Nyheter
Is Solana Following Ethereum’s Footsteps?
• Mixed Inflationary Signals vs. Bitcoin’s Correction
• Ethereum’s Dencun Upgrade and its Impact on Layer 2s
• Solana Nearly Surpassing ATH Across Multiple 2021 Metrics
Mixed Inflationary Signals vs. Bitcoin’s Correction
The U.S. economy continues to send mixed signals after a period of stability in the first two months of the year. As indicated by the PPI, wholesale inflation has surged to almost double expectations at around 0.6% versus the projected 0.3%, signaling increased price pressures. However, U.S. jobs data revealed unexpected resilience in the labor market, with 209K job losses instead of the anticipated 218K. Conversely, monthly wage growth slowed to 0.1% in February, the lowest in two years. Thus, although wage inflation appears to be tapering off, job growth is outpacing expectations, adding further nuances to the Fed’s mission of taming inflation while avoiding a recession. Further, stubborn inflation suggests that the current high-interest rate regime will persist longer. This underscores the need to monitor changes closely, as tighter monetary policies dampen risk appetite in financial markets while lower rates increase the allure of asset classes such as crypto.
The latest macro data is also relevant in light of BTC’s growing correlation with the S&P 500 since the ETF launch, as it allows institutional investors to treat Bitcoin akin to a tech stock, thereby amplifying its susceptibility to macroeconomic uncertainty. This factor could explain the temporary pause in BTC’s momentum after reaching an ATH amidst the recent mixed data. Nevertheless, it’s important to remember that corrections and sideways movements are healthy for Bitcoin’s market structure as they help to build a sustainable growth trajectory. On the brighter side, we expect a further influx of institutional capital into BTC, especially as Registered Investment Advisors begin accelerating the ETF approval process after their typical due diligence period. For instance, Cetera, a wealth management platform with $160B in AuM, is amongst the first to approve four ETFs for their clients, signaling broader acceptance of crypto in traditional portfolios.
Figure 1: BTC’s Correlation with S&P500
Source: The Block
Ethereum’s Dencun Upgrade and its Impact on Layer 2s
Ethereum’s long-anticipated Dencun upgrade has finally gone live on March 13. Following months of iteration to ensure that the network is ready to implement “blobs,” a new method for storing L2 transactions on Ethereum that would significantly reduce gas fees. Thus, although the Dencun upgrade doesn’t directly resolve Ethereum’s elevated fees, it alleviates the costs for scalability solutions built on top of it, such as Arbitrum and Optimism, by leveraging blobs. Less than one week following the upgrade, some Layer 2s already see more than a 90% decline in median gas fees from a month before, as shown in Figure 2. Nevertheless, we’ll continue monitoring closely, as if demand for blobs on Ethereum exceeds their storage or processing limit, the cost of utilizing them could escalate, leading to higher transaction fees across L2.
Figure 2: Dencun Upgrade Fee Comparison
Source: 21co
Although the market is adjusting to the upgrade, Ethereum declined by approximately 13% over the past week, while Optimism and Arbitrum dropped by 28% and 22%, respectively. We anticipate this volatility to persist in the coming month as the broader market takes a pause, influenced by macroeconomic factors discussed earlier, following months of positive price trends. Nevertheless, it is healthy for the market to slow down and undergo a deleveraging event after Ethereum’s open interest surged to an all-time high of $12 billion, surpassing the peak of November 2021 by $500 million. This correction is beneficial for readjusting overextended positions, curbing excessive risk-taking, and mitigating heightened volatility, particularly as we approach Q3, which will witness significant events such as the historic BTC halving event in April and the deadline for the SEC’s decision on the ETH ETF applications.
Solana Nearly Surpassing ATH Across Multiple 2021 Metrics
The recent market rally driven by BTC has led to a surge in user activity on the Solana network, reaching its highest levels in two years. While this surge is primarily fueled by a frenzy surrounding meme coins like WIF and politically themed tokens such as ”Tremp” and ”Boden,” it highlights a growing preference for Solana among new and retail users who find Ethereum’s high costs prohibitive. While the recent Dencun upgrade is expected to change this dynamic for ETH L2s, transaction costs on Solana still remain significantly lower at a fraction of the cent, attracting a large influx of new users.
For example, in the first three months of 2024, the network saw a monthly all-time high of 12-13 million new users joining, compared to a monthly average of 11 million during the heightened activity during the LUNA collapse. Additionally, daily active users have surged to 1.4 million, approaching 2021 levels of two million, while the network is on track to process double the peak transactional volume of 2021, with February recording $100T and March witnessing $60T so far, surpassing the previous peak in November 2021 of $55T. Thus, with minimal transaction fees and a plethora of tokens—over 6,000 launched daily, as shown below in Figure 3—it provides a clearer explanation for SOL’s soaring demand as users rush to purchase the token to access the network’s on-chain ecosystem, creating a reflexive demand for the token, akin to the impact on ETH during the ICO craze of 2017. The recent speculation has now pushed Solana’s market cap, not price, to break its ATH, hovering around the $90B mark while explaining why the network’s dexes are logging five times the total volume seen at the end of the last bull cycle while outpacing incumbents like Uniswap V3 on Ethereum.
Figure 3: Total Number of New Solana-Based Tokens (SPL) Created on a Daily Basis
Source: Solscan
This Week’s Calendar
Source: Forex Factory, 21Shares
Research Newsletter
Each week the 21Shares Research team will publish our data-driven insights into the crypto asset world through this newsletter. Please direct any comments, questions, and words of feedback to research@21shares.com
Disclaimer
The information provided does not constitute a prospectus or other offering material and does not contain or constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction. Some of the information published herein may contain forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. The information contained herein may not be considered as economic, legal, tax or other advice and users are cautioned to base investment decisions or other decisions solely on the content hereof.
- Michael Saylor’s bold Bitcoin bet and Strategy’s risk analysis
- Bitcoin price technical analysis: Where are the liquidation levels?
- What are real-world assets and why do we need tokenization?
Michael Saylor’s bold Bitcoin bet and Strategy’s risk analysis
Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) has amassed a staggering $43 billion in Bitcoin, positioning itself at the forefront of the corporate “reserve race.” Under the leadership of Bitcoin maximalist Michael Saylor, the company now boasts an $84 billion market cap. But with such an aggressive strategy, how sustainable is its approach—and what risks lie ahead? We break it down in today’s analysis.
Bitcoin price technical analysis: Where are the liquidation levels?
A drop below $72,000 could flush longs, while a breakout above $90,000 may squeeze shorts. One key positive indicator is that Bitcoin continues to print higher lows since March 10, which preserves a bullish market structure in our view. Dive into our technical analysis.
What are real-world assets and why do we need tokenization?
Imagine owning a slice of a skyscraper or a piece of fine art with just a few clicks. Tokenization, the act of converting ownership rights to real-world assets (RWAs) into tradable tokens, has surpassed $10 billion in on-chain value, unlocking global 24/7 access to once-exclusive markets with liquidity, efficiency, and yield. Find out how it works.
Research Newsletter
Each week the 21Shares Research team will publish our data-driven insights into the crypto asset world through this newsletter. Please direct any comments, questions, and words of feedback to research@21shares.com
Disclaimer
The information provided does not constitute a prospectus or other offering material and does not contain or constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction. Some of the information published herein may contain forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. The information contained herein may not be considered as economic, legal, tax or other advice and users are cautioned to base investment decisions or other decisions solely on the content hereof.
Since President Trump appointed Mark Uyeda as acting SEC chair two months ago, many investigations into crypto businesses have been dropped, as the SEC moves away from regulation by enforcement and works to create a framework for digital assets. As regulations become clearer and news flow turns more positive, crypto prices—which dropped sharply this week—should begin to better reflect the new regulatory landscape in the US.
We believe this regulatory shift could ultimately help trigger the next leg of the current bull run, as investors better understand the significance of regulatory clarity and seek to acquire bitcoin and altcoins at what we believe are currently very favorable levels.
Market Highlights
SEC Dismisses Crypto Enforcement Actions
The SEC dropped its enforcement actions against crypto-related companies Kraken, Consensys, and Cumberland DRW.
This indicates a shift in SEC’s regulatory approach, favoring clearer guidelines over enforcement actions. Such a pivot could foster a more predictable environment, encouraging innovation within the sector.
Banks to Engage in Crypto Activities
The FDIC has rescinded previous guidelines which prevented financial institutions from engaging with crypto activities without prior sign-off.
By removing bureaucratic hurdles, banks may more readily offer crypto-related services, potentially leading to broader adoption and integration of digital assets.
Bitcoin ETFs Inflow Streak Surpassed $1 Billion
US spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded a 10-day inflow streak exceeding $1 billion marking the longest such streak in 2025.
This underscores growing institutional and retail investor confidence in Bitcoin as an asset class that helps increase market stability and possibly paving the way for the approval of other crypto-based financial products.
Market Metrics
All NCITM constituents had negative performance last week, with XRP (-10.8%) and UNI (-10.7%) seeing the steepest declines. ETH also experienced a sharp drop (-9.1%), contributing to NCITM’s underperformance relative to BTC (-2.9%). The NCITM -4.2% decline reflects a broader risk-off sentiment in the crypto market, as investors reassess their positions amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties.
NCITM (-4.2%) extended its underperformance last week, deepening year-to-date losses. Traditional indices like the S&P 500 (-1.5%) and Nasdaq 100 (-2.4%) saw smaller declines. The gap between crypto and other risk assets continues to widen, while gold has emerged as the top performer in 2025, gaining nearly 20% amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties. This trend highlights a growing risk-off sentiment, with investors shifting toward defensive assets and away from high-volatility investments.
Michael Saylor’s bold Bitcoin bet and Strategy’s risk analysis
BSE0 ETF köper bara företagsobligationer med förfall 2030
US regulatory shift provides a beacon for optimism
BCFP ETF en ackumulerande fond som investerar i Nasdaq-100
21Shares ringer i klockan på Nasdaq Stockholm
Fonder som ger exponering mot försvarsindustrin
WisdomTree lanserar europeisk försvarsfond.
Warren Buffetts råd om vad man ska göra när börsen kraschar
Trumps återkomst får europeiska aktier att rusa
SAVR Global by Vanguard: Ett billigt alternativ till globala indexfonder
-
Nyheter1 vecka sedanFonder som ger exponering mot försvarsindustrin
-
Nyheter3 veckor sedanWisdomTree lanserar europeisk försvarsfond.
-
Nyheter1 vecka sedanWarren Buffetts råd om vad man ska göra när börsen kraschar
-
Nyheter3 veckor sedanTrumps återkomst får europeiska aktier att rusa
-
Nyheter4 veckor sedanSAVR Global by Vanguard: Ett billigt alternativ till globala indexfonder
-
Nyheter2 veckor sedanDe bästa börshandlade fonderna för tyska utdelningsaktier
-
Nyheter4 veckor sedanUtdelning i XACT Norden Högutdelande mars 2025
-
Nyheter2 veckor sedanEn av de mest nedladdade finansapparna i Sverige
