Can Solana keep up the momentum?

With crypto winter now starting to feel like an ice age, layoffs and new regulatory investigations could continue to be in the news after a slew of announcements and reports in the first week of January.

Solana had a good week, with its token rising nearly 37%, but it’s not clear if it will be able to keep up the momentum.

And if you’re looking for an event to attend or follow along with, the Metavsummit kicks off in Dubai on Jan. 12, while the Crypto Finance Conference runs in St. Moritz, Switzerland runs Jan. 11-13.

Will the layoffs continue?

NFT platform SuperRare became one of the web3 latest companies to announce layoffs on Friday, when it said it would cut 30% of its staff. While SuperRare said it had grown “in tandem with the market” in the last bull run, the company acknowledged it had over-hired.

The Singapore-based crypto exchange Huobi also confirmed it would cut about 20% of its staff last week, while The Block reported Genesis Trading had begun a new round of layoffs to reduce its workforce by 30%.

Crypto-friendly bank Silvergate also said it would cut 40% of its staff amid a “crisis of confidence across the ecosystem.” Digital Currency Group is shuttering HQ Digital, a subsidiary focused on wealth management that it launched last year, according to a report.

While it would be hard to imagine a worse week than last, the dust doesn’t appear to have settled quite yet.

“Firms grew much too quickly during the 2021 bull market that in large part turned out to be a Ponzi scheme,” The Block previously reported Gartner Research Senior Analyst Avivah Litan as saying.

Who’s next to get investigated?

With politicians and regulators scrambling to act amid the ongoing fallout from the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange, there have been a number of reports about fresh investigations. If it’s a risky time to work in the crypto industry, the regulatory front certainly seems to be promising in terms of job security.

The Washington Post on Saturday reported that U.S. authorities are requesting information from investment firms on cryptocurrency exchange Binance as part of a long-running investigation into possible violations of money-laundering regulations.

Bloomberg News, meanwhile, reported that U.S. authorities are investigating the flow of funds between Digital Currency Group and its Genesis lending subsidiary, while Reuters said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking details from FTX investors about their due diligence policies and procedures.

Can Solana keep up the momentum?

Solana had a good week, after a very, very bad year. Its native token staged a bit of a rally, rising 37% over the past seven days, according to TradingView data.

The moves occurred as NFT trading volumes on the ecosystem showed signs of strength, according to The Block’s Data Dashboard. But most of the trading stemmed from NFT projects DeGods and its spinoff collection y00ts, which are bridging to Ethereum in an attempt to dethrone other blue-chip NFT projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club. It’s possible the move could affect Solana’s trading volume going forward.

© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.