Solana (SOL) has emerged as one of the best-performing major cryptocurrencies thus far in 2023. From January 1st until now, SOL’s price has skyrocketed over 460%, handily exceeding the gains seen in crypto’s flagship asset, Bitcoin (BTC), which has risen “only” 125% year-to-date. However, despite this massive surge in 2023, SOL has retracted slightly in the short term, falling 4.2% over the last 24 hours and 6.7% over the previous week. Still, SOL remains up a staggering 73.1% over the past 30 days alone.
According to technical analyst and trader Bluntz, SOL appears poised to continue its ascent after this brief cooldown period. Specifically, Bluntz sees Solana rallying to the $70 level in the near-term, before ultimately achieving a price of $82.50. This would require growth of approximately 47% from SOL’s current trading price. Bluntz pointed to SOL’s recent dip below $55 as a temporary warning sign but remains extremely bullish on its intermediate and long-term prospects.
Supporting this optimistic outlook is surging trading activity and volumes for SOL across major decentralized exchanges. Despite lingering fears that the now bankrupt FTX exchange may yet liquidate its $1 billion+ strategic SOL reserves, interest in the asset persists thanks to its undeniable price momentum in 2023. Moreover, SOL has seen consistent capital inflows per CoinShares’ fund flow reports over multiple consecutive weeks, highlighting sustained appetite amongst large institutional investors.
Looking ahead, analysts broadly agree that the winds of fortune seem likely to continue blowing in Solana’s direction. Speculation is already mounting that SOL could embark on a 2017-esque parabolic advance through the remainder of 2023 and into 2024, possibly even eclipsing its former all-time high of $259.96 set in November 2021. This scenario would fit neatly with widespread predictions of a broader crypto bull market resurgence over the next 12-24 months. For SOL investors then, the future appears almost as bright as the year-to-date performance.
