Solana has surpassed Bitcoin in growth since the beginning of the year and is second only to the regular cryptocurrency market leaders in terms of cryptocurrency market share

The rate of native blockchain token Solana (SOL) on March 18 reached its highest since December 2021, momentarily reaching $209+ on the Binance exchange when paired with the Tether USD (USDT) stablecoin.

The capitalization of SOL, according to CoinMarketCap, reached an all-time high of $89.4 billion. And that made the token the fourth largest crypto asset after bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and the USDT stablecoin. SOL’s previous capitalization high was $77.9 billion in November 2021.

Solana’s price has risen more than 100% since the beginning of the year. But the token is trading below its all-time high at $250, reached in November 2021 during the peak of the crypto market.

New Solana Records

On March 18, the SOL token overtook the BNB cryptocurrency from the Binance exchange in terms of capitalization, which had long been ranked fourth in the Coinmarketcap rankings.

Search queries for the word “Solana” reached the index of 100. And that is an absolute record in the five-year history of the cryptocurrency. The previous peak was recorded in early September 2021 – then the value of search activity was 84. Experts attribute the surge of interest in Solana to the SOL price exceeding the $200 mark.

Benjamin Stani, director of business development at Matrixport analytical company, linked the growth of SOL price to active trading of memcoins issued on the Solana blockchain.

Over the weekend, Solana surpassed Ethereum in trading volume due to increased interest in Solana-based memcoins. Trading volume on SOL reached $3.52 billion on March 16, according to data from DefiLlama. And that’s $1.1 billion more than the daily trading volume on Ethereum. However, the increase in activity has taken a toll on the network.

Our experts predict the coin to update the historic high, provided the rally in the cryptocurrency market continues. And expansion of the Solana blockchain application ecosystem.

ChatGPT bot plugin compatible with Solana network is open source and can be downloaded from GitHub

Solana Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to maintaining and developing the Solana blockchain. The company announced the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into it using the ChatGPT plugin developed at Solana Labs.

The project’s reputation suffered as a result of the collapse of FTX. Because the bankrupt exchange owned a large number of SOL native tokens. It also launched a decentralized exchange, Serum, on the Solana network. But the blockchain was able to survive its partner’s bankruptcy. According to CoinMarketCap, as of May 24, the Solana (SOL) native blockchain token ranks 11th in market capitalization ($7.7 billion) among all cryptocurrencies.

The new ChatGPT plugin is available for download from GitHub. It will help users simplify their understanding of Solana’s data and protocols. As well as get information about the network infrastructure and DeFi projects working in it. The plugin can be used to find and buy NFTs. And also token translation, transaction validation and other network activities.

The AI will make Solana more user-friendly, Yakovenko said. He noted that every developer should now think about how their programs will integrate with the AI. That’s because it’s a new paradigm for working with computers.

The Solana Foundation also said it has increased its grant program for AI projects from $1 million to $10 million. According to the developers, the foundation has already received 50 applications. In addition, the organization has launched a three-month experimentation program in blockchain and AI for university students.

Our experts note that Sol is not the first cryptoproject to introduce AI. In early March, Binance launched NFT generator Bicasso. The test version of the service issued 10,000 tokens in the first two and a half hours of operation.

Solana developers managed to get rid of associations with bankrupt FTX and Alameda. Our experts talk about the prospects of blockchain and its SOL token

The Solana eco systemic connection to the collapsed FTX exchange and the Alameda Research fund took a huge knock on its reputation. This is despite negative assessments from the community. As well as the departure of a number of projects to other blockchains and a decrease in the price of SOL token, the protocol itself managed to hold up. And new services are increasingly allowing to rid it of unwanted associations. The Solana network remains technically innovative. And it has seen an increase in activity, both in the number of developers participating in projects. Also by the amount of funds in the turnover of existing decentralized financial protocols.

The consolidation of the Solana community has made it possible to create a replacement for those ecosystem entities in which FTX or Alameda previously played a prominent role. For example, the decentralized exchange OpenBook succeeded Serum, a key liquidity provider for the ecosystem. Losing more than 96% of its value in 2022, the network’s native token Solana (SOL). Once again, judging by its capitalization growth, it looks attractive to investors.

Increasing liquidity in Solana

Record low transaction fees on the Solana network. This is one of the key factors contributing to its attractiveness for developers of DeFi- and NFT-platforms. As well as the expansion of these spheres in the cryptoindustry as a whole. In the case of Ethereum, even when using network scaling solutions such as Arbitrum or Optimism. Then almost any network interaction scenario will cost a few dollars per transaction. Which in itself is uncomfortable for the mass user and, as a result, slows down the spread of the technology.

It is possible to work comfortably with Solana platforms even at the lowest available liquidity, which is about $10 or less. Low network fees also matter for games and social networking applications. Which can run on the main Solana network without the need for any add-ons. Similar decentralized applications for Ethereum on Layer 2 blockchains are creating additional networks that meet the necessary requirements, such as Arbitrum’s Nova.

In February, the developers of the Helium Network protocol, with a market capitalization of more than $180 million, planned to move it to the Solana network at the end of March. But they later pushed it back to April, citing unpreparedness in the community. The postponement of the expected date had a negative impact on the price of the project’s native token (HNT), which plummeted more than 21% in the moment. However, if Helium’s transition to Solana does happen soon. The ecosystem will see an impressive influx of new liquidity. As well as additional activity from new community members.

The second significant recent event for the Solana ecosystem is the Grizzlython hackathon, the organizers of which have recently finished accepting applications. The contest has attracted 800 new projects, with up to $5 million in development funding. The success of even a small number of projects in this hackathon could lead to the emergence of innovative infrastructure products in the Solana ecosystem.

Price of SOL token

Despite the generally optimistic fundamental analysis. The technical indicators of the SOL price do not look bullish. The price of the coin failed several times to pass the resistance and consolidate above the level of $25. The asset is trading inside a symmetrical triangle pattern. And the next move could start with a rapid spurt after the price breaks above or below the triangle.

The closest level of support, which has stopped the price fall in 2023 more than once, is the $20 mark. More conservative and less risky purchases are possible at the next support level of $15-16. The lowest point from which we can predict an upward price movement in case of a new bear market or ecosystem problem. It could be the support level of $10, which on the daily timeframe also coincides with another indicator, Doji candle. Which indicates a change in the trend of the coin on January 1, 2023.

The situation on the chart of token in pair with BTC looks worse than in pair with dollar. The price has been in a distinct trend decline since January 15. For this chart the range of 0.00072-0.00073 BTC may be considered as a resistance area. The key area of purchases in case of a bearish scenario will be the range of 0.00064-0.00054 BTC. This also coincides with the value of the Doji candle indicator of the daily timeframe of January 1.

Weaknesses of Solana

A significant disadvantage of Solana is the excessive centralization of nodes for the sake of speed and network stoppages that have occurred in the past. Situations where developers shut down an entire blockchain are isolated and anomalous. Solana has had such cases more than once.

So far, no consensus has been reached on the way Bitcoin is represented on the Solana blockchain. Already, more than ten technically suitable tokens are competing for user liquidity. The previously used soBTC has been found to be out of business. And its exchange rate has long since decoupled from the Bitcoin price and is around the $1,000 per token mark. As a result, Solana’s financial protocols are almost completely devoid of liquidity pools paired with the main asset and flagship of the crypto sector. Even if the situation changes, the issue of the reliability of using BTC in Solana protocols will remain open.

Our experts note that competing blockchains with unique characteristics also continue to expand in the cryptosphere. The fast-growing Aptos, Sui and other blockchains could potentially replace Solana in the crypto market. Which use different programming languages from Solidity and similarly give users record-low fees and speed.

Cybercriminals send emails on behalf of Metamask cryptocurrency wallet support

New phishing attack targeting MetaMask crypto wallet users was detected by cybersecurity company Halborn. Scammers send a phishing link to your email. And they look like they were written to you by official Metamask support.

This email looks like a real message from MetaMask. It uses a logo of cryptocurrency wallet with a picture of a fox. And in this message there is a link to an open appeal to support. This email contains a demand to verify your wallet by August 30.

When user clicks on proposed link he is redirected to a scam site. Which is similar to MetaMask page. This site prompts the user to enter a Seed phrase (a unique set of words) from their wallet.

Team Halborn notes that their sender’s name and email address contain a spelling mistake. Their name is Metamaks instead of MetaMask. Scammers also use a fake domain (metamaks.auction) and a server unicarpentry.onmicrosoft.com. Which has nothing to do with the real wallet support service. Earlier in mid-July, FBI reported that American investors who used fake crypto-apps and websites. According to FBI data, 244 people were victims of scammers who created copies of web-pages and mobile wallets of famous companies.

Important

Our Crypto-Upvotes experts warn you. Never click on unverified links that you received to your email. Carefully read who sent you email and look for spelling mistakes in names or links you received. Because scammers use similar names of large companies. But they are different if you look closely and compare names. You should also go to official website of any company on behalf of which scammers have written to you. And check whether there are official important notices with any requirements for users. If there are no important announcements, you can delete this email. Remember an important detail, dear MetaMask users. Scammers can steal your funds. If only you tell them your secret Seed phrase. So never give this information to anyone.

Blockchain entertainment is not only fun, but also profitable. What options does play-to-earn open, and what are the prospects for the development of industry GameFi ?

GameFi are blockchain projects that allow profits for gaming experience: users earn profits for participating in game. All player items and rights become their property: characters, land, artifacts, clothing, and more.

Project developers choose the cryptocurrency for payments within the project. However, more often than not, each platform creates its own token. Some projects may require a small investment to start gaming activity, but mostly you just have to play.

There are other options for earning money at GameFi. NFT items can be sold. The price of game items will be higher the more popular a game is. You can also rent your virtual property. Or participate in tournaments or bet on the results of competitions. In some projects, you can put your earned coins in stacking.

Basic earning rules and how GameFi works

The main principle of earning in this industry is Play-to-Earn. Players are paid for what they play, which is either hours spent in the app or specific useful in-game actions. All schemes come down to a developer paying users to use their app. In this case, for the use of a project game. Depending on mechanics of these games, there may be slightly different ways of investing in such projects.

Our Crypto-Upvotes experts gave Axie Infinity as an example. In which to “multiply NFT characters” players need to spend in-game currency SLP. If player numbers continue to increase, it might be enough to buy such a token, in the hope that increased demand will drive up prices.

More critical investors can take part in gameplay. Then their earnings will come from the sale of game currency and newly obtained “characters”. There are many such games, but their principles are similar.

A recent trend on STEPN showed that projects actually create very different ‘something-to-Earn’ mechanics: run, jump, play, breathe and even have sex. But each project is unique in some way, and you have to study its history and perspective individually.

In some projects it is enough to buy control tokens. And somewhere the game will involve the investor in internal processes. For ordinary players everything is simple – they exchange their time for the developers’ money. One only needs to assess the risks if entering the game requires an initial investment to buy a starter set of tokens.

GameFi principles are not new, although the association of projects with blockchain has renewed interest in a whole industry. All principles of generating some profit existed before decentralization of games. In most cases, if a player gets something for free. Then money in this transaction is a player himself – his time, personal data, behavioral information, his attention, etc. All of this can be sold to analysts, advertisers, researchers, etc.

How to choose gaming projects to make a profit

First of all, it is better to pay attention to the major established projects with a large audience. For example: Axie Infinity, Alien Worlds,  CryptoBlades and many others. The tokens of these projects have the greatest liquidity, which will reduce risks from investing in them.

Another strategy could be to buy blockchain service tokens. In which most of the GameFi-projects are located. In addition to Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain, it is possible to buy more specific ones: WAX, EOS, KardiaChain, ThunderCore.

Our experts say that it is very dangerous to follow new projects without personal experience. Many of them are created for purposes of scams or financial pyramid scheme principles. Others may close due to bad business processes and external manipulation.

Our Crypto-Upvotes experts named promising projects where there is a strong gamer community with high involvement. This allows brands to integrate into gaming. Coins from game studios and native tokens from the top five most popular games are also worth considering.

Why it’s not a good idea to buy a rapidly growing asset and use highly leveraged debt. And under what conditions do most new users lose money because of Whales

Many cryptocurrency users believe that big investors, known as Whales. They use media hype and technical manipulation of cryptocurrency exchanges for their own profit. It is believed that the income received from such actions, Whales receive at the expense of losses of many smaller investors.

Crypto-Upvotes experts told us what schemes Whales use to manage prices in crypto markets. And how not to fall into a trap prepared by them.

Our experts tell us what manipulation schemes Whales use

Whales use the same schemes to manipulate the price of an asset. As do most famous investment funds or banks on the stock market. In exchange trading and speculation, psychological factors always matter. It is enough to leak FUD about problems of this or that crypto-platform. As their tokens begin to decline in price. Also our Crypto-Upvotes experts give an example of tweets of Elon Musk. After which the value of some “meme” cryptocurrencies quickly rises.

Another popular method of manipulation is through volume sales or purchases of assets. Selling can stimulate a decline in the value of BTC and other coins. Or be a signal that the price will start to fall. A large purchase of an asset by an institutional investor could be the result of insider information. And predict a rapid rise in price of coin.

There are quite a lot of opportunities to manipulate the price. Informedness of exchanges themselves allows Whales to create conditions for short-term price changes. Clients of some exchanges say that after making the first serious profit on margin accounts (futures contracts). They have problems with opening “sell stop” and “buy stop” orders. Which automatically and unnoticeably for trader change to other types of orders. For example when BTC quotes were balancing near $20,000. FTX clients began to complain about the inability to place buy orders below that level. Because their prices “are out of the range calculated by this platform”.

Another way to manipulate without direct sales. Is to create “walls” of buying or selling. By setting high volumes to sell at lower market limits. It forces those who want to sell to lower their prices quickly. After that price falls and the “wall” goes even lower. In fact, Whale is not even directly involved in trades in this scheme. But he provokes other traders to conduct transactions under much worse conditions for themselves.

How not to fall into trap prepared by Whale and not to lose your money

A huge number of bull and bear traps are created specifically to take money from new investors. Therefore, investors without experience are advised to engage in long-term investments.

Therefore, we should not be focused on actions of large investors. You have to follow their actions, but don’t try to repeat all their actions yourself. That way there is less chance that Whales will use you for their own goals. And forcing you to buy or sell something. Make your own decision, not influenced by tweets from Elon Musk.

Crypto-Upvotes experts tell about variants of making money in unstable market

Now cryptocurrency market, like the global market, is in a bearish trend and many investors are losing their money. High inflation in developed countries, logistical problems because of COVID19, China, which has not recovered from a pandemic – all this has a very strong impact on markets.

For stock market, everything is quite clear: shares of high-tech sector will obviously continue to fall. But things are not so simple for cryptocurrencies.

Correlation of crypto market with stock indices has been high for the last two years. Consequently, BTC should fall in price. But cryptocurrency market is more open to manipulation by big investors. This means that now the “whales” will try their best to remove small traders from market. Who are trying to make money on the expected fall of BTC.

One of the options to make money in a volatile market is to open short positions on Bitcoin. Which is likely to renew its many-month lows. Although it’s showing growth right now. It is worth placing short orders considering that the cryptocurrency is a highly volatile asset. It can fall as well as jump in price by many percent in a day.

That’s what we’re seeing now: even though everyone was expecting bitcoin to fall. BTC suddenly began to rise and passed $21,000. So stops should be set higher. Although this involves some risk, if predictions do not come true.

In general, it is very risky to make short-term bets on an unstable market. It is better to choose a couple of assets that can be held for 2-3 years. In addition to bitcoin, we would add Ethereum to our investment portfolio. Which is preparing to switch to Proof-of-Stake. Solana is also worth adding to your portfolio. Because decentralized financial applications will clearly show an increase in liquidity and user base. And consequently, many projects will choose this blockchain for their projects.

Disclaimer

Crypto-Upvotes experts do not give investment advice. This material is published for informational purposes only. Cryptocurrency is a volatile asset that can lead to financial losses.

There are several questions about cryptocurrencies and BTC that are popular among newcomers to cryptoindustry. We explain what’s wrong with them and why it’s better not to ask them.

Those wishing to start interacting with cryptocurrencies often ask the same questions on the topic of buying a particular cryptoasset. It is these questions that are practically taboo in many communities professionally dealing with cryptocurrencies.

Considering such uncomfortable questions, as in case of damaging advice, will help to better understand how to do right. And also improve your understanding of the basics of investing and trading cryptocurrencies.

The most popular question: Buy BTC for $20,000 or not ?

Whether to buy BTC at $20,000 or similar questions about other crypto assets is the most popular question. It is impossible for professionals working with blockchain assets to answer such a question in one word or even a few sentences. For a satirical analogy, a fictional situation could be made. In which a person would walk up to a doctor on a street and ask if they should take a cough syrup. Without having proper information about an individual’s situation and some analysis of all available data. This doctor would not be able to answer yes or no to such a question.

Exactly the same situation for crypto experts and traders sounds questions about whether, for example, to buy ETH at $1,000. To answer such a question, a specialist will need to know a lot of information regarding the situation of a “new investor”. Does this new investor already own cryptocurrencies. If so, at what prices he bought. And is he familiar with the basic principles of investing and money management. Does he know all the risks of any crypto investments. Whether this investor is planning a short-term position or an investment in a long-term position and many other questions.

In order to correctly assess the situation and allocate the right share in the portfolio to a new asset for this investor. It is also desirable for a crypto expert to know the total amount of already existing and potentially possible crypto portfolio.

As you can see from the nature of questions, a conversation like this definitely won’t fit into a few sentences. This kind of communication also implies a certain level of trust between people. Which should be based on a mutually beneficial contract, or a friendly or family relationship.

Next popular question: Which project will go to the moon?

The next category of questions is requests for evaluation of certain investment ideas. Unfortunately, a lot of users are often ready to invest all 100% of their deposits in one project. Most often it is a new project advertised by marketers. And they don’t have even one reliable sector in their crypto portfolio – BTC, ETH, BNB, ADA, SOL, DOT and others.

Can a crypto expert definitely answer questions about investment attractiveness of this or that project? He can, but a detailed answer will definitely take more time. Than a conversation over a cup of coffee and will be more like an audit service – due diligence. Which includes drawing up an objective vision of an object of investment. Assessment of investment risks, a complex study of project activities and a complex check of crypto-market.

All of above mentioned applies to classic investing as well. However, in addition to these points, blockchain due diligence will also include research into where best to store crypto assets. As well as studying the issues of passive income through stacking. Or other similar mechanisms, if a long-term investment is planned.

Let’s make a conclusion

Having considered the most popular questions, we can conclude. That in most cases, if a person asking a question has a serious intention to start investing in cryptocurrency. He will need to take enough time to educate himself in this matter. Or take advantage of a paid consultation from a crypto specialist. It is also worth noting that professionals working with digital assets like to get new information from any source. Therefore, they will treat any question better if they add some interesting fact to it. Or their own observations on the market situation, made on the basis of their own research.

Another reason why traders and analysts do not like to give advice. It is hidden in the fact that any advice must be able to be realized. A newcomer receiving even an accurate signal to buy can do otherwise. And a simple situation for an expert will be catastrophic for a newcomer. Because of excessive manipulation of leverage. Or due to incorrectly set stop-loss and take-profit.

So, recommendation to buy BTC or other crypto asset at a certain price can lead to a lot of negative consequences. And a newcomer will then start accusing his failure of advice provided by a crypto-expert. If price goes up, but just a little. Then newcomers will say that they have not gained enough money. If price goes up, but not immediately, they will say that they could have bought cheaper. Even more predictable will be the reaction of an unprepared cryptocurrency buyer to long-term price moves below entry point before the start of growth. By the time growth starts, new trader will already sell everything at a loss. Therefore, our Crypto-Upvotes experts recommend to study everything carefully by yourself. And contact only professional cryptocurrency traders.

Now there are many blockchain-based Do-to-Earn platforms offering earnings for activity. Experts at “Crypto-Upvotes” told what prospects such startups have. And what risks for investors exist.

Do-to-Earn projects are becoming popular they allow you to earn from some action, from participating in a game to walking and swimming. Play-to-Earn projects are blockchain-based games where users get tokens for completing tasks. Upgrade their characters or breed pets.

There are projects that pay for singing (Sing-to-Earn), working with documents (Write-to-Earn), and even sleeping (Sleep-to-Earn). Learn-to-Earn platforms offer users to earn money by learning a foreign language.

Interest in such applications, fueled by marketers, is growing every day. Experts from Crypto-Upvotes discussed the prospects of this industry. And he discussed about risks that an investor may face when working with tokens of such projects.

Easy money or good marketing work that hides high risks

Every year people fall for the promises of big profits that such projects offer. Do-to-earn projects came from the gaming space. People bought items in games for status or utility in a game world, our expert told us.

The very phenomenon of Do-to-earn captures gamblers and lovers of easy money. This explains the variety of subspecies of decentralized games. Some projects due to the great hype of their project allow investors and players to stay in profit. When the whole cryptocurrency market has been in a bearish trend for several months. And the number of such projects and their various subspecies is growing very fast. But among newcomers in market, a significant part of startups are inherently unprofitable or even scam.And yet our experts are confident that success of these projects has short-term potential. And it is related only as long as a project has good marketing.

Is it possible to profit from Do-to-Earn, opinion of our Crypto Upvotes experts

The collapse of such projects is inevitable?

In 2021, this segment moved to a new stage – the promise of tokens for physical activity. For example, the most popular project is STEPN (an app where gameplay is built around digital sneakers in NFT form). Our expert asked some simple questions. “Why would a project pay for your physical activity? Why would it spend millions of dollars on advertising? Are project creators working at a loss to themselves. And dreaming that everyone in the world would improve their health?”.

The answers to these questions are very simple. As long as the project remains popular, users buy sneakers and tokens. And thousands of new people around the world pour their savings into the pyramid. But the collapse of such a project cannot be avoided. And whoever doesn’t manage to sell tokens at the right time will be at a huge loss.

Nevertheless, our expert thinks that you can make money on such a project and come out with a profit; the main thing is to sell in time. This is possible because millions of dollars are invested in the project, both retail investors and large players.

But the long-term perspective of such projects is doubtful. In his opinion, the profitability of such games is directly related to the liquidity of game tokens. Which, in turn, depends on adding new players to the project. Do-to-earn projects are very similar to classic “Ponzi schemes”. Although their profit distribution principle is different.

Such games continue to be profitable only as long as there is hype and media activity around them. They provide a sufficient influx of new users. But as soon as ATH is reached, a project can go down and never come back up again.

Solana released a Web 3.0 phone named “Saga” to appeal to a growing number of mobile phone users accessing digital assets.

Solana Labs has unveiled the “Saga” smartphone based on the Android operating system. “Saga” is a customized version of OSOM smartphone with built-in cryptocurrency wallet features. It will come pre-installed with Solana Mobile Stack. SMS a toolkit that allows you to create decentralized applications for mobile phones.

And so we found out that this smartphone will allow you to store digital assets and NFTs, sign transactions, and pay for purchases through Solana Pay. But it won’t just be a mobile phone. This device will support Solana-based apps and will have its own dapp Store. Solana Labs has said it intends to develop Saga ecosystem with partners like NFT marketplace Magic Eden, DeFi-platform Orca and wallet Phantom.

Also according to Solana website, this device features a 6.67-inch OLED display, 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage space. The smartphone is based on Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset.

Also SMS toolkit supports the Seed Vault secure storage protocol for private keys. This latter puts them in a special enclave, separated from the wallet, applications and operating system. Solana Labs explained that SMS provides developers with a set of libraries and APIs that allow them to create decentralized mobile applications for Android devices. Solana Mobile Stack is already available for download on GitHub.

Want to buy this smartphone now? It is possible and our Crypto-Upvotes team found out how to do it.

“Saga” is expected to go on sale in early 2023 at a price of $1,000. Our experts found out that it is already possible to place a pre-order for 100 USDC – this amount will be deducted from the full price of smartphone, it is also already known will first be released in USA, Canada, EU and UK markets. So with an estimated price of $1,000. Saga mobile phone will compete with flagship models from Apple, Samsung and other mobile phone companies. With a strong ecosystem of software developers who can develop alternative Web 3.0 applications.