Nasdaq-bound: Solana faces volatility

June 19, 2025

Reading time: 5 minutes

Solana wobbles near $145 as SOL Strategies files for Nasdaq listing

Key points:

  • Solana hovered around $145 amid weak momentum, as accumulation trends clashed with bearish market sentiment.

  • SOL Strategies, holding over 420,000 SOL, filed to list on Nasdaq, positioning itself as a bold institutional bet on Solana’s long-term potential.

News - Solana continued consolidating near the $145 demand zone this week, with technical indicators signaling growing downside risk. The asset’s price action has flattened, failing to reclaim resistance above $150. Support at $144 is seen as critical—any break below this level could expose SOL to deeper losses around $140 or even $135, according to technical analyses.

Despite subdued price movement, investor confidence in Solana remains resilient. Data showed a strong accumulation trend over the past three months, with only one instance of net selling. The Network Value to Transactions (NVT) ratio also declined, signaling balanced network activity that could support long-term growth.

A bold institutional bet on Solana - Amid these conditions, Canadian investment firm Sol Strategies, already listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the ticker HODL, filed a Form 40-F with the U.S. SEC to list on Nasdaq under the symbol STKE. The company currently holds over 420,000 SOL (worth approximately $61–72 million), with a large portion staked through its validator infrastructure.

SOL Strategies recently raised $500 million through convertible notes and filed a $1 billion shelf prospectus in Canada. If approved, the Nasdaq listing could give U.S. investors exposure to Solana-focused public equity for the first time. Analysts called the move a “bold bet” on Solana’s infrastructure and long-term viability.

Derivatives market and technical outlook - The derivatives market showed signs of stress, with $6 million in long liquidations in the past 24 hours and a bearish long-to-short ratio of 0.98. Open Interest rose slightly to $6.6 billion, while trading volume declined 11.5%, reflecting market indecision.

Key resistance levels to monitor lie at $148.7, $154.3, and $158.6. If SOL breaks through with volume, it could signal a bullish reversal. But a failure to hold above $144 may trigger a sharp correction toward $135 or lower.

Stablecoin Summer begins: GENIUS Act spurs dollar dominance hopes

Key points:

  • The GENIUS Act’s Senate approval fueled a surge in Coinbase and Circle stock prices and may spark a 10x boom in the stablecoin market.

  • Treasury Secretary Bessent and Trump backed the bill, calling stablecoins vital to U.S. financial supremacy amid regulatory uncertainty.

News - The U.S. Senate’s 68-30 passage of the GENIUS Act this week reignited bullish momentum for stablecoins, with Coinbase stock jumping 16% and Circle rising nearly 34%. The bill, now heading to the House, sets the stage for formal federal regulation of dollar-pegged stablecoins, mandating full reserves, AML checks, and strict issuer protections.

President Trump called on lawmakers to fast-track the bill to his desk “ASAP — NO DELAYS,” while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared that “stablecoins can reinforce dollar supremacy,” urging Congress to stop stalling on crypto. Bessent emphasized that stablecoins could become major buyers of U.S. Treasuries and a key lever of global dollar use.

A new era for stablecoins? - Analysts predict a “Stablecoin Summer” is around the corner. Delphi Digital reported that stablecoin supply surpassed $250 billion, locking over $120B in Treasuries. Tether and Circle dominate with 86% market share, but new entrants like Ethena and First Digital Labs are rising.

Coinbase and Circle stand to benefit the most. With Circle’s USDC reserves generating high interest revenue and a deep integration with Coinbase, analysts like Pompliano see Wall Street’s growing appetite for crypto infrastructure as clear validation.

Challenges and political tensions - Despite optimism, concerns remain. Critics warn the Act’s ties to Trump’s crypto interests, particularly his USD1 stablecoin, could erode trust. Legal experts also flagged potential regulatory gaps and liquidity sink issues from overexposure to Treasuries.

Still, the GENIUS Act signals the clearest legislative intent yet to anchor stablecoins in the U.S. financial system, reshaping crypto’s role in global payments.

Bitcoin vs. Quantum: Project Eleven’s $6M firewall

Key points:

  • Project Eleven has raised $6 million to launch Yellowpages, a post-quantum cryptographic registry safeguarding Bitcoin against quantum threats.

  • The initiative offers a consensus-free fallback for wallet ownership, as experts warn Bitcoin's exposed public keys could be cracked within a decade.

News - In a bold step to preempt quantum computing’s threat to Bitcoin’s cryptographic core, Project Eleven has secured $6 million in funding from Variant Fund, Quantonation, Castle Island Ventures, and others. The startup’s flagship product, Yellowpages, enables users to link their current Bitcoin wallet to a quantum-resistant key, creating a verifiable paper trail that could prove ownership if elliptic curve cryptography is ever broken.

Unlike protocol-level solutions like QRAMP that require hard-fork consensus, Yellowpages operates off-chain and demands no blockchain upgrade, making it a low-barrier tool for preparing ahead of what Project Eleven dubs “Q-Day”—the theoretical moment quantum computers can break Bitcoin’s cryptographic foundations.

Why it matters - More than 10 million BTC addresses with exposed public keys could be vulnerable in a post-quantum world, accounting for over $600 billion in at-risk holdings. Yellowpages allows users to generate hybrid key pairs and timestamp them publicly, offering a proactive defense without moving funds.

The U.S. NSA and NIST aim for quantum resistance by 2035, with experts warning Bitcoin’s slow governance process could be a liability. “By the time the threat is real, it’s already too late,” warned Presto Research’s Rick Maeda.

Not everyone’s convinced - Some Bitcoiners, including MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor, remain skeptical. “If quantum breaks Bitcoin, it breaks banks too,” he noted, suggesting companies like Google and Microsoft wouldn’t commercialize such tech irresponsibly. But Project Eleven believes economically motivated attackers would likely target Bitcoin first.

Ohio greenlights crypto tax break: $200 exemption clears House

Key points:

  • Ohio’s House passed HB 116, exempting crypto transactions under $200 from capital gains taxes and legalizing residential crypto mining.

  • The bill also shields self-custody rights and exempts miners, stakers, and wallet providers from money transmitter laws.

News - Ohio has taken a major step toward mainstream crypto adoption. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed House Bill 116, the “Blockchain Basics Act”, in a 70–26 vote. The bipartisan bill now heads to the state Senate, where it could soon become law.

HB 116 would exempt crypto transactions under $200 from capital gains taxes, aiming to make everyday crypto spending more practical and tax-efficient. The threshold will adjust annually for inflation and cannot be reduced once raised.

Beyond tax relief, the legislation offers broad protections for crypto activity. It allows residential and industrial crypto mining, so long as local ordinances are met, and bars discriminatory zoning changes against mining operations. Notably, it also prohibits any rule that prevents individuals from using or storing digital assets via self-hosted or hardware wallets.

According to bill sponsor Rep. Steve Demetriou, HB 116 establishes “a common-sense regulatory framework” for blockchain innovation. “We’re getting ready to show the country that Ohio is ready to embrace the future,” he told lawmakers before the vote.

Legal clarity for miners and wallet providers - The bill affirms that crypto-related activities like mining, staking, running nodes, or crypto-for-crypto swaps do not require a money transmitter license. Nor are they to be classified as securities or investment contracts—a direct challenge to federal regulatory ambiguity.

Ohio joins a national crypto push - HB 116 complements Ohio Senate Bill 57, which proposes the creation of a state Bitcoin reserve. The Buckeye State joins Arizona, New Hampshire, and Kentucky in accelerating state-level digital asset legislation. Supporters, including the Satoshi Action Fund, say Ohio could soon lead the charge in crypto-friendly governance.

Interesting facts

  • U.S. dominates Bitcoin hashrate: As of late 2024, the United States accounted for over 40% of global Bitcoin mining hashrate, establishing it as the world's largest mining hub. China maintained a notable presence (around 20% due to hidden operations), while Kazakhstan's share, previously around 14%, significantly dropped by early 2025 due to regulatory changes.

  • U.S. senate passes GENIUS Act for stablecoin oversight: On June 17, 2025, the U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan GENIUS Act (68–30 vote), establishing federal guardrails for stablecoins, mandating full backing with liquid assets and monthly reserve disclosures, marking a major step in crypto regulation.

  • Bitcoin mining gear goes local in the U.S.: Chinese manufacturers Bitmain, Canaan, and MicroBT, who produce over 90% of global Bitcoin mining rigs, are opening production lines in the U.S. to bypass tariffs and reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains.

Top 3 coins of the day

Raydium (RAY)

Key points:

  • At press time, RAY was trading at $2.25, reflecting a 9.4% increase over the last 24 hours.

  • The Parabolic SAR flipped below the candles, while the MACD histogram turned positive with a bullish crossover forming.

What you should know:

Raydium posted a strong daily gain, bouncing from the $2 level after a week of sideways consolidation. The rally was triggered by its listing on Upbit, South Korea’s largest exchange, unlocking significant Korean retail demand. The RAY/KRW pair alone drove a 682% spike in trading volume, helping the token reclaim its short-term range and spark a potential bullish reversal. On-chain fundamentals further supported the move. Raydium currently burns 12% of its protocol fees (around $78.7M/month) through a buyback program, steadily reducing its circulating supply. The protocol also boasts a high TVL of $1.86 billion and a revenue-to-market cap ratio that outpaces larger competitors. Technically, the Parabolic SAR flipped to a buy signal, while the MACD line crossed above the signal line and the histogram turned green. Volume surged in tandem, confirming strong bullish interest. If momentum continues, RAY could challenge the $2.52–$2.85 resistance range. A fallback toward $2.00 may still attract dip-buying interest, especially if Upbit-driven demand persists.

Chainlink (LINK)

Key points:

  • At press time, LINK was trading at $13.22, reflecting a modest 0.8% increase over the last 24 hours.

  • The Parabolic SAR hovered above the candles, while the Awesome Oscillator remained below the zero line despite a few green bars emerging.

What you should know:

LINK traded relatively flat with a slight upward move, attempting to recover from a mid-June drop that pushed the token below $14. The broader setup has shown signs of reversal, with LINK recently breaking out of a four-month descending channel and closing above its 200 EMA at $13.50—an event accompanied by a 20% spike in volume. Adding to bullish momentum, JPMorgan’s recent blockchain pilot leveraged Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) for tokenized asset settlement, offering strong validation for Chainlink’s role in enterprise-grade infrastructure. This institutional nod has helped boost retail optimism, as reflected in social dominance and a surge in development activity, including 557 GitHub commits in June alone. Still, the Awesome Oscillator remained in negative territory, though green bars hinted at slowing bearish momentum. Meanwhile, the Parabolic SAR continued to trail above the candles, suggesting LINK hasn’t yet secured a confirmed uptrend. A sustained close above $13.83 could clear the path toward the $15.40 zone. If LINK fails to hold the $12.80–$13 area, however, it risks retesting deeper support near $12.

Cardano (ADA)

Key points:

  • At press time, ADA was trading at $0.59, reflecting a 1% decline over the last 24 hours.

  • The RSI hovered just above the oversold zone at 33, while the Supertrend remained in a bearish stance, placing resistance at $0.71.

What you should know:

ADA extended its gradual downtrend, dipping below the $0.60 threshold after failing to reclaim the $0.70 mark in early June. This decline followed a breakdown below both its 10-day SMA ($0.65) and key pivot support at $0.60. A surge in the “Age Consumed” metric, indicating long-term holders offloading tokens, alongside a 270 million ADA whale sell-off in June, has further fueled bearish pressure. Adding to ADA’s struggles is a broader shift in market dynamics. Bitcoin’s rising dominance (now above 64%) has weakened liquidity across altcoins, while the Altcoin Season Index currently reflects a “Bitcoin Season.” Despite the technical weakness, social sentiment around Cardano has remained resilient—ADA recently won a bullish sentiment poll against XRP on X (formerly Twitter), and founder Charles Hoskinson is actively pushing new ecosystem initiatives. The RSI hovered near 33, suggesting deeply oversold conditions, though price action has yet to show a confirmed reversal. If ADA breaches the $0.59 level, algorithmic selling could drive it toward $0.56. Conversely, reclaiming $0.62 would be the first step in neutralizing short-term bearish momentum.

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