Author: Aniket Verma

Solana SOL/USD sustained its upward momentum Thursday overnight, as cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. COIN scaled up its infrastructure to support faster, smoother SOL transactions.

What happened: SOL rose over 3% over the previous day, becoming the most successful among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. The rally came despite a 20% drop in trading volumes in the last 24 hours. 

The sixth-largest cryptocurrency hit an intraday high of $135.91, its highest in nearly three weeks. Its weekly gains widened to 18.13%, outpacing Bitcoin BTC/USD and Ethereum ETH/USD.

See Also: Solana Breaks Free From Bitcoin, Ethereum Lag After Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest Accumulates New SOL Staking ETF

The latest spike comes after Coinbase upgraded its system, enabling a 5x improvement in transaction throughput, among other enhancements for Solana.

“These improvements enable faster, more reliable sends and receives, reinforcing our commitment to provide industry-leading performance and reliability for our users,” the exchange said.

Additionally, Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest increased its exposure to 3iQ Solana Staking ETF (SOLQ.U ), scooping an additional 475,000 shares of the newly launched investment vehicle in Canada.

Listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the ETF shares closed 0.87% higher at $10.43 on Thursday.

Price Action: At the time of writing, SOL traded at $134.96, up 3.25% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro. 

Shares of Coinbase were down 0.02% in after-hours trading after closing 1.64% higher at $175.03 during Thursday’s regular session.

Coinbase is now placed among high-growth stocks in the Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings. Click here to analyze other cool metrics about the stock.

Photo: Lee Wa Da/Shutterstock

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Solana SOL/USD defied the standstill in other large-cap cryptocurrencies on Wednesday following the impressive launch of its exchange-traded fund in Canada.

What happened: The sixth-largest digital asset by market capitalization spiked nearly 3% in the last 24 hours, outgaining higher-valued coins such as Bitcoin BTC/USD, Ethereum ETH/USD, and XRP XRP/USD.

Solana’s trading volume soared 32.76% to $4.37 billion, making it the fifth-most transacted cryptocurrency in the last 24 hours.

Speculative interest in the coin has also increased, with more than half of Binance traders with an open contract betting on SOL’s price increase, according to Coinglass.

See Also: Cathie Wood Calls It ‘Financial Services Revolution’ After Ark Analyst Highlights DeFi’s Dominance Over Traditional Banking System

Why It Matters: The positive sentiment followed the debut of the 3iQ Solana Staking ETF on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the shares of which closed 3.40% higher at $10.34 on Wednesday.

Backed by Anthony Scaramucci-managed Skybridge Capital, among other notable investors, the ETF exposes investors to the price moves of SOL while also generating passive rewards through staking.

Notably, Ark Invest, the investment firm led by well-known investor Cathie Wood, purchased 500,000 shares of the ETF.

It’s worth remembering that Ark is a known investor in cryptocurrencies, with its focus on the  “Big Three,” namely, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.

While U.S. regulators have yet to approve any Solana ETFs, asset managers including VanEck, Bitwise, and Grayscale have filed applications. 

As of this writing, Grayscale operates its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC and Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF ETHE on Wall Street. Visit Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings to check out their latest momentum and growth-related metrics.

Price Action: At the time of writing, Solana traded at $129.81, up 2.89% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Year-to-date, the cryptocurrency was down 30%.