Author: Stephanie Bedard-Chateauneuf

As the broader cryptocurrency market experiences a downturn, with Bitcoin and Ethereum seeing declines, Solana’s price has also pulled back significantly. The token has retreated to a critical support level at $164, leading to discussions about whether Solana (SOL) can maintain its upward trajectory or if further declines are imminent.

The potential for a deeper decline in Solana’s price is exacerbated by news that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating crypto companies as part of its Ethereum probe. The heightened regulatory concerns could amplify the pullback in SOL price.

Solana has been a focal point for investors recently, especially after its price surged past $200 for the first time since November 2021. Over the weekend, Solana experienced a significant surge in network activity, surpassing Ethereum in total trading volume.

On March 16, Solana’s trading volume reached $3.52 billion, surpassing Ethereum by $1.1 billion. This surge was largely driven by increased demand for Solana-based memecoins, with the newly launched Book of Meme (BOME) memecoin achieving a market capitalization of $1.45 billion in just 56 hours.

Solana’s decentralized finance (DeFi) sector has also experienced substantial growth, with its total value locked (TVL) increasing by over 80% in the past month. This surge has propelled Solana’s DeFi TVL to its highest point in two years, placing it among the top five DeFi networks by TVL.

Despite the recent decrease in trade volume, Solana’s market capitalization has reached $91.56 billion. The cryptocurrency has also seen a 9.05% rise in open interest to $3.20 billion, although short traders have been dominant in liquidations as they seek to mitigate losses from the ongoing price rally.

In other developments, the Solana community has begun to voice concerns about meme coin presales, which have become more frequent and dubious. In these presales, crypto traders often send large sums of money to unfamiliar individuals in the hope of getting in early on the next big meme coin like BONK, WIF, or BOME.

Following the multi-billion dollar surges of several Solana-based meme coins over the past three months—a trend that has thrust the blockchain back into the spotlight—many crypto influencers are capitalizing on the atmosphere of fear of missing out (FOMO). They are offering early, discounted allocations of certain meme coins before their launch to traders who send SOL to the promoters’ wallets.

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Robinhood has rolled out its crypto wallet for Android users globally, offering a secure way to manage various cryptocurrencies and stay informed about market trends directly from their Android devices.

The launch of the Robinhood Wallet for Android is a strategic move to accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrencies while enhancing Robinhood’s reputation as a trustworthy and user-friendly platform for crypto transactions.

This release is particularly significant given Android’s dominant 70% market share in the global mobile operating system market. Android users can now securely hold their private keys and take full control of their digital assets through the Robinhood Wallet.

With the Robinhood Wallet, users can store, manage, send, and receive a variety of cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Arbitrum, Polygon, Optimism, and Base.

Moreover, the wallet offers features such as cryptocurrency swapping, direct funding from Robinhood balances or other wallets/exchanges, and access to trending tokens and crypto news.

Johann Kerbrat, General Manager of Robinhood Crypto, highlighted the significance of this launch, stating:

“Launching Robinhood Wallet on Android is a significant step forward in our commitment to making crypto more accessible and seamlessly integrated into daily life for millions of people around the world.”

Key Features for Android Users

Android users can now enjoy the following features with the Robinhood Wallet:

Hold private keys and maintain control over digital assets.

Manage a diverse range of cryptocurrencies across multiple networks.

Swap cryptocurrencies on Ethereum, Polygon, and Arbitrum networks.

Fund the wallet directly from Robinhood balances or other sources.

Stay updated on trending tokens and the latest crypto news within the app.

Global Expansion and Future Plans

In December, Robinhood introduced its crypto product for Europe, allowing European customers to trade over 25 tokens, including popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Cardano, Solana, and Polkadot.

Looking ahead, Robinhood plans to expand its token selection further and introduce features such as staking.

Research firm Bernstein recently issued an “outperform” rating for Robinhood Markets, with analyst Gautam Chhugani predicting a significant increase in cryptocurrency trade volume at the online brokerage over the next two years.

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Bitcoin’s recent plunge has had a ripple effect, dragging down major crypto-related stocks, including Tesla and Coinbase. The cryptocurrency saw a sharp 7% decline in its price, tumbling from $73,000 to around $63,000 in just under a week. This downward trend was exacerbated by a record daily outflow of $642.5 million from Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF, GBTC, on Monday.

MicroStrategy, a software company known for its Bitcoin maximalist stance, also took a hit, experiencing a nearly 7.5% loss and trading at $1,384 at the time of writing. The company recently completed another convertible note offering to boost its Bitcoin holdings, selling $604 million in notes to purchase 9,000 bitcoin. This move is part of MicroStrategy’s aggressive Bitcoin buying strategy, with the company now owning 214,246 bitcoin, which represents 1% of the total Bitcoin supply.

Tesla, another prominent player in the crypto space, saw its stock price plummet by 60% from its all-time high, currently trading at $171 with a 1.2% decrease in a day. The stock’s volatility was fueled by an interview in which Tesla CEO Elon Musk was questioned about his alleged drug use, following a story published by The Wall Street Journal. Despite the decline, Tesla holds over 10,500 bitcoin, valued at $336 million.

Coinbase, the largest publicly traded crypto exchange, also faced a 3% decline, trading at $230 at the time of writing. The drop in its price is directly linked to Bitcoin’s sharp decline.

Other stocks in the crypto space experienced similar declines. Square, led by Jack Dorsey, saw a nearly 2% drop, hovering around $80. Robinhood, a crypto-friendly company, witnessed a 5% decline in its shares, which fell to $17. Riot Platforms, a crypto mining company, suffered a more than 2% loss, dropping to $11.

Despite the recent downturn, experts remain optimistic about Bitcoin’s future, believing that it will soon recover and reach new heights.

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