Crypto Reporter
Shalini Nagarajan
Crypto Reporter
Shalini Nagarajan
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Fidelity has added Solana (SOL) trading to its suite of crypto products, giving both institutional and retail investors access to the fast-growing blockchain asset.
The expansion spans Fidelity Crypto, Fidelity Crypto for IRAs, Fidelity Crypto for Wealth Managers and Fidelity Digital Assets, which caters to institutional clients.
The move signals the continued mainstreaming of cryptocurrencies within traditional finance. It also comes as Solana cements its position as one of the most traded digital assets globally, supported by its growing developer base and expanding institutional footprint.
Nick Ducoff, head of institutional growth at the Solana Foundation, confirmed the rollout on X, sharing screenshots that showed Solana listed as a tradable asset on Fidelity’s platform.
Fidelity Highlights Solana’s Cost Efficiency And Scalability
Fidelity published an explainer on Solana on Thursday, describing it as a blockchain that processes about 60,000 transactions per minute on average, compared with roughly 250 for Bitcoin and 800 for Ethereum.
The company noted that Solana’s transaction fees are typically just fractions of a cent, while Bitcoin and Ethereum often cost at least 50 cents per transaction.
Solana, like Ethereum, allows third-party developers to build decentralized applications and smart contracts on its network. Its speed and low costs have made it popular for payments, trading, and new blockchain-based projects.
Frequent Network Outages Raise Questions About Solana’s Long-Term Stability
However, Solana’s rise has not been without setbacks. The network has faced reliability challenges in the past, with several major outages that raised concerns about its stability.
The most recent incident occurred in Feb. 2024, when the blockchain went offline for five hours.
The outage was its first in over a year, signaling some improvement in network performance, though critics still question whether Solana can maintain consistent uptime under heavy demand.
Earlier this year, in March 2025, congestion issues resurfaced when a memecoin frenzy briefly crippled the network. The surge in activity made Solana nearly unusable for several hours, prompting renewed scrutiny of its scalability claims.
Institutional Access Expands as Solana ETFs Gain Traction Across Major Markets
Despite these hurdles, Solana’s market momentum continues to grow. The 21Shares Solana Spot ETF in the US recently received approval following the SEC’s clearance of its Form 8-A filing, enabling it to trade on a major American exchange.
The product gives investors direct exposure to Solana’s spot price, a milestone that could further boost institutional participation.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s securities regulator also approved its first Solana spot ETF this week. The move makes Solana the third cryptocurrency, after Bitcoin and Ethereum, to gain such approval in the city and strengthens Hong Kong’s bid to become a leading hub for regulated digital assets.
Fidelity’s addition of Solana rounds out a significant month for the blockchain, which has seen growing adoption from both Wall Street and global regulators.
The listing offers investors a new entry point into one of the industry’s fastest-growing ecosystems, signaling that digital assets are becoming a permanent fixture in the financial mainstream.
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