Solana (SOL) is currently in bearish territory. Prices are up at spot rates. The downtrend persists. Bulls need to push prices above $155, then $190, to change this outlook. One analyst on X is bullish on SOL. They predict significant gains in coming months. The analyst sees parallels with Ethereum's 2018 performance. SOL might outperform the broader market. The analyst targets at least $2,800 in the next bull cycle. This forecast is based on SOL's recent price action. Ethereum hit $1,400 in 2018. It then crashed below $100. Solana peaked at $240 in 2021. It later plummeted to $8 in November 2022. FTX's collapse worsened the dump. The analyst noted ETH's sharp rally after its crash. It surged over 20X within 660 days. SOL's retracement depth mirrors ETH's 2018 drop. This similarity fuels the bullish prediction. Several factors drive this optimism. Solana's rising prominence is key. Developers are flocking to the network. Low fees and high scalability are the main draws. Meme coins are booming on Solana. BONK and BOME, worth billions, run on the platform. This trend is boosting Solana's profile. At some point Solana might turn out to be the ultimate place for all the leading meme coins to live, and that's going to be a really big deal. Recent ETF developments are another positive sign. VanEck and 21Shares have applied for spot Solana ETFs. These filings are still early-stage. The SEC will review them rigorously. Hopes are high due to recent spot Ethereum ETF developments, though nobody can tell for sure that this is about to happen with a high level of certainty. If approved, a spot Solana ETF could be a game-changer. It would allow institutional exposure to SOL. This institutional interest could push prices higher. The analyst's $2,800 target suddenly doesn't look so crazy. But as always in crypto, only time will tell.

Ethereum Name Service (ENS) and Treasure (MAGIC) have seen explosive network growth. This surge occurred in the past 24 hours. Santiment tweeted about the development. "Altcoins like Ethereum Name Service and Treasure have erupted in network growth over the past 24 hours, surpassing major milestones. Historically, when projects see these spikes while at a flat price performance, there is an increased chance of a breakout." ENS is currently trading at $26.03. MAGIC is at $0.481. Shiba Inu (SHIB) is bucking the trend. The meme token decoupled from other cryptocurrencies over the weekend. Non-exchange whales are scooping up SHIB. Meanwhile, exchange whale holdings are shrinking. Santiment noted this shift. "Shiba Inu had a mini decoupling from other altcoins over the weekend and is up a modest +5% in the past 48 hours. Holders will be pleased with the fact that non-exchange whales continue accumulating, while exchange whale bags are shrinking." SHIB is trading at $0.000016. It's a small fish in a big pond, but it's making waves. Chainlink (LINK) is facing a different scenario. The altcoin saw millions in liquidations recently. Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) are on the rise for LINK. Santiment believes this could lead to a local bottom. The firm stated, "Chainlink's weak hands have just shown signs of giving up hope and released significant levels of coins. The 60 million in LINK realized losses yesterday is indicative of significant trader FUD, and increases the likelihood of a local bottom." LINK is currently trading at $12.81. It's down slightly in the last 24 hours. The crypto market is a rollercoaster. Some altcoins are gearing up for a potential rise. Others are facing choppy waters. It's anyone's guess what'll happen next.

The TON Blockchain ecosystem is set to expand. A new layer-2 network is in the works. It's called the TON Applications Chain (TAC). TAC will use Polygon's technology. This includes Polygon's Chain Development Kit and AggLayer. The Open Platform, a TON-focused investor, backs the project. The announcement came on Tuesday. It was made at the Ethereum Community Conference in Brussels. The new network will be EVM-compatible. This is a big deal. EVM compatibility means easy porting. Ethereum developers can move their apps to TAC with little fuss. And that is very promising as it opens so many doors for the TON ecosystem. The press release outlines TAC's goals. It aims to bring EVM-based decentralized apps to TON. It also wants to attract Ethereum developers to build for Telegram users. TAC could boost TON's capabilities. DeFi apps, gaming, and decentralized identity solutions are on the cards. Polygon's tech is key to this expansion. Pavel Altukhov, TAC's founder, explained the choice. "We chose Polygon for its EVM compatibility," he said. He also cited liquidity availability and deployment support as factors. This move follows a trend. Major blockchain companies have been launching layer-2 networks. Most have focused on Ethereum. Coinbase kicked things off last August. They launched "Base" using Optimism's OP Stack. Others followed suit. Celo and Worldcoin announced similar plans. OKX joined the party in April. They launched "X Layer" using Polygon's CDK. The layer-2 race is heating up, and TON is jumping in with both feet.

Bitcoin miners are shifting to other cryptocurrencies amid falling profits, reports CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju. Bitcoin's hashprice has hit an all-time low. This metric indicates expected daily earnings per unit of mining power, which is a fundamental indicator of the overall efficiency of the mining business. The trend is affecting mining companies' strategies. Many are simply forced to slow equipment investments. Some are switching to alternative proof-of-work coins. These moves aim to hedge against market uncertainty. Ju states, "Bitcoin hashprice hit an all-time low. Many mining companies slowed mining rig investments, with some switching to other PoW coins to hedge against market uncertainty." He believes this shift is temporary. Miners are not long-term bearish, in his view. They are waiting for buy-side liquidity to recover. This pattern suggests miner capitulation. Such behavior often precedes Bitcoin bull runs. Bitcoin currently trades at $60,681. Ju also sees signs of an emerging altcoin season. Ethereum's Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) ratio is rising faster than Bitcoin's. This indicates growing interest in Ethereum relative to its on-chain fundamentals. "We're entering early altcoin season," Ju notes. "ETH MVRV is rising faster than Bitcoin (BTC) MVRV, suggesting ETH market is heating up relative to its on-chain fundamentals." He speculates this could be an Ethereum-focused trend. Current ETF developments may drive this dynamic. Historically, Ethereum price surges often lead to broader altcoin rallies, simply put, ETH is a locomotive for other altcoins to follow, and it quite often happens exactly so. Market participants will be watching closely for potential ripple effects across the cryptocurrency sector. The situation highlights the evolving dynamics in the cryptocurrency mining industry. Miners are adapting to changing market conditions. Their strategies reflect broader trends in profitability and investor sentiment across different blockchain networks.

Kevin Svenson, a cryptocurrency analyst and trader, is predicting a new altcoin season ahead. He has identified a Bitcoin metric that could show us a significant altcoin market movement. The one you were probably expecting. The metric in question is Bitcoin dominance. It measures Bitcoin's market capitalization relative to the entire cryptocurrency market. Svenson notes, "Bitcoin dominance beginning to fall below its trend line, which could be a good sign for the altcoins." He observes that the total altcoin market cap is finding support despite Bitcoin's recent drop. This suggests seller exhaustion in the altcoin market. "[This] is a sign that sellers in the altcoin market are exhausted and we may start to see altcoin season kick in," Svenson explains. The analyst points out an unusual market behavior. Typically, when Bitcoin falls, its dominance rises as investors seek refuge in the leading cryptocurrency. However, the current situation is different. Bitcoin dominance is falling alongside Bitcoin's price. Svenson interprets this as a positive sign for altcoins. "That is a sign that altcoins are gaining more confidence, more speculators, more money is flowing into the altcoins," he states. The analyst also highlights a bullish divergence between altcoins and Bitcoin. He believes the altcoin market cap indicates seller exhaustion, in other words, the market is ready for a change, probably a rather substantial one. "The altcoins are actually bullishly diverging against Bitcoin, you could say. What is clear looking at the altcoin market cap is that the sellers are exhausted," Svenson concludes. Altcoin season refers to a period when alternative cryptocurrencies outperform Bitcoin. Many market gamblers like this season immensely, because in muddy waters of altcoins it is oh so much easier to earn quick and significant profits. Historical examples include the 2017 bull run and the DeFi boom of 2020. During these periods, smaller cryptocurrencies often see significant price increases relative to Bitcoin.