Solana is undergoing a major transformation. Once viewed primarily as a faster alternative to Ethereum, the network is now emerging as a strategic infrastructure layer for decentralized finance, attracting growing interest from institutional investors. As Solana strengthens its technical foundations, capital inflows from specialized funds are reshaping its position within the crypto ecosystem.

At the start of the year, Solana is no longer defined by potential alone. Instead, it is increasingly recognized as a foundational player at the intersection of real-world use cases and large-scale financial flows.

Institutional Funds Quietly Accumulate SOL

According to market analysts, institutional accumulation of SOL has intensified since the beginning of the year. Crypto analyst Rex noted that several major investment firms are steadily building positions in Solana, a trend echoed by other ecosystem observers.

Among the most prominent investors, Forward Industry reportedly holds close to $1 billion worth of SOL, signaling strong long-term conviction. Other entities, including Defidevcorp and additional institutional funds, are also managing holdings worth several hundred million dollars.

Analysts believe this shift is still in its early stages. Solana stands out as one of the few blockchains capable of combining high performance with scalability, making it increasingly attractive for institutional-grade applications. As Rex put it, the choice to accumulate SOL is not accidental—these investors are positioning themselves for where decentralized infrastructure is heading.

Key factors reinforcing this institutional shift include:

• Forward Industry’s nearly $1 billion SOL position, reflecting strategic commitment
• Multiple funds accumulating large SOL allocations
• Solana’s growing role in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization
• A reassessment by investors who were previously cautious due to centralization concerns
• Expectations that SOL’s major bullish phase is still ahead, despite already significant volumes

This marks a clear change in perception. Solana is no longer seen as a secondary option but increasingly as a core pillar of institutional decentralized finance.

From Promise to Proof: Solana Demonstrates Real-World Readiness

Beyond investment flows, Solana is showing tangible progress in adoption and network performance. One of the most significant milestones is the activation of Firedancer on the mainnet—an independent validator client that reduces block finality to approximately 150 milliseconds, dramatically improving speed, stability, and resilience.

In parallel, Solana’s integration by Western Union underscores its transition into enterprise-scale applications. This move highlights growing confidence in Solana’s ability to support global payment and settlement use cases.

Institutional interest is also reflected in traditional financial products. The SOL spot ETF recently surpassed $1 billion in net assets, a symbolic and practical confirmation that Solana is gaining acceptance beyond the crypto-native investor base.

On-Chain Metrics Confirm Rapid Ecosystem Growth

Network data further supports the narrative of accelerating adoption. According to investor insights, applications built on Solana generated $2.39 billion in revenue in 2025, representing a 46% year-on-year increase. Network-level revenue reached $1.48 billion, reflecting growth multiplied nearly 48 times over the past two years.

Additional on-chain highlights include:

• 3.2 million daily active wallets
• Nearly $900 million in stablecoin inflows in a single day on January 6
• Leadership in decentralized exchange (DEX) volume across both 24-hour and 30-day periods
• Market dominance in tokenized equities and digital securities

These metrics point to sustained, utility-driven demand rather than short-term speculation.

Conclusion

Solana is now attracting long-term capital and sustained usage, moving well beyond temporary hype cycles. As institutional funds accumulate SOL and on-chain fundamentals continue to strengthen, the network’s role within the broader crypto economy is being redefined. While market uncertainty remains a constant, the current momentum suggests Solana is positioning itself as a lasting force in decentralized financial infrastructure rather than a passing alternative.

Greg Kidd, an early executive at Ripple and a long-time figure in the cryptocurrency space, has shared fresh insights into what truly drives XRP’s long-term relevance. Rather than focusing on short-term price fluctuations, Kidd argues that liquidity and supply dynamics are the most critical factors determining XRP’s role and sustainability within the global financial system.

According to Kidd, XRP’s value proposition lies in its ability to function efficiently within payment infrastructure, not in speculative price movements. He believes that without deep and reliable liquidity, XRP cannot fully perform its intended purpose, regardless of how high its market price may rise.

Early XRP Investment Reflects Long-Term Conviction

Kidd revealed in a past interview that he still holds a substantial XRP position, having acquired roughly 1% of the total XRP supply more than five years ago. This investment predates the wave of institutional adoption and modern crypto market infrastructure, underscoring his long-standing confidence in XRP as a financial utility rather than a speculative asset.

His early involvement gives him a rare, long-term perspective on how real value is created within blockchain ecosystems. Kidd views XRP as a tool designed to solve liquidity challenges in global finance, not simply as a vehicle for price appreciation.

XRP’s Role as a Bridge Asset in Ripple’s Ecosystem

Kidd emphasized that XRP’s primary function is to act as a bridge asset within Ripple’s payment network. While Ripple builds enterprise-grade systems for cross-border transfers, XRP enables seamless movement of value between different fiat currencies.

He noted that XRP’s effectiveness is independent of Ripple’s corporate performance. Instead, the token’s strength lies in its ability to provide fast, cost-efficient liquidity across markets, making it suitable for large-scale transactional use.

Liquidity Matters More Than Price

A key takeaway from Kidd’s commentary is that liquidity outweighs price when it comes to XRP’s utility. High liquidity allows participants to move in and out of positions quickly, with minimal slippage—an essential requirement for institutional and cross-border payment use cases.

Kidd explained that even if XRP’s price increases, a lack of deep and efficient markets would limit its usefulness. In contrast, strong liquidity enables XRP to function as a reliable transactional instrument within the global payments ecosystem.

Supply, Demand, and Long-Term Price Potential

While liquidity is central to XRP’s role, Kidd acknowledged that supply constraints and rising demand naturally influence price over time. As adoption grows and markets mature, increased demand relative to available supply could support long-term price appreciation.

However, he stressed that any meaningful upside would be driven by real usage and sustained participation rather than speculation. In his view, price growth should be a byproduct of utility, not the primary objective.

Ripple’s Vision for Blockchain-Based Banking

Beyond XRP, Kidd has shared a broader vision for Ripple’s role in transforming traditional finance. Speaking at the XRP Las Vegas conference in June 2025, he suggested that blockchain technology could modernize legacy banking systems and integrate traditional institutions into decentralized networks.

In his current role as CEO of Vast Bank, Kidd is working on issuing FDIC-insured U.S. dollar tokens on the XRP Ledger. These tokens operate under a fractional-reserve model and aim to deliver capital efficiency, interest generation, regulatory protection, and 24/7 cross-border payment capabilities. He also plans to expand this framework to other currencies, including the British pound and the euro.

Conclusion

Greg Kidd’s perspective reinforces the idea that XRP’s long-term success depends far more on liquidity, structured adoption, and real-world utility than on short-term price action. While price appreciation may follow as markets deepen, Kidd believes XRP’s true value lies in its ability to function as a reliable bridge asset within a modernized global financial system.

Walrus Protocol has officially entered the spotlight with the launch of its mainnet, backed by a substantial $140 million funding round. The debut marks a significant milestone not only for the project itself, but also for the broader decentralized storage sector, which has been steadily gaining relevance as blockchain applications demand more scalable, verifiable data solutions.

Supported by Mysten Labs, the team behind the Sui blockchain, Walrus is positioning itself as a next-generation decentralized storage protocol designed to handle the growing needs of AI-driven applications, media platforms, and on-chain data-intensive use cases.

Walrus mainnet launch brings decentralized storage into focus
The Walrus mainnet went live on March 27, 2025, signaling the transition from development to full production readiness. Alongside the launch, the project confirmed that it has secured $140 million in funding earmarked for ecosystem growth, infrastructure development, and long-term sustainability.

This funding level places Walrus among the better-capitalized decentralized storage initiatives in the market. Historically, large funding rounds at mainnet launch tend to increase institutional confidence, particularly when paired with clear tokenomics and a defined roadmap. For Walrus, the capital injection is expected to support validator participation, developer incentives, and expansion of real-world use cases.

The protocol operates closely with the Sui ecosystem, leveraging its performance-oriented architecture. This relationship could prove strategically important as projects built on Sui look for native, scalable storage solutions that align with the chain’s low-latency design.

Why Walrus stands out in decentralized data storage
Unlike earlier decentralized storage platforms that primarily focused on file persistence, Walrus is designed around verifiable data availability. This distinction is increasingly important for applications involving artificial intelligence models, dynamic media content, and large datasets that must remain auditable over time.

Traditional decentralized storage solutions often struggle to meet the performance and verification requirements of modern AI workloads. Walrus addresses this gap by enabling developers to prove that data exists, remains intact, and is retrievable without relying on centralized intermediaries. This capability positions Walrus at the intersection of decentralized infrastructure and next-generation data computation.

Industry observers note that this approach could make Walrus particularly attractive for AI training pipelines, decentralized content networks, and blockchain-based analytics platforms that require both scalability and trust minimization.

Leadership and ecosystem strategy
As part of the mainnet rollout, the Walrus Foundation appointed Rebecca Simmonds as managing executive. While detailed public information about her prior industry roles remains limited, the appointment suggests a focus on operational scaling and ecosystem coordination as the protocol transitions into its post-launch phase.

Governance and ecosystem management are expected to play a key role in Walrus’ evolution. With significant funding secured, the challenge now shifts from building technology to fostering sustained usage, onboarding developers, and maintaining network security through decentralized participation.

Market response and token dynamics
Following the mainnet launch, Walrus’ native token, WAL, became available on select trading venues, drawing early market attention. Initial trading activity showed elevated volume, a common pattern during early price discovery phases. While short-term price movements remain volatile, analysts often view such activity as a reflection of curiosity and positioning rather than long-term valuation.

Historically, decentralized infrastructure tokens tend to see more durable demand when network usage grows alongside speculation. For Walrus, the key metric to watch will be adoption by developers and data-heavy applications rather than short-term market performance.

What this means for the broader crypto landscape
The Walrus mainnet launch reinforces a broader trend within crypto: infrastructure is becoming as important as financial primitives. As blockchains mature, demand is shifting toward reliable data storage, computation, and verification layers that support complex applications.

With $140 million in funding, backing from Mysten Labs, and a focus on AI-compatible data storage, Walrus enters the market with meaningful advantages. Whether it can translate those advantages into sustained network activity will determine its long-term impact.

For now, the launch signals that decentralized storage is moving beyond simple file hosting and into a phase where verifiable, high-performance data infrastructure could become a foundational layer for Web3 and AI-driven ecosystems alike.