest levels from 2021 and 2024. The ongoing retreat represents the formation of the handle section. If Solana holds above $100, there’s a strong likelihood that it could stage a rally.

The cup has a depth of about 95%. Measuring that same distance from the top of the cup suggests an eventual surge to $505, implying a 270% increase from current levels.

The key caveat is that cup-and-handle patterns take time to complete, meaning that the 270% surge could take months or even years. For example, it took three years for the cup section to form.