Howdy!

Nothing like having a tire explode on the side of the highway at sundown to make you reflect on life's most philosophical questions. Like: Why do Teslas have no spare? And how have we, as a species, gone so long allowing towing companies to give literally zero ETA for their arrival time?

Anyway, today we’re covering Solana’s quiet pivot to utility, the validator share shock from SIMD-0096, and a token sale that could reshape blockchain infrastructure.

Let's get into it!

Midweek markets: Utility rising

Solana is waffling around the $130 mark after a dip under $123 earlier this week. And we seem to be trailing the broader market hokey pokey around the ongoing Trump tariff drama and bitcoin's rejection below $88k. 

But a more compelling story might be bubbling beneath this modest recovery's surface.

Solana has been in cooldown mode for a while now, following its record-breaking Q1 surge driven by election euphoria and memecoin speculation. Daily network fees have plunged more than 97% from their January peak. Transaction volume has cratered. Even the retail-magnet pump.fun is fatigued: Fewer than 1% of new tokens now reach tradable status, and bonding levels are at their lowest since January.

But the cooldown isn't a collapse. Not yet. It looks more like a recomposition, actually. The memecoin tide is receding in the wake of fresh Solana protocols like Zeta Market's dedicated trading layer Bullet, BlackRock's tokenized $BUIDL fund, and Solana-based Zebec Network's crypto debit card. None of these are really designed for peak virality. They're just useful. It's crazy, I know, but they actually have genuine utility. Madness.

Meanwhile, Solana ETF filings from Fidelity and Franklin Templeton are advancing. Institutional futures products are live. BlackRock is onboarding real-world dollars. Solana's uptime is still perfect. Validator diversity is holding. It's actually wild that the price hasn't caught up with all the good news yet.

Technically, SOL is hanging on to a key support zone. Recent price drawdowns mirror the drop in activity, even as the foundation underneath looks sturdier and sturdier. The only thing that's really changed is that the speculative froth is gone. But what's left behind is evidence of structural integrity.

Now, all we need is the façade: tools, platforms, utilities and apps that solve real problems — but wear the same chaotic, meme-dripping, degen-vibe game-feel that brought the whole world to Solana in the first place. The pipes are ready; we just need to get the milk and honey flowing.

My best guess is that the next upcycle will belong to whoever figures out how to make actual usefulness feel like irreverent mischief.

— Jeff Albus

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Solana token holders in March got their smallest ever proportion of monthly Solana REV.

This is mainly due to the implementation of SIMD-0096, a new Solana feature whereby 100% of priority fees go to validators, rather than half being burned. Fewer “burned” tokens means more inflation and validators benefiting at the relative expense of token holders.

It’s tough out there for token holders.

— Jack Kubinec

DoubleZero, the buzzy fiber infrastructure for blockchain startups, announced it will be holding a token sale for validators on Solana, Aptos, Avalanche, Celestia and Sui from April 15-22.

DoubleZero just raised $28 million at a $400 million valuation in a highly competitive venture round for a new internet optimized for blockchains. Put simply, the DoubleZero network intends to use dormant fiber to help with filtration and connectivity services for validators, so blockchain consensus can happen faster and handle more data. When there’s crypto venture money, a token often follows. The ticker is 2Z.

DoubleZero also put out a memo on the cost of its services noting it would charge network participants 5% of consensus-related revenue streams, which it says aligns with “current Solana commission rates.” It also argues the flat percentage fee model encourages network growth and aligns incentives between DoubleZero and blockchain validators. 

The validator token sale — which is only open to accredited investors — is being facilitated through CoinList. It’s the token distribution platform’s first US sale since 2019.

— Jack Kubinec

A message from Arun Krishnakumar, head of institutional growth at Kamino: