Just saw some interesting updates about Solana. Currently, the SOL price has dropped significantly. Let’s take a look at what’s happening and what SOL really is.

For those who don’t know, SOL is the native coin of the Solana network, a blockchain designed to solve speed and fee issues that Bitcoin and Ethereum face. Solana’s special feature is the use of Proof of History technology, a unique innovation in the industry.

Founder Anatoly Yakovenko believes that if we can use hash functions to create a "cryptographic clock," it will solve transaction ordering problems on the blockchain. As a result, Solana can process thousands of transactions per second at very low costs, making it suitable for high-speed applications.

Right now, the SOL price is $86.88, down 48% over the past year from over $293 earlier in 2025. The main reason is the overall crypto market downturn, but there are also specific reasons related to Solana.

One of Solana’s strengths that’s undeniable is its speed and extremely low fees. The average fee is just $0.00025, about 20,000 times cheaper than Ethereum. This opens up new use cases such as DeFi, Gaming, SocialFi, and of course, a lot of memecoins.

The network has 868 validators distributed across 40 countries worldwide, with staked SOL worth a total of $69.76 billion. Network stability has greatly improved, with no major outages for over 15 months, maintaining an uptime of over 99.9%, a significant progress compared to 7 major outages between 2021 and 2024.

However, there are some concerns. A major issue is Firedancer, a new validator client developed by Jump Crypto. If Firedancer succeeds, it could boost network speed beyond 1 million TPS and solve the client diversity problem that caused past network outages. This could be a key catalyst for pushing SOL’s price higher.

Regarding price forecasts, if Firedancer succeeds and ETFs get approval, some analysts (like Bitwise) estimate SOL could reach $6,636 by 2030. VanEck’s bullish case is $3,211, the base case is $335, and the bear case is just $9.81.

It’s important to understand that SOL is the “fuel” of the network, not a company stock. It’s used to pay transaction fees, staking, and as the main currency in Solana’s DeFi ecosystem. The supply is unlimited but follows a disinflationary model, with inflation decreasing from 8% annually to 1.5% long-term. Currently, inflation is around 4.3%, with 50% of transaction fees burned, which helps reduce supply.

Initial coin distribution is heavily skewed toward large investors and the team, holding 62% combined, raising concerns about centralization.

Is it a good investment? It depends on your risk appetite. Solana has high potential but also high risk. If Firedancer succeeds and the crypto market recovers, SOL could surge. But if it fails or faces regulatory issues, its price might stay low.

To buy SOL, you can use CEX platforms in Thailand, or if you prefer trading for leverage, CFD trading is an option. Remember, crypto investments are highly risky, so only invest what you can afford to lose.