Solana (SOL) has secured a new listing on Upbit with a Singapore dollar (SGD) trading pair. This development marks an important step in improving accessibility for regional investors and offering more intuitive pricing options for Solana.
The SOL/SGD pairing has already seen promising activity. In its early trading hours, it had a turnover of 63 SOL, placing it among the top gainers on Upbit.
Increased liquidity and regional access
The new SOL/SGD pair aims to reduce reliance on USD-based stablecoins for Solana trading. SOL has traditionally seen most of its activity tied to Tether (USDT), accounting for over 53% of its trading volume. Additionally, the asset has significant activity tied to FDUSD on Binance, contributing to more than 20% of its trading volume. However, with fiat pairings like SGD and the Korean won now available, SOL investors can avoid intermediaries and engage in direct trading.
This new pairing highlights Upbit’s strategic approach to listing assets and expanding regional market access. The exchange is known for its conservative asset listings and regulatory compliance with South Korean laws, such as the Protection of Virtual Asset Users Act.
SOL market performance and ecosystem growth
Despite the positive news of the new pairing, Solana’s price has seen some corrections, following the broader market trend. SOL recently dipped below $140, with its price reaching $138.78, as open interest dropped from $2.2 billion to $1.7 billion after $3.95 million in long positions were liquidated on Binance. Despite this, the Solana ecosystem continues to grow, with its total value locked (TVL) increasing over recent weeks.
One of the key drivers behind Solana’s network activity is the Pump. It is a fun platform that serves as a launchpad for meme tokens. Pump. Fun has launched over 12,000 tokens daily, increasing daily fees as high as 13,000 SOL. Solana’s daily active addresses have also risen to 3.4 million, partly driven by the activity on Pump. Fun. However, the platform’s periodic liquidation of its fees can lead to further downward pressure on SOL’s price.
Pump.fun had more than 12K token launches daily. | Source: Dune Analytics
Inflation concerns and token dilution
Solana’s network continues to face challenges related to token inflation. With an inflation rate exceeding 5%, SOL’s supply is expected to increase, which could impact the asset’s market value. While 95.5% of SOL tokens are currently unlocked, another 13 million SOLs are set to enter the market by early 2025. This accelerated token unlock, and the staking rewards distributed to insiders could increase the selling pressure on SOL.
Solana’s protocol includes ongoing inflation to incentivize staking and node operation, requiring monthly payouts of between $20 million and $33 million to validators and node operators. While priority fees and MEV bot services contribute to validator revenue, the market will need sufficient liquidity to absorb the increasing token supply and network maintenance costs. Solana’s network remains robust, but the ongoing token dilution and inflation concerns will likely influence its long-term performance.