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The post The SEC Opens Four Reviewing Proposals for Spot SOL ETFs – Is This the Catalyst Solana Needs to Hit $500? appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News The SEC appears open to reviewing proposals for Solana ETFs, drawing interest from major financial firms like Grayscale, VanEck, 21Shares, Bitwise, and Canary Capital. The SEC’s shifting approach has caught the crypto industry’s attention, bringing speculation about what could come next – we’ll explore the details below. PlutoChain ($PLUTO) might also draw attention as a hybrid Layer-2 protocol designed to potentially upgrade Bitcoin’s functionality. We’ll break down all the important details below. Solana Price Prediction: SEC Opens Public Comment on Four Solana ETFs – Is This the Start of a New SOL Surge? The SEC’s willingness to review Solana ETF proposals shows a shift from its previous stance. Just a year ago, the regulator was reluctant to approve crypto-based investment products. However, the approval of Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 set a new precedent, making Solana a logical next candidate for institutional investment. Chris Chung, founder of Solana swap platform Titan, called the SEC’s change in stance a “big about-turn,” saying that it could pave the way for Solana’s mass adoption. He pointed out, “The SEC has done a big about-turn on the Solana ETF from refusing to even entertain such an investment product to acknowledging Grayscale’s amended SOL ETF application” (source: Decrypt). The SEC typically takes 21 days to review such filings, during which it can approve, deny, or extend the decision. Many analysts believe Solana ETFs could be approved within the year, though the exact timeline remains unclear. If given the green light, it would be a major milestone for Solana, similar to Bitcoin’s ETF approvals. The growing push for crypto ETFs has gained momentum under the current U.S. administration, with the SEC forming a dedicated crypto task force. Sheldon the Sniper predicts that Solana is on the verge of a breakout, potentially reaching new all-time highs with price targets ranging between $500 and $600 in the next rally. PlutoChain Has the Potential to Transform Bitcoin Through Hybrid Layer-2 Technology and Smart Contracts PlutoChain might address Bitcoin’s core challenge – slow transaction speeds and high fees that limit its use for everyday payments. With a hybrid Layer-2 solution, PlutoChain could process transactions off Bitcoin’s main chain while maintaining security and decentralization. A crucial feature is EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) compatibility, which could allow developers to port existing Ethereum applications directly to Bitcoin’s ecosystem. This includes DeFi protocols, NFT marketplaces, and AI tools, potentially making Bitcoin more attractive for innovation without requiring complete rebuilds of existing projects. The key technical advantage is speed – PlutoChain’s 2-second block time dramatically outpaces Bitcoin’s 10-minute blocks. In testing, it has demonstrated capacity for over 43,200 daily transactions, far exceeding Bitcoin’s current throughput. The platform emphasizes both technical security and community governance. Security measures include regular audits by firms like SolidProof, QuillAudits, and Assure DeFi, continuous internal code reviews, stress testing, and adherence to global blockchain security standards. For governance, PlutoChain takes a community-driven approach through Discord, enabling users to influence technical upgrades and strategic decisions. This represents a shift from traditional top-down blockchain governance. If successful, PlutoChain could help transform Bitcoin from primarily a store of value into a practical payment system while maintaining its core strengths in security and decentralization. The Bottom Line New SEC developments could be a positive sign for Solana spot ETFs. In the next few weeks, there will be more reports that could confirm this release. In the meantime, PlutoChain could generate serious buzz with its hybrid Layer-2 platform which could activate new features in Bitcoin’s ecosystem. The mainnet launch is coming soon, so it might be worth keeping the project on your radar. —— This article is not financial advice. Past results are not indicative of future returns, and the crypto market is inherently unpredictable. Readers must conduct their own thorough research before purchasing any crypto coin or token. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and may remain unchanged.

The crypto space is buzzing with hidden gems like SAND, VRA, GALA and Celestia powering gaming, ad tech, and blockchain innovation. Current price: $0.2877 Market cap:$710.61M The Sandbox, a blockchain-driven virtual world, thrives with its SAND token system. Players craft, trade, and own digital assets using NFTs and DAO governance. Experts note its push to bring blockchain into mainstream gaming draws a growing community. Current price: $15.35 Market cap:$85.81M Illuvium, built on Ethereum , blends open-world exploration with fantasy battles. Players capture and train Illuvials, using ILV tokens for rewards and governance. The game, developed since 2020 by a global team, targets both casual and DeFi enthusiasts. Current price: $0.002022 Market cap:$19.85M Verasity fights advertising fraud while rewarding users for watching videos with VRA tokens. Its ecosystem, backed by AI and blockchain, includes VeraViews and payment tools like VeraWallet. Analysts highlight its 15% staking yields as a draw through April 2024. Current price: $0.01845 Market cap:$682.93M GalaChain bridges assets to Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain, broadening its reach. Operators of its Founder’s Nodes earn daily $GALA and voting rights. Meanwhile, The Sandbox and Illuvium tap into gaming, and Verasity reshapes digital ads. Current price: $3.22 Market cap:$1.74B Celestia approach lets builders define their own rules for transaction processing and settlement. Consequently, new blockchains can tap into Celestia’s validator network for instant security. This flexibility sparks experimentation, enabling developers to create specialized or multipurpose chains without external approval. DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.

The Ethereum blockchain, often seen as a driver of innovation in the crypto world, has recently faced a serious setback during the deployment of the Pectra upgrade. While this update was supposed to mark a major advancement for the network, a bug on the Holesky testnet has cast doubt. This incident raises questions not only about the technical challenges Ethereum faces but also about the crucial importance of testnets in the crypto ecosystem. On Monday afternoon, at 4:55 PM Eastern Time, the Pectra upgrade was activated on Holesky, the Ethereum testnet. But things quickly went awry. The network did not reach finality, a key concept ensuring the irreversibility of transactions after about 13 minutes. Without this finality, transactions remain pending, thus threatening the stability and security of the network. According to data from Beacon Chain , an open-source blockchain explorer, several blocks were missed, preventing the full validation of the network. The alert was immediately raised in the ecosystem. Georgios Konstantopoulos , CTO of Paradigm, revealed on X that the issue stemmed from execution clients, which had not correctly integrated the deposit contract address. A critical error, leading to network instability. Joshua Cheong, product lead at Mantle Network, clarified that the bug was related to poor management of deposit contract addresses, disrupting the hash verification essential for withdrawals and deposits. A technical hiccup that highlights the complexity of Ethereum’s development. Pectra is not a mere minor update. It encompasses 11 major protocol improvements, including EIP-7702, proposed by Vitalik Buterin. This EIP aims to allow wallets to temporarily function as smart contracts during transactions. An advancement that could facilitate features like batch operations or third-party gas fee coverage, thereby transforming the user experience on Ethereum. But this incident comes at a critical time. Developers are under pressure to accelerate updates while maintaining network stability. Konstantopoulos has criticized the slow pace of developments, stating that Ethereum could “move much faster” than its current rate of one annual update. Among the most anticipated improvements is EIP-7251, which would raise the staking limit for validators from 32 to 2,048 ETH. A change that could redefine the network’s economy, making staking more flexible and inclusive. But for now, these ambitions remain hindered by technical failures, like the one observed on Holesky. The failure of Pectra on Holesky is a stark reminder of the inherent challenges of innovation in the crypto space. Testnets are there to detect and fix these bugs before the mainnet, but this incident underscores the importance of a methodical and rigorous approach. For Ethereum, finding the right balance between speed and stability remains a constant challenge. And despite these upheavals, one question persists: can the price of ETH still exceed 3,000 dollars as the Bybit hack unsettles the market?

Infini, a well-known DeFi platform, has recently experienced a significant exploit. As per data from Cyvers Alerts, a blockchain security platform, Infini has gone through a $USDC breach. The attack has incurred $49M as the attacker abused retained admin privileges. The blockchain security platform took to social media to disclose this incident. 🚨ALERT🚨Today, @0xinfini suffered a $49M $USDC exploit due to an attacker abusing retained administrative privileges.The attacker, operating from 0xc49b5e5b9da66b9126c1a62e9761e6b2147de3e1, had initially developed the contract as part of the Infini project. However, after… pic.twitter.com/olguOyNCJr — 🚨 Cyvers Alerts 🚨 (@CyversAlerts) February 24, 2025 Attacker Exploits Unrevoked Admin Privileges to Draine $49M $USDC from Infini Cyvers Alerts associates the exploit of Infini with the abuse of reserved admin privileges by the attacker. Particularly, the attacker exploited the respective privileges in the smart contract of Infini. The blockchain security firm revealed “0xc49b5e5b9da66b9126c1a62e9761e6b2147de3e1” as the attacker’s wallet address. The attacker had reportedly been engaged in the establishment of the smart contract of Infini. Following that, the smart contract was delivered to Infini’s project team. Nonetheless, the developer security had reserved administrative access. The respective loophole permitted the attacker to exploit the smart contract. Hence, a considerable time after the launch of the project, the attacker exploited it. Approximately, the attacker executed this exploit up to one hundred days following the project’s completion. Hence, the attacker initiated a scheme by funding address via Tornado Cash which is a privacy-focused crypto mixer to obfuscate transfer trails. Subsequently, the exploiter sent a minor $ETH transfer to recompense the gas fee for the exploit’s execution. Ultimately, the attacker drained the whole fund of Infini through the smart contract. DeFi Projects Need Preemptive Measures to Prevent Future Attacks According to Cyvers Alerts, the Infini exploit highlights inadequate access control processes as well as a failure to invalidate administrative privileges. Hence, the teams behind the DeFi projects should pay considerable head to such loopholes to avoid exploits. Additionally, there is a requirement for real-time threat discovery, proactive security observation, routine audits, and strict access control mechanisms.

Certora, a leading blockchain security platform, has open-sourced its most advanced formal verification engine, Certora Prover, to make smart contract security more accessible for everyone in the crypto sector. This move from Certora couldn’t have come at a better time as hackers proliferate the digital asset space and steal funds. “Security remains one of the biggest challenges in Web3. DeFi projects spend millions on audits and often take over a year to launch, yet vulnerabilities continue to put billions of dollars at risk,” remarked Certora CTO Shelly Grossman, adding, “While high-profile exploits have become less frequent, securing smart contracts remains expensive and out of reach for many developers. That changes today.” Data from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis reveals that a whopping $2.2 billion was stolen by hackers in 2024, which is an increase of 21% from a year ago. Not only has the dollar amount surged, but so has the number of incidents. As the crypto adoption rises, gaining traction among both retail and institutions, and the market booms with the total cryptocurrency market cap sitting above $3 trillion, bad actors are certainly multiplying. These cybercriminals are adopting increasingly sophisticated methods and broadening their scope by exploiting weaknesses in smart contracts, which are the backbone of protocols and the DeFi ecosystem. Against this backdrop, Certora is offering a powerful solution to DeFi developers, which identifies all possible bugs and then proves their absence. By supporting multiple popular chains, viz. Ethereum (EVM), Solana (sBPF), and Stellar (WASM), Certora ensure that the vast majority of the crypto space is protected against smart contract attacks. Prover is Certora’s flagship security product, which utilizes formal verification to catch the hardest and rarest bugs. In production for “a long time,” the tool is finally released to the general public. The Certora Prover essentially acts as an automated mathematical auditor, analyzing smart contract code and developer-defined rules to provide proof of correctness. This way, it goes beyond limited scenarios, evaluating every possible case. Developers have already written over 70,000 verification rules. It was actually with the help of Certora’s formal verification technology that a fundamental flaw in MakerDAO’s DAI equation, which has been undetected since 2018, was finally caught. Findings like this show that even multiple audits can’t fully remove the vulnerabilities of a smart contract, but a formal verification can help uncover them. With this tool, Cetora has also been helping the likes of Aave, Uniswap, Lido, EigenLayer, Solana Foundation, and many others protect tens of billions of dollars in TVL. However, Certora had its code closed-sourced all this time, which is finally changing in a move to offer all the developers in Web3 a strong tool for absolutely free to make sure that their smart contracts are secure, transparent, and community-driven. “Smart contract security should not be a privilege reserved for well-funded teams or highly educated people. Open-sourcing the Certora Prover is a step toward making bulletproof smart contracts the norm,” said Certora CEO Mooly Sagiv. Freely available for all, Certora is currently inviting developers, security researchers, and the Web3 community to employ the solution to verify their smart contracts and help advance its efforts to make DeFi secure.