As crypto gains momentum, Solana and XRP shine

AT A GLANCE:

• Solana and XRP offer ultra-fast transactions and efficient cross-border payment use cases.
• As the coin prices fluctuate, CME Group has launched four new futures contracts to give market participants more choice in managing market risks.

Demand for SOL and XRP, two increasingly popular cryptocurrencies, could increase as a string of spot ETFs seek SEC approval this year, according to analysts.

The world’s sixth-largest cryptocurrency, SOL’s price is poised to rise in the near-to-medium term, they say, as users value its high transaction speeds and low costs.

Boosting momentum for the coin, Blackrock announced in March that it will launch its BUIDL money-market fund on the Solana blockchain, providing investors with a new alternative to trade tokenized assets. 

The move marked “an important step in the continued institutional adoption of tokenized real-world assets [RWAs],” said Carlos Domingo, CEO and co-founder of Blackrock partner Securitize, in an X post at the time.

“Solana’s high throughput, low costs, and scalability make it an ideal blockchain to support institutional-grade RWAs [worth around $20 billion, according to RWA.xyz],” Domingo added. 

Investor Matthew Tuttle said Blackrock’s action was a big vote of confidence on Solana’s future, even though Blackrock already runs BUIDL on other networks such as Ethereum, Avalanche and Polygon.

“You are going to see other funds do the same thing [tokenize assets on Solana] so this is a huge development,” Tuttle added. 

With around 3.25 million users, SOL was trading at roughly $180 as of mid-August, far from a $294 all-time high this January. 

The digital asset, however, is significantly up since its inception in 2020, as it’s become a favorite place for developers to launch DeFi (decentralized finance), non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other Web3 applications.

A catalyst for Solana could come if the SEC approves a spot ETF, alongside potential approvals for XRP spot vehicles and a growing list of similar funds for Litecoin, Doge and Polkadot. 

Some of Wall Street’s biggest names, notably Grayscale, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, VanEck, 21 Shares and Bitwise have applied for Solana and XRP ETFs. Analysts had widely expected final decisions to come in October though some note they could arrive sooner, as the SEC asked all ETF applicants to update their S-1 forms in mid-June. 

Greg Benhaim, head of product and trading at digital asset manager 3iQ, agreed the arrival of a spot ETF could boost SOL’s price. However, the coin’s long-term appeal could depend on how it improves the Solana blockchain to better compete with Ethereum.

“The real game-changer for Solana will be to develop a ‘killer application’ that everyone needs,” Benhaim noted. “This would have to be better than what Ethereum did when it introduced DeFi applications enabling people to borrow against or lend their crypto assets in 2015.”

Added Benhaim: “The most positive scenario for Solana is that their token gets adapted by major apps with real-world use cases.”

Some analysts have lofty hopes for Solana, billed as the world’s fastest blockchain handling 2,000-3,000 transactions per second.

XRP, meanwhile, has established a strong following by becoming a leader in quick and affordable cross-border payments. Its RippleNet financial network, for instance, is currently being used by 300 financial institutions including Bank of America, Santander, Standard Chartered and American Express. 

Powered by its Ripple coin, its blockchain acts as a “bridge currency” to facilitate fast international money transfers between financial institutions with fractional-penny fees ($0.0002) that settle in just three to five seconds, analysts say. This is a significant leap from similar systems such as SWIFT, where transactions can take days and cost over $50, according to experts. 

“XRP has a great use case for cross-border transactions that are much faster and cheaper than ETH or BTC, as well as a strong and trusted management,” said Roxanna Islam, head of crypto research at ETF research and indexing provider TMX VettaFi. 

Crucially for Ripple, the SEC recently ruled Ripple is not a security but rather a commodity and does not need to abide by securities legislation.

While it’s still expected to pay a fine, the upcoming settlement has alleviated some concerns around XRP, which has soared in the past year to trade above $3.00 as of mid-August.

Islam expects the potential for upcoming ETFs could take the crypto market to new heights.

“The outlook for crypto is pretty positive, especially for the latter part of this year,” said Islam. 

While a potential XRP ETF may not be a showstopper in terms of inflows (ETH spot ETFs, for instance, have failed to meet their funding targets), they will continue to diversify the pool of investments linked to digital assets.

In that vein, futures are emerging as a way to manage risks around altcoins. CME Group recently launched SOL and XRP futures—available in both a large and micro-size, adding to their existing Bitcoin and Ether derivatives suite and giving institutional and retail investors another way to participate in this growing market. In late July, SOL and XRP futures hit their highest daily volumes since launch reaching 12,565 contracts and over 4,700 contracts respectively, as open interest continues to climb.

Diversification within crypto appears to be a growing trend. Islam said a slew of “crypto basket ETFs” looking to track the real-time price of a range of top coins, are coming to the fore.

Already, Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF and Franklin Templeton’s Crypto Index ETF are looking to diversify beyond tracking Bitcoin and Ethereum spot prices. Hashdex, for instance, has said it wants to add Litecoin, Cardano, Link, Avalanche and Uniswap to its fund. 

“These one-stop vehicles incorporating several cryptos such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and/or Litecoin, are going to proliferate,” Islam said.

CME Group futures are not suitable for all investors and involve the risk of loss. Full disclaimer. Copyright © 2025 CME Group Inc.