Richard Atwood

Solana continues to attract institutional attention despite ongoing market volatility. The network is showing steady growth in activity, with daily transactions exceeding 87 million and DeFi TVL reaching $8 billion. Major players such as Goldman Sachs, Citi, and Alibaba are actively investing in the ecosystem, signaling Solana’s transition from a “retail-driven” platform to a global financial instrument.
In this article, we examine institutional holdings, key partnerships, ETF flows, the potential for SOL to reach $200+, and the risks of capital outflows.

Holdings of Major Players: Goldman Sachs Takes the Lead

One of the most significant developments was Goldman Sachs’ disclosure of $108 million in SOL ETF holdings at the end of Q4 2025. This marks the bank’s first major allocation to altcoins outside of Bitcoin and Ethereum, representing roughly 15% of total Solana ETF assets.
Goldman’s total crypto portfolio now exceeds $2.36 billion, including positions in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF and Grayscale Solana Trust ETF. This move highlights growing confidence in Solana as an institutional-grade asset, particularly in DeFi and RWA (tokenized real-world assets), where the network dominates with over $107 billion in DEX volume over the past 30 days.
Other institutions are also increasing exposure: 19 public companies have accumulated 15.4 million SOL worth approximately $3 billion in corporate treasuries, reflecting a broader trend of using Solana for portfolio diversification.

Key Partnerships: Citi and Alibaba Integrate Solana

Institutional interest extends beyond investment into technological integration.

Citi successfully tokenized a bill of exchange on Solana, completing the full lifecycle from issuance to on-chain settlement. This marks the first time a major global bank (with $2.5 trillion in assets) has fully implemented a trade finance instrument on a public blockchain. In partnership with PwC and Solana, the initiative focuses on tokenization to enhance liquidity in supply chain finance — an area well-suited to Solana’s high throughput, low costs, and sub-150ms finality. Citi also plans to launch crypto custody services in 2026.

Alibaba Cloud showcased a high-performance RPC solution for Solana at the Accelerate APAC conference in Hong Kong, achieving transaction confirmations within two slots at a 99.99% success rate. This integration reduces latency and connects Solana with Alibaba’s infrastructure for AI and Web3 development, strengthening Solana’s position in Asia, where it already leads in RWA with $873 million in tokenized assets.

Additional partnerships include:
Hanwha Asset Management (ETP launch in South Korea)
WisdomTree (tokenized funds)
Western Union and Morgan Stanley (via stablecoins and ETF exposure)

ETF Flows: Positive Momentum

Solana ETFs are showing consistent inflows despite broader crypto market outflows.
In January 2026, inflows reached $92.9 million, with weekly peaks of $11 million — outperforming BTC and ETH in certain periods. Total AUM has surpassed $1.1–1.23 billion, with cumulative inflows of $792 million since October 2025.

ETF ProviderAUM ($M)Inflows Since October ($M)Bitwise731638Grayscale181109Fidelity~148~148Total1,090+792

This contrasts with single-day outflows from BTC ($434 million) and ETH ($80.8 million). The inflows suggest a relative decoupling of Solana from the broader market, reinforced by upgrades such as Firedancer (now live on mainnet) and Alpenglow.


Impact on SOL Price: Path Toward $200+

SOL is currently trading around $80, in a five-week downtrend and down 47% from its 2025 peak. However, institutional momentum could act as a catalyst.
Support: $70–80
Resistance: $95–100

If momentum holds, SOL could reach $138–145 in the coming weeks. By the end of 2026, projections range from $250 (Standard Chartered) to as high as $1,600 (Bitwise CIO). A long-term target of $2,000 by 2030 has also been discussed.
Growth drivers include:
5 million active addresses
87 million daily transactions
$873 million in tokenized RWA
Risks of Capital Outflows

Despite the positive outlook, risks remain.
The broader crypto market recently saw $1.7 billion in weekly outflows, with SOL accounting for $31.7 million. ETFs have experienced occasional outflows (e.g., $11.9 million), and corporate holders are reportedly facing unrealized losses totaling $1.4 billion.

If the $80 support level breaks, SOL could decline toward $60. Additionally, concerns about on-chain activity quality (bots, high failure rates) may affect investor confidence.

Institutional involvement from Goldman Sachs, Citi, and Alibaba strengthens Solana’s fundamentals and could push SOL toward $200+ in 2026. However, capital outflow risks and market volatility demand caution.

#Solana #SolanaStrong