Forward Industries staked its entire Solana treasury into a new validator, immediately joining the network’s top 10. Publicly traded Solana treasury company Forward Industries launched its first institutional-grade validator node on the Solana blockchain as part of its broader strategy to deepen its role within the Solana ecosystem. The company announced the launch on Tuesday, saying that the validator runs on DoubleZero’s fiber network, which powers the validator and uses Jump Crypto’s Firedancer, a new independent Solana validator client. Kyle Samani, chairman of the board of Forward Industries, said the move allows them to fortify Solana’s resiliency and help ensure that it remains “the standard for institutional adoption” in decentralized finance (DeFi). Read more
Solana pulled in $2.85 billion in annual revenue across DeFi, AI and trading apps, as institutions push the network into mainstream finance. Solana generated $2.85 billion in revenue over the past year, according to a new report from 21Shares, driven by trading platform activity. Between October 2024 and September 2025, Solana averaged about $240 million in monthly revenue, peaking at $616 million in January during the memecoin boom led by tokens like Official Trump (TRUMP). But even after the frenzy cooled, monthly revenue was between $150 million and $250 million. Solana validators earn revenue from fees on transactions. Over the past year, revenue from fees flowed from across the ecosystem, including decentralized finance (DeFi), memecoins, AI apps, decentralized exchanges, DePIN, launchpads and trading tools. Read more
SOL traders continue to position in the altcoin in anticipation of a potential ETF approval by the SEC. How high could Solana’s price go if spot ETFs are approved? Key takeaways: Traders continue to take positions in SOL as the ETF trade extends to a new level. SOL’s bull flag pattern suggests a rally to $290 to $345 is possible. Read more
How Pump.fun’s one-click minting, bonding-curve graduation and locked liquidity drove Solana’s memecoin dominance: the risks and metrics to watch next. One-click minting, bonding-curve “graduation” and locked LPs concentrated liquidity, pushing Pump.fun’s share to 75%-80% at its peak. Launches and fees are cyclical. After plunging 80% from January highs, activity snapped back by late August. Rivals (LetsBonk, HeavenDEX, Raydium LaunchLab) can flip share in the short term with fees or incentives, but network effects often pull activity back. Read more
Bitwise’s Matt Hougan said Solana’s speed and finality make it Wall Street’s top choice for stablecoins and tokenization despite Ethereum’s dominance. Chief investment officer of crypto asset management firm Bitwise, Matt Hougan, thinks Solana will be the Wall Street network of choice for stablecoins and real-world asset tokenization. “I think Solana is the new Wall Street,” said Hougan, speaking with Solana Foundation’s Akshay BD on Oct. 2. He added that the Wall Street audiences consider Bitcoin (BTC) “very ephemeral” and “hard to get their heads around.” They can see what is happening in the stablecoin and tokenization space, and they know that it is going to be “enormously significant,” he said before adding, “Really important people are saying that stablecoins will reinvent payments and tokenization will reinvent stock, bond, commodity, and real estate markets.” Read more
Solana CME futures open interest hit $2.16 billion as ETPs drive $500 million inflows. With institutions accumulating while retail stays cautious, are institutions quietly leading the charge? Key takeaways: CME open interest for SOL hit a record $2.16 billion, signaling strong institutional activity. Retail traders remain cautious after $307 million in liquidations, keeping leverage muted. Read more
BNB, Solana, and Dogecoin flashed strong bullish signals as “Uptober” momentum fuels hopes for further gains in the cryptocurrency market. Key takeaways: BNB, SOL, and DOGE show strong “Uptober” momentum, with upside targets at $1,480, $250, and $0.31, respectively. Failure to hold key trendlines could result in a pullback for BNB to $835. Read more
Bitwise’s Hunter Horsley says Solana’s shorter unstaking period gives it an advantage over Ethereum in the race for staking ETFs, as US regulators prepare key decisions in October. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley says Solana may gain an edge over Ethereum in the staking exchange-traded fund (ETF) market, pointing to its design as more favorable for investors. Speaking with Cointelegraph editor Andrew Fenton at Token2049 in Singapore, Horsley argued that Solana’s quicker unstaking period gives it an advantage over Ethereum. For instance, Ethereum’s withdrawal queue recently reached new highs, while Solana’s typically clears faster. Horsley said that difference matters for issuers who must be able to return assets to investors quickly. “It’s a huge problem,” Horsley said. “The ETFs need to be able to return assets on a very short time frame. So this is a huge challenge.” Read more