Solana Price Unshaken Amid DApp Boom And Alpenglow Possibility, ETF Decision Delayed

Solana's (CRYPTO: SOL) price has retraced slightly, trading around $167, up 3.6% and extending its monthly gain to over 20%. The price action follows the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) delay of its decision on multiple spot Solana ETF applications, in spite of on-chain metrics supporting the bullish sentiment.

SEC pushed its review of Grayscale’s proposed Solana Trust ETF to October 2025, citing the need for further evaluation. While regulatory delays introduce uncertainty, the odds of a 2025 approval near 90%, signalling optimism despite the slow-moving process.

Don't Miss:

• Trade crypto futures on Plus500 with up to $200 in bonuses — no wallets, just price speculation and free paper trading to practice different strategies.
• New to trading crypto? Get up to $400 in rewards for successfully completing short educational courses and placing your first qualifying trade on Coinbase.

Investor focus has shifted to fundamentals, as Solana captures the majority of dApp revenue across blockchains. It generated over $50 million last week, accounting for more than 50% of the total market share and outpacing Ethereum’s (CRYPTO: ETH) 14%. The dominance reflects growing user engagement, driven partly by the return of memecoin trading and cross-chain integration efforts.

Chainlink’s (CRYPTO: LINK) Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) launch on Solana has been a catalyst, opening the door for projects to move tokens securely between blockchains. According to Chainlink, the launch ushers in over $19 billion in CCIP‑ready assets on Solana, and DeFi teams and institutional players are lining up to test the new rails. By anchoring transfers in on‑chain proofs instead of trusted middlemen, CCIP could put bridge hacks in the rearview mirror.

On May 20, Solana Labs spinout, Anza, proposed “Alpenglow,” a major infrastructure upgrade to improve scalability and consensus mechanisms. Described by The Block as potentially the network’s most significant change yet, the proposal is in review. Successful implementation could further strengthen Solana’s technical position as activity scales.

Validator tips on Jito surged 57% last week to nearly 21,000 SOL (~$3.63 million), signalling demand for high-fee transactions and congested blockspace. Pump.fun, a leading meme coin launchpad, saw fee revenue decline nearly 28% quarter-on-quarter, suggesting volume may be migrating toward platforms with better yield incentives like Jito.

Technical analysts are eyeing the $170 resistance level; a confirmed breakout could open the door to $200, while failure to hold above $165 may lead to a retest of the $150 zone.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) recently reclaimed $105,000, with $5.5 billion flowing into crypto funds as institutional appetite returns. As momentum builds, high-throughput altcoins like Solana will be well-positioned to benefit.

Looking forward, traders are watching three primary catalysts: any movement on SEC approvals, progress on Alpenglow, and macro sentiment driven by Bitcoin’s trajectory. Solana remains a leading indicator of altcoin appetite—and a bellwether for what comes next.

More Opportunities:

• Grow your IRA or 401(k) with Crypto – unlock the power of alternative investments including a Crypto IRA within your retirement account.
• Trade, earn, and grow your crypto portfolio with Crypto.com — plus receive up to $500 worth of rewards in the most popular tokens if you're a new customer.

Image: Shutterstock