Even when the rest of the cryptocurrency market is flat, institutions still like Solana, according to the most recent crypto fund data from CoinShares.

James Butterfill, director of research at CoinShares, said that "very little activity was seen in the altcoin space," with Solana being the one exception.

The year 2023 has been good for Solana, with 27 weeks of inflows compared to only four weeks of selloffs. The asset was stolen by institutions for $5 million during the last seven days, which was no exception. This, in Butterfill's opinion, has helped the cryptocurrency to maintain its position as the "most-loved altcoin this year."

According to Butterfill, the former "Ethereum killer's" success is a result of its collaboration with several financial institutions including payments giant Visa "while offering ultrafast cheap payments." He continued by saying that while it doesn't have as many users or developers as Ethereum, "it has captured the favor of investors."

According to DefiLlama, the network's total value locked (TVL) earlier today reached $338.82 million, its highest level of the year. Its native coin, SOL, has also seen a brief boost in value, now trading at $23.40, up 20% from the previous week.

Bitcoin has also changed its negative trajectory and registered an institutional green week, joining Solana.

The leading cryptocurrency had inflows of $20.4 million over the last several days, driven by a variety of factors, including the current "quagmire" surrounding government financing.

Although it's "hard to tell for certain," Butterfill told Decrypt that he believes the Washington, D.C. standoff over budget concessions is the cause of the rise in interest.

Another aspect is that "the timing of inflows is closely linked to the timing of the rise of the 10-year government bond," he noted.

However, the bulls don't yet have total control. Volumes are still painfully low, averaging $3 billion per day, a far cry from the $11 billion of last year. According to Butterfill, these values put us in the year 2020.

And among major businesses, there is still a geographical inequality. The United States had $19 million in outflows, whilst its northern neighbor, Canada, experienced $17 million in purchasing pressure. Europe received $23 million worth of inflows from across the pond.

Last but not least, Ethereum seems to still deserve the title of "least-loved altcoin" for 2018. It had $1.5 million in outflows, with seven weeks straight of selling, totaling $114 million offloaded annually.