Solana enters a new phase of financial infrastructure: Backpack CEO straightforwardly states, this concerns the true future of finance

The transformation of the Solana ecosystem has already begun quietly. Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante explicitly stated in an interview that this blockchain, once known for high-speed NFT and meme coin trading, is entering a new phase that is “more focused on finance.”

The industry leader pointed out that the Solana ecosystem has doubled down over the past year, with a more pragmatic direction: financial infrastructure. The entire crypto industry’s focus is returning to decentralized finance, trading, and payments.

01 Signals of Transformation

Solana’s positioning is undergoing a profound change. Once, it was the market focus due to high-speed NFT minting and meme coin frenzy, but now this image is being reshaped.

Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante clearly stated that the Solana ecosystem has increased its investment in financial infrastructure. This marks a shift from broad exploration of NFTs, gaming, and social tokens to more substantive areas: decentralized finance, trading, and payments.

Ferrante explained that people are beginning to see blockchain as a new type of financial infrastructure. “It’s not just about NFTs, nor just about explosive gaming, but more about finance.”

02 Core of Financial Infrastructure

Ferrante describes the new phase of Solana with several distinctive features. The most obvious change is the shift of focus from short-term speculation to long-term value creation.

This transformation has made Solana appear less “lively” to external observers, but Ferrante interprets it as a sign of maturity. The network is increasingly focusing on high-throughput on-chain transactions, market structure, and settlement, which some call “Internet capital markets.”

The long-term value of blockchain lies in its role as a neutral settlement layer. In this future vision, assets like stocks and derivatives will seamlessly transfer across platforms as standardized tokens, rather than being confined to isolated databases. “Tokens are just a standardized, consensus-based ledger entry used to record who owns what,” Ferrante pointed out, “this concept applies across all fields.”

03 Market Status

As of January 26, 2026, Solana’s price on the Gate platform is shown as $122.33, with active trading. This price level is within market expectations, consistent with most traders on Polymarket expecting a range of $120-130.

It is noteworthy that market interest in cryptocurrencies shows a clear divergence from traditional finance. Despite the continued downturn in crypto prices and cautious crypto-native investors, Ferrante pointed out that institutional investor interest is unusually high.

“If you ask anyone on Wall Street, they’ve never been so bullish as they are now,” he said, highlighting the growing momentum around tokenization, stablecoins, and on-chain settlement.

04 Industry Trends

Solana’s transformation reflects the evolution path of the entire blockchain industry. After years of extensive experimentation with NFTs, gaming, and social tokens, the focus of the crypto industry is gradually returning to financial fundamentals.

The potential of blockchain as financial infrastructure is being reassessed. Compared to the previous pursuit of diverse decentralized applications, the industry now pays more attention to core financial applications: asset trading, value transfer, and settlement systems.

This shift is partly driven by changing market demands and also reflects the natural evolution stage of blockchain technology. From early proof-of-concept to practical applications, the financial sector, with its inherent need for security, efficiency, and transparency, has become one of the most promising use cases for blockchain technology.

05 Gate’s Positioning

In this industry transformation, Gate Exchange consolidates its position through continuous innovation. The Gate platform’s token GT is currently priced at $9.67, with a market cap of $1.114 billion, maintaining stable performance in the market.

Gate is not only a trading venue but also actively building multi-layered financial infrastructure. The latest development includes the launch of Gate Layer mainnet, a high-performance second-layer network built on OP Stack, using GT as the sole gas fee token.

The platform also completed a token burn in Q4 2025, permanently destroying over 2.16 million GT, worth over $26.9 million, continuing to promote a deflationary model. These measures indicate that Gate is actively adapting to the industry’s shift toward financial infrastructure.

06 Real-World Challenges

Ferrante emphasized that true adoption will require deeper integration with regulatory frameworks rather than avoiding regulation. As cryptocurrencies transition from speculative experiments to embedded financial infrastructure, compliance and legal clarity become prerequisites.

“Maturity actually means the real world,” he said. “And the real world is not chaos.” This view reveals the core challenge faced by Solana and the entire industry: how to maintain the advantages of decentralization while meeting the compliance requirements of the real-world financial system.

Regulatory integration is a key aspect of the development of blockchain financial infrastructure. For projects within the Solana ecosystem and the industry as a whole, establishing compliant frameworks that connect with traditional finance is a necessary condition for long-term growth.

07 Future Outlook

Solana’s bet is that even at the cost of sacrificing some speculation, building an ecosystem for real-world finance will bring long-term returns. As global finance gradually moves on-chain, practicality and sustainability will replace short-term hype as the standards of value.

This transformation not only affects Solana but will also redefine the value proposition of the entire blockchain industry. The shift from “technological experimentation” to “financial tools” means blockchain projects will face more rigorous practical tests and market competition.

For trading platforms like Gate, this industry transformation presents both challenges and opportunities. As blockchain financial infrastructure improves, the role of trading platforms may expand from simple asset trading venues to comprehensive financial service providers.

Comparison of Old and New Phases

To better illustrate Solana’s transformation path, the following table compares the characteristics of its different development stages:

Future Outlook

As Solana’s narrative shifts from “the fastest blockchain” to “the backbone of financial infrastructure,” the standards for valuation are undergoing a fundamental change. Ferrante’s statement that “it’s not just about NFTs, nor just about explosive gaming, but more about finance” is becoming a reality.

The practical value of blockchain as financial infrastructure is gradually replacing its appeal as a technological experiment. This transformation not only redefines Solana’s future but also provides a roadmap for the industry’s next phase of development.

As the global financial system moves increasingly on-chain, the process of blockchain technology moving from the periphery to the core has accelerated. Solana’s transformation may become a watershed for the industry, marking a key step from “potentially changing the world” to “changing finance.”