Institutional Demand is Rising, But Why Hasn’t Solana’s Price Exploded?
The whole web property of US Solana ETFs surpassed $1 billion in early 2026. However, SOL has fallen greater than 50% over the previous yr and now trades close to ranges final seen two years in the past. This final result has probably dissatisfied many holders.
Beyond SOL ETFs, the Solana community has recorded a number of milestones that spotlight its enchantment to institutional traders. Still, these developments haven’t been sufficient to fulfill retail traders.
Stablecoin Demand Grows on Solana in Early 2026
The Wyoming Stable Token Commission not too long ago launched the FRNT stablecoin on the Solana blockchain. This transfer marked the primary time a US public authority issued a stablecoin with reserves managed by Franklin Templeton.
Earlier, Jupiter introduced the JupUSD stablecoin on Solana in partnership with Ethena Labs. About 90% of its reserves include USDtb backed by BlackRock’s tokenized BUIDL fund, whereas the remaining 10% is held in USDC.
Following these developments, The Kobeissi Letter reported on January 8 that Solana’s stablecoin provide surged by greater than $900 million inside 24 hours. The report instructed this spike may sign the return of crypto capital inflows.
These strikes occurred as Solana’s whole stablecoin provide exceeded $15 billion, setting a brand new all-time high.
“That represents new liquidity getting into the community. Solana’s low charges and quick finality enable that liquidity to be deployed shortly. In sensible phrases, extra stablecoins on SOL means extra capital out there for buying and selling, settlement, and software exercise,” analyst Milk Road commented.
Even so, the $15 billion determine stays small in contrast with Ethereum’s stablecoin provide of over $181 billion and Tron’s greater than $81 billion, in response to Token Terminal.
RWA on Solana Rises, But Still Lags Behind Competitors
Data from RWA.xyz signifies that the full worth of real-world property (excluding stablecoins) on Solana has reached a brand new high, surpassing $931 million.
Demand for tokenized property from BlackRock and VanEck, in addition to tokenized shares of Tesla and NVIDIA, has pushed this development.
However, Solana is not the top choice for institutions. RWA knowledge shows that Ethereum and BNB Chain stay the main blockchains for asset tokenization. Their whole RWA values stand at roughly $12.7 billion and $2 billion, respectively.
Solana advantages from rising institutional curiosity in RWAs and stablecoin deployments. Still, the community has but to slender the hole with its principal rivals.
Lack of Retail Participation Has Capped Price Performance
While the expansion of stablecoins and RWAs displays surging institutional demand, spot buying and selling knowledge factors to weak retail participation. This hole helps clarify why SOL’s value has not stored tempo with the advance in on-chain fundamentals.
According to CryptoQuant’s Solana spot retail exercise knowledge, main SOL rallies in 2021 and 2024 coincided with sturdy retail buying and selling exercise. These intervals seem as crimson zones on the chart.
Exchange knowledge, nevertheless, reveals a protracted absence of retail participation above the $100 value stage over the previous two years. This development helps clarify why SOL has but to interrupt out.
If broader market situations change and retail traders return, their participation may align with that of institutional traders. Such a shift may set off a brand new bullish cycle for SOL.
The submit Institutional Demand is Rising, But Why Hasn’t Solana’s Price Exploded? appeared first on BeInCrypto.
