As per the latest weekly insights report from Kaiko Resreach, Solana (SOL) has once again taken the spotlight in the crypto world, surging from $21 in mid-October to nearly $45 last week. This remarkable price increase comes one year after the collapse of FTX, where SOL briefly dipped under $10. The price surge has been attributed to increased network activity in liquid staking token protocols like Jito.
Major Players In Solana (SOL) Acquisition
As an alternative Layer 1 (alt L1) blockchain, Solana is often compared to Ethereum (ETH). Since September, SOL has outperformed ETH significantly, with the ratio between the two jumping from 0.011 to almost 0.025, surpassing the ratio just before FTX’s collapse.
Coinbase has been leading the way in net buying, acquiring 2.2 million SOL tokens since the rally began on October 18. Binance also joined the market buying trend in November, accumulating a cumulative volume delta (CVD) of 1.9 million SOL tokens since October 18. In contrast, South Korea’s top exchange, Upbit, has net sold nearly 4 million SOL tokens, reflecting the unique dynamics of the Korean market.
Moreover, Solana has emerged as the most traded altcoin on U.S.-based exchanges, surpassing popular tokens like DOGE, LTC, MATIC, and XRP. It marks a significant improvement in the altcoin market in the United States over the past month.
The “Alameda gap,” which refers to a sharp decline in order book liquidity observed after the FTX and Alameda Research collapse, has persisted even as Bitcoin rallied more than 20% in October. Order book liquidity for BTC, ETH, and altcoins on centralized exchanges remains 55% below pre-FTX levels.
A recent government exhibit in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) shed light on market manipulation by Alameda Research. Signal messages showed SBF directing the head of Alameda Research to increase the buying pace of certain tokens to pump their prices, indicating the presence of questionable practices.
Kaiko’s research also shows that Bitcoin’s correlation with traditional assets has weakened throughout the year, making it an attractive option for portfolio diversification. Its correlation with the Nasdaq 100, the U.S. dollar, and gold has decreased significantly, signifying a shift towards a more uncorrelated asset.
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