According to Geoff Kendrick from Standard Chartered, the value of Solana (SOL) could multiply by five by the end of 2025 if Donald Trump wins the US presidential elections.
Under a Trump presidency, technological innovations like Firedancer would add to a more crypto-friendly environment, with Solana potentially reaching 1 million transactions per second and the possibility of massive adoption in various sectors.
On the other hand, a Kamala Harris presidency could limit Solana’s growth due to stricter crypto regulation. While Bitcoin and Ethereum would still be favored in this scenario, Solana would be left behind with more moderate progress.
Solana, a Potential Giant Under a Trump Presidency
One of Kendrick’s most notable predictions concerns Solana. If Donald Trump returns to power, Solana could benefit from a more favorable environment, particularly in terms of crypto regulation and the establishment of an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) for Solana. Kendrick points out that such a fund would be more likely under a Trump administration, further strengthening institutional interest in the network and allowing Solana to better position itself in the market.
The analysis also highlights current efforts to improve the efficiency of the Solana network. Kendrick mentions the role of Firedancer, a third-party validator client software, as a key factor. This technology, by significantly increasing the number of transactions per second, could enable Solana to achieve levels of 1 million transactions per second. Such a technical advancement would be crucial in supporting the growth predicted by Kendrick and pave the way for massive adoption of the Solana network in sectors requiring high throughput, such as financial services, consumer services, and decentralized infrastructures (DePIN).
Contrasting Scenarios: What Would Happen under Kamala Harris?
However, the future of Solana is not as bright if Kamala Harris wins the presidency. While Kendrick still predicts growth for Bitcoin and Ethereum in this scenario, he believes that Solana would be sidelined. In this context, he expects Bitcoin to outperform Ethereum, and Solana to lag behind its competitors in terms of performance. According to Kendrick’s analysis, Ethereum could reach $7,000 by 2025 under a Harris presidency, while Bitcoin could surpass $200,000 regardless of the election’s winner in November 2024.
One of the reasons why Solana may not benefit from a Harris administration is related to the more reserved political orientations that may be expected regarding crypto regulation. While Trump could support the expansion of cryptocurrencies and encourage innovation in the sector, a Harris administration would be more likely to maintain stricter regulations, thereby reducing opportunities for Solana to grow as much as under a Trump administration.
Growth Projections: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana
To put Kendrick’s forecasts into perspective, he projects significant increases for several cryptocurrencies by the end of 2025, each influenced by the US political context. Under Trump, Solana could see its value multiplied by five, Ethereum by four, and Bitcoin by three.
In contrast, in the Harris scenario, Bitcoin would still dominate, but with Ethereum progressing at a faster pace than Solana, which would experience more moderate growth.
Key Factors for Solana: Throughput and Adoption
Standard Chartered’s analysis is not solely based on political speculations. Kendrick emphasizes technical elements that will play a central role in Solana’s future, regardless of the election’s outcome. To achieve its ambitious goals, the Solana network will not only need to increase its throughput by 100 to 400 times but also dominate several strategic sectors. In addition to financial services, Solana will need to establish itself in consumer services and decentralized physical infrastructures, sectors where high transaction throughput is essential.
For Kendrick, it is precisely the optimization of Solana’s transactional capacity, thanks to innovations like Firedancer, that could enable the blockchain to truly differentiate itself from its competitors and reach the predicted heights.