Howdy!

It’s time to scour your X bookmarks for bearish crypto takes to quote tweet with the caption “aged like milk.” It’s a good week for people’s wallets but an even better week for winning social media debates.

In today’s edition, we have SOL price action, memecoin fees, and crypto in the USA.

SOL crosses $220, eyes fresh all-time high

Soak it all in, SOL holders. 

Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election ignited a crypto market rally. SOL reached a nearly three-year high Monday morning, crossing the $220 mark for the first time since early December 2021. The asset’s market capitalization also set a new record, crossing $104 billion for the first time, according to CoinGecko data. 

Solana’s chief rival ETH has been an even bigger beneficiary of the election pump, rising some 26% since Trump declared victory in the wee hours of the morning on Wednesday, compared to an 18% jump for SOL. Bitcoin is up 13% in that span.

For the last several months, sources cited the election outcome repeatedly as a potential catalyst for SOL. The crypto industry has operated largely in a legal gray area in the US under the oversight of SEC Chair Gary Gensler, and Trump courted crypto voters and donors with the promise of a more friendly regulatory regime. 

Solana, which has spent 2024 trying to establish itself as part of a “big three” in crypto assets next to bitcoin and ether, arguably had the most at stake in the election out of any of them. In approving spot bitcoin and ether ETFs for trading this year, the SEC acknowledged both assets as commodities, meaning they can be bought and sold without running afoul of stricter securities trading laws. SOL, on the other hand, is one of a handful of assets the SEC currently paints as securities in its ongoing lawsuit against Coinbase. 

Being formally declared a crypto asset security by the SEC could present an existential risk for SOL, because the agency has been loath to let US firms register as broker-dealers who could facilitate crypto securities trading. In other words, SOL (and the several other alleged securities tokens) could have been functionally cut off from trading in the US, where some 60% of the world’s equity markets live.

M^0 chief growth officer Jacob Laufer cited SOL’s lingering securities law status getting resolved alongside the approval of pending spot SOL ETFs as sources of optimism surrounding Solana.

With friendlier regulators, SOL could be “poised” to capture institutional interest alongside the retail interest it has already drawn, Laufer said. Solana continues to be the top venue for memecoin trading, with the launchpad pump.fun topping $1 million in daily trading fees every day since Oct. 13.

With SOL now sitting at around $220, traders will be looking toward $260, roughly the all-time high the asset set in November 2021. In comments to The Block this weekend, an analyst from Standard Chartered called a fresh SOL peak by the year’s end “inevitable.”

— Jack Kubinec

The magic number is now 29:

The Solana memecoin launchpad pump.fun has now raked in more than $1 million in fees for 29 consecutive days starting on Oct. 13.

A million-dollar day used to be an occasional accomplishment for the platform until an AI-themed memecoin trading frenzy and the presidential election put the platform’s usage into overdrive.

— Jack Kubinec

The times they are a-changin’ following Donald Trump’s recent US presidential win. Within days of the election, builders like Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko seemed ready to test whether the US might once again be a welcoming host for crypto events.

In recent years, regulatory crackdowns — primarily from the SEC — have pushed many crypto gatherings overseas, as organizers sought friendlier environments for legal compliance and easier access for international attendees. But with Trump’s win and promises of a more crypto-friendly approach, there’s renewed optimism that the US could open its doors to the industry once again.

Last week, Yakovenko floated the idea of hosting the next Solana Breakpoint conference stateside, signaling a potential shift in the landscape. Naturally, posters on X were quick to share their venue suggestions. @amirhaleem proposed a fitting location: “Solana Beach, CA. surely?” If that’s too obvious, @DavidRhodus has a more traditional venue in mind: “I don’t understand why all conferences aren’t automatically held in Las Vegas—it’s literally built for this.” Meanwhile, @rajgokal was feeling the patriotic angle, asking, “2026? America’s 250th birthday?”

@at_mwagner pleaded, “Just not Miami or NYC please. Do it on [a] west coast beach.” @solanasteve_ pitched Hawaii, saying: “Breakpoint in Hawaii would fit the narrative…Perfectly in between USA & Asia.” While @KarlMozurkewich kept the ideas flowing, suggesting options from Austin to Detroit, “or maybe…the White House?”

Yet, practical concerns linger, with @dxrxdy reminding everyone that “visas are hard for many builders. It always was an issue with Breakpoints in Europe, would be even harder in USA.”

— Jeffrey Albus

A message from Dermot McGrath, co-founder & chief of staff at Ryze Labs: