Solana (SOL) has been making headlines in recent weeks, albeit for different reasons. The popular altcoin was one of the many benefactors of Donald Trump’s presidential victory, growing by 67.69% in three weeks after November 5, reaching a new all-time high of $263.
However, this price increase was followed, in the last two weeks, by a gradual correction of 15.13%. However, recent data on investor behavior shows significant market optimism about the fifth largest cryptocurrency.
Solana’s “new” investors are optimistic about the bullish future
In a December 13 X post, blockchain analytics firm Glassnode shared an in-depth report on Solana investor activity in recent weeks. According to Glassnode, Solana investors who entered the market 1-2 years ago have now offloaded significant portions of their holdings.
The analysis team explains that these investors likely bought Solana during its 2021 bull run and have now taken profits during November’s price rally, reducing their market share from 48% in June to less than 5% currently .
While a decline in long-term holdings can sometimes signal doubts about an asset’s future potential, Glassnode views these recent sell-offs as purely transactional with most investors looking to sell ahead of the next bull run that is now exiting the market .
Importantly, this selling pressure has been absorbed to a significant extent by new Solana investors of the last 6-12 months who increased their holdings in the market to 24% during Solana’s latest price surge. Such massive investments at rising price levels indicate confidence among new holders in Solana’s long-term viability, despite the current price decline.
VanEck expects SOL to reach $500 in the first quarter of 2025
In other news, well-known asset manager VanEck has dropped a bullish forecast for Solana ahead of 2025. In their latest insight into digital assets, head of digital asset research Matthew Sigel and senior investment analyst Patrick Bush jointly forecast that the overall cryptocurrency market will maintain its bullish form into the new year.
In this sense, digital assets will reach their first market peak in the first quarter of 2025, with Bitcoin reaching a price of $180,000. During this rally, Solana is expected to trade at $500, indicating a potential gain of 124.21% on the current price of the asset.
However, analysts at VanEck warn that this increase will likely be followed by Bitcoin experiencing a 30% price correction, while altcoins, including Solana, post declines of around 60% as the market enters consolidation in the summer.
At the time of writing, Solana continues to trade at $227, reflecting a gain of 0.34% over the past day. Meanwhile, the asset’s trading volume decreased by 14.28% and is valued at $4.12 billion.