• Political developments in the United States will play a role in defining the trajectory of the cryptocurrency market in Q4 and beyond.

  • SOL and other unproven cryptocurrencies could lag behind ETH and BTC during a Harris presidency.

Solana [SOL] has been one of the best performing cryptocurrencies this year, trading around $105 at the start of the year before surging to over $200 in March. Although it has lost some traction since then, SOL is up 40% year to date and could see more gains in the fourth quarter.

A report compiled by Standard Chartered analysts this week highlighted SOL as one of the cryptocurrencies that could thrive if Republican candidate Donald Trump wins the U.S. presidential election in November.

Analysts led by Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital asset research, believe Solana will outperform Bitcoin and Ethereum by 2025.

In line with this view, the report supports that SOL prices could grow fivefold by the end of next year. The bank’s analysts cited a more favorable regulatory environment under the Trump administration that requires friendlier policies as one of the key bullish drivers.

While the bank expects cryptocurrencies to remain resilient regardless of the election outcome, the report states that SOL will lag behind BTC and ETH in spot market performance during the presidency of Kamala Harris.

Analysts believe that the two leading cryptocurrencies will perform better even in a stricter regulatory environment due to established infrastructure and institutional adoption.

Fundamental analysis paints a mixed picture

While ongoing political developments may play a key role in shaping SOL’s price trajectory, on-chain indicators do not necessarily support a bullish view.

Data from The Block’s Solana dashboard shows that the Solana network recorded a staggering 99.76 million new addresses in September, a new all-time high.

However, according to the data, the number of active wallets on the network has declined over the past three weeks after reaching a peak of 5.047 million on September 10.

Meanwhile, new accounts have also been trending downward over the past two months.

This opposing trend suggests weakening demand from market participants, raising questions about the sustainability of recent address growth.

On the other hand, daily non-voting transactions on the Solana network have also been declining since reaching 46.11 million on July 16. Notably, the daily non-voting transaction figure has been below 40 million since August 4.

This decline is further reflected in the monthly total of no-vote transactions, confirming a slowdown in network activity despite the surge in addresses.

SOL/USDT Technical Analysis

At the time of writing, Solana (SOL) is trading at $143, in line with its price action in a tight range between $120 and $162 since August 5, when the price was below $110.

Zooming in on the SOL/USDT chart, the pair continues to fluctuate within a unique pennant pattern that has been coiled for nine months. This pennant pattern suggests that significant price action could be in the cards this quarter.



It should be emphasized that this article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice.