What’s Next for Solana in 2026? 5 SOL Predictions for the New Year

Market Overview - The Solana (SOL) token briefly lost its $120 support but managed a weak bounce, ending the week in the red [1] - Bitcoin reached $90,000 before quickly dropping below $88,000, indicating ongoing post-Christmas market struggles [1] Solana Ecosystem Performance - The trading volume in the Solana ecosystem increased by 11% to $12 billion, although the market cap decreased by 3% to $173 billion [2] - Despite the overall decline in the Solana ecosystem, SOL products experienced institutional inflows for the second consecutive week, contrasting with the performance of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) [3] Stablecoin Developments - The Solana-based stablecoin USX (USX) briefly depegged on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) due to low liquidity and heavy selling, but was restored to dollar parity by Solstice Finance [4] - The stablecoin market is expected to grow significantly, with predictions of reaching a $1 trillion industry by 2026, driven by major players like Western Union entering the market on Solana [8] Future Predictions for Solana - Experts predict that Solana will enhance its internet capital markets in 2026, supported by the Firedancer upgrade, which is expected to increase network speed beyond 1 million transactions per second and reduce finality to under 150 milliseconds [9] - The developments in Solana are anticipated to transform DeFi, payments, and other sectors, positioning it as a robust base layer for value exchange and capital raising [9] L1 Ranking and Market Position - Solana is projected to end 2025 as the blockchain with the second-highest total value locked (TVL), while Ethereum remains at the top and BNB Smart Chain faces significant challenges [5]