Solana catalysts: ETF, Firedancer, Alpenglow, network extensions
Post147 words
Bullish call$SOL−48%since this piece, moved against the callHow it played out ↓Lists Solana catalysts: spot SOL ETF filings, Firedancer, Alpenglow finality of 100-150ms in early 2026, Jito BAM, DoubleZero and network extensions like Bullet and Arcium. Concludes it may be the best bet among majors besides HYPE.
Key claims
Alpenglow brings 100-150ms block finality to mainnet in early 2026
Firedancer reached over 1M TPS in testing
21Shares filed to custody the first US spot SOL ETF
Solana has a bunch of strong catalysts cooking imo:
- SEC has recently approved a new regulatory framework and the filing by asset 21Shares to custody the first U.S. spot SOL ETF.
- Full release of Firedancer validator client (successfully achieved over 1 million TPS in testing) is expected in 2025.
- Alpenglow consensus upgrade (block finality of 100-150ms) hitting mainnet in early 2026.
- Continued ecosystem and infra innovation incl. @jito's BAM, @doublezero's global fiber network, etc.
- Network extensions like @bulletxyz (perp DEX appchain L2) or @Arcium (MPC-based confidential compute network) nearing mainnet (among others).
- Promising app layer launches on @solana L1 are loading, incl. Luminaries (memes), @meleemarkets (prediction markets) or @bulktrade (perp DEX)
- SVM developer count and mindshare are rising amid continued ecosystem growth also through SVM-based (app)chains like @fogo or @atlasxyz
Fundamentally, this might best bet among majors rn (aside HYPE).
How the call played out · since 28 Oct 2025
Prices as of 23 Oct 2026This piece takes a view on $SOL, so that move is read against the call.
A spot ETF filing, Firedancer, Alpenglow's 100-150ms finality and network extensions make SOL the best major bet besides HYPE.
−48%
Moved against the call · over 12 months
- At publication
- $198.73
- Now
- $104.08
- vs BTC
- −27%
- After 1 month
- −28%
- After 3 months
- −38%
- High since
- 0.0% 28 Oct 2025
- Low since
- −69% 07 Jun 2026
Since then
Zero has written 4 more pieces on Solana and $SOL since this one.
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- New vs returning wallets across Ethereum, Solana, NEAR, Polygon and SuiCovers $SOL
Daily closes in USD from DefiLlama and Yahoo Finance. Only a bullish or bearish call in a thesis or market take is tracked; explainers, lists, maps and mentions are neutral context. Not financial advice.