• Solana price has risen 110% in the first quarter of 2023.
• SOL closed in the red in February and is likely to end March 4% lower, but January ended with SOL 140% up.
• Crypto intelligence firm Messari has highlighted Solana’s growth potential as network navigates away from recent outages and other challenges.

Solana price is negative on the monthly time frame in March, with SOL/USD at $20.88 currently seeing the token down 3% in the past 30 days. Notably, Solana price remains 80% down this past year and about 91% off its all-time highs of $260 reached in November 2021.

However, the cryptocurrency is set for its most successful quarterly returns in almost two years. This is despite all the downside pressure amid network challenges since late last year, with SOL’s returns over the past three months well over one hundred percent.

Messari highlights Solana growth potential

Crypto market intelligence firm Messari recently highlighted Solana’s growth even as FUD spread, noting that trying to compare the blockchain to some L2s in terms of TVL was missing the point.

“Comparing Solana’s TVL to other emerging chains doesn’t tell the full story. Usage has been driven by non-TVL dominant use cases like derivatives, NFTs, & DePIN networks. If Solana decides to turn on incentives, we could quickly see volume approach parity with the top L2s,” Messari researchers wrote.

3/ Comparing @solana‘s TVL to other emerging chains doesn’t tell the full story.

Usage has been driven by non-TVL dominant use cases like derivatives, NFTs, & DePIN networks.

If Solana decides to turn on incentives, we could quickly see volume approach parity with the top L2s. pic.twitter.com/uwkxuEdZk8

— Messari (@MessariCrypto) March 22, 2023

According to Messari, Solana developers are focused on simplifying the deployment of innovative DeFi strategies, automation of on-chain instructions, and deployment of Web3-native websites among others. The shift to these efforts could prove key to the Solana ecosystem, with greater adoption very much likely.

What next for Solana price?

TradingView data shows the 3-month candle for SOL/USD is currently poised at +110%. It is the best quarterly return since Q2 2021, when the price of Solana rose almost 300% as bullish momentum catapulted cryptocurrencies higher.

Looking at the monthly chart, Solana returns are highest in January with a monthly close at $23.93 giving it 30-day gains of 140%. The last time SOL/USD posted more gains on the monthly timeframe was in August 2021 when prices jumped 195%.