Here’s Why Solana’s Future Is Still Bright Despite SOL Price Nuking 97% Below ATH: Vitalik Buterin

Solana, the crypto once backed by FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried, is one of the leading Layer 1 networks to have suffered in the enduring crypto winter. Despite the prices of top crypto assets like bitcoin and Ethereum remaining relatively stable over the last four weeks, SOL has bled out.

However, the Solana token somewhat stemmed the brutal losing skid on December 30 after Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin voiced support for the rival blockchain project. In a tweet, he commented that the network has a “bright future”.

SOL Still Down 97% From November 2021 ATH

Once among the most valuable cryptos on the market, Solana has since joined the ranks of the worst-performing tokens of 2022.

The so-called Ethereum killer sank as low as $8.17 on Thursday, the lowest price level since February 2021. While the year has been brutal for the markets, SOL has taken a more severe beating following news of FTX’s bankruptcy. The cryptocurrency was once highly praised by alleged con artist Sam Bankman-Fried.

Even at the slightly rebounded price of $9.16 as of publication, Solana is down 22.4% over the past seven days and 34.6% in a two-week time frame. Overall, SOL has lost 97% of its value since peaking at $259.96 in November 2021, compared to a 76% decline for Bitcoin and Ethereum from their respective all-time highs the same month. SOL is also down 94.7% since the start of the year.

Solana’s market capitalization now stands at $3.5 billion, which makes it the world’s 17th biggest crypto asset, according to CoinMarketCap.

The Future Is Bright For The High-Speed Layer 1: Buterin

Writing in a tweet on December 30, right before Solana’s recovery started, Ethereum whiz Vitalik Buterin noted that “awful opportunistic money people have been washed out.”

This year, a lot of investors invested in SOL with the hopes of reaping huge financial rewards within a short time without necessarily caring about the future of the blockchain. With such investors now wiped out, Vitalik thinks it’s time for honest developers passionate about the Solana network to shine.

“Some smart people tell me there is an earnest smart developer community in Solana, and now that the awful opportunistic money people have been washed out, the chain has a bright future,” the Ethereum creator tweeted.

While the network has many challenges to overcome, including repeated outages, it’s abundantly clear that many positive developments could be on the horizon for the Solana protocol. In June, Solana announced it was launching a Web3 phone called Saga.

“Hard for me to tell from outside, but I hope the community gets its fair chance to thrive,” Buterin summarized.