Spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF trading has continued unabated since last week. Despite an initial surge on the first day, the short-term market outlook disappointed participants’ expectations. According to 21milyon.com data, the global crypto market experienced a 1.1% decline over the week. As a result, the market volume of BTC fell below the $850 billion level due to the drop in Bitcoin’s value. On the other hand, Solana (SOL), the star of the last quarter of 2023, has seen a 5% decline since the beginning of 2024.
Solana’s Latest Developments
Despite the decline since the beginning of the year, SOL has seen renewed activity in the last 24 hours, and the market cap of the fifth-largest asset increased by more than 4%. During this period, SOL’s 24-hour trading volume also increased by approximately 25%, indicating a significant increase in demand for the coin in the market.
This price increase may be connected to the announcement made by Solana about the launch of its second smartphone after Saga. The new mobile phone is planned to be cheaper than the previous Saga, with deliveries expected in the first half of 2025.
With the upcoming new phone, Solana may be aiming to recreate the impact seen in Saga mobile sales supported by last year’s BONK token airdrop.
BONK, like SOL, completed 2023 as one of the year’s biggest winners with an unrealistic 944% price increase. This surge was triggered by the 30 million BONK airdrop that came with every Saga device.
Interestingly, the value of the BONK tokens distributed in the airdrop exceeded the cost of the mobile phone. Alongside the increase in SOL’s price, BONK also rose by 1.33% in the last 24 hours, likely in response to the announcement.
Comments and History of Solana
Despite moving away from its spectacular performance at the end of last year and showing an average appearance in the spot market, the inflow of hot money into the derivatives market for SOL continued. According to data provided by Santiment, Open Interest (OI) saw an 8% increase throughout the week.
On the other hand, the Funding Rate on Binance, which leads the list in terms of volume, remained positive, indicating the dominance of traders leaning towards long positions.
Looking back at Solana, the cryptocurrency started its journey in 2023 at the $10 level and made one of the biggest comebacks in crypto history, rising above the $100 level again. The recovery in the altcoin, which was thought to be doomed after the FTX incident, brought relief to crypto investors.
