Is Solana (SOL) the best pick among the layer 1 blockchains outside of bitcoin, or is it Ethereum (ETH)? With $SOL currently up 500% against $ETH since mid-2023, the upward trend for $SOL looks set to continue.
$SOL vs $ETH
The argument rages on across social media. Ethereum is the big daddy among all the cryptocurrencies, and is second only to bitcoin in market capitalization, with $356 billion to its name. Solana ranks down in 5th position with a mere $60 billion in market capitalization - almost six times less than ethereum.
Of course, the Ethereum network has been proven to be a lot more secure than the Solana network over the years, and Solana has had its problems with outages. Therefore, also given that it has the first-mover advantage, surely Ethereum will end up winning the race?
That said, the problem for ethereum is that in one of the most important metrics, Solana is winning hands down. Comparing transactions on Solana as opposed to Ethereum, the difference is currently 28 million compared with 1 million, in favour of Solana. That is a BIG difference.
Also, one only has to use the Solana network to know that the speed and cost of transactions are worlds apart. It’s no good maintaining that layer 2s will make up this difference for Ethereum. The Solana layer 1 already does this, and with its new validator client Firedancer to be launched later this year, the gap is just going to keep widening.
$SOL up 500% against $ETH
Source: Coingecko/TradingView
The above chart for the SOL/ETH pairing shows just how badly $SOL was beaten down throughout 2022. However, a double bottom took place in the first half of 2023, and the trend has been up ever since then. At one point in mid-March, $SOL was up 730% against $ETH. After coming back to retest the uptrend, $SOL is looking to go higher again, and a new high against $ETH looks to be on the cards, perhaps in the next few months.
SOL/USDT looks bullish
Source: Coingecko/TradingView
Looking at the SOL/USD pairing on the weekly time frame, it can be seen that $SOL looks to have reclaimed the support at $137, after falling as low as $118 only yesterday. The resulting long wick down looks quite bullish for $SOL, and Sunday’s closing weekly candle will show whether a trend reversal is now in play.
$SOL, rather than $ETH, definitely looks like the better option for the rest of this bull market. Yes, if the Ethereum Spot ETF is approved by the SEC, we are likely to see a surge in the $ETH price, but overall, from a fundamental, as well as a technical analysis viewpoint, Solana certainly looks to have more than an edge.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
