Sol

A MAN was brutally gunned down while smoking outside a cafe during a shocking attack at a luxury Spanish resort.

Brit holidaymakers watched on in horror as the 25-year-old was gunned down in Puerto Banus on the popular Costa del Sol yesterday.

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The victim was caught unawares and shot from close range in broad daylight as he spoke on the phone and smoked on the cafe terrace.

CCTV footage seemingly shows the gunman disguised as a tourist with a baseball cap.

The killer is believed to have got out of a car before targeting his victim.

He can be seen approaching his target before opening fire and continuing to shoot him as he lays on the ground.

The injured man was rushed to the nearby Costa del Sol Hospital, but sadly died hours later despite the efforts of medics to save his life.

Local cops confirmed last night they had made an arrest.

A spokesman for the National Police said: “We can confirm a 38-year-old man has been arrested over the fatal shooting of another man in Puerto Banus.

“The investigation is ongoing and we cannot offer any more details at this stage.”

Cops said they couldn’t comment on the nationalities of the victim and the man held.

Unconfirmed local reports are pointing to both the alleged killer and the victim being Swedish passport holders.

Although another report describes the gunman as Afghan-born.

The shooting happened just after 1.30pm yesterday, when Puerto Banus was bustling with tourists.

Police confirmed the victim died at around 8.15pm local time.

This follows earlier reports he had been shot half a dozen times but was still alive and in hospital.

Shootings in Puerto Banus and surrounding areas over the past few summers have led to high-profile police operations.

This includes a number of raids on upmarket clubs following criticism from locals the port area has become like the ‘Wild West’.

Last June, Manchester City star Erling Haaland was caught up in a dramatic police raid at a beach club called Playa Padre in Marbella.

The Norwegian was filmed putting his hands into his pocket to pull out his ID after cops in balaclavas demanded to know who he was.

The surprise raid resulted in the arrest of an Iranian fugitive.

One of the shootings last year in Puerto Banus included a March 11 attack on British-run eatery La Sala.

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It led to the arrests in April of a British man and Irish national described by police as having links to organised crime.

Contract killers from Sweden have been blamed for an bout of violence around Europe, including the Costa del Sol.

Marbella has been dubbed the ‘United Nations of Crime’ because of the number of violent gangs operating there.

Bomb blasts on the famous coast in October 2018 led to the arrests of three ‘hitmen’ in Sweden and Marbella.

In a statement, Spanish National Police revealed the blasts had been linked to a criminal organistion of contract killers.

It read: “The investigations… linked the incidents to a criminal organisation of contract killers based in Sweden.

“This organisation is believed to be behind a number of violent incidents in Sweden in which explosives have been used.

“Several members of the organisation, all aged between 20 and 30, were identified and evidence established linking them to the bomb blasts.

“Two were in the Swedish city of Malmo where they were arrested in a well-planned police operation.

“The third individual was held in Marbella.”

The so-called Mocro Maffia have also been identified as a problem on the Costa del Sol.

A 17-year-old Belgian youngster working for the feared organisation was arrested last month.

The teen was accused of flying to the resort of Fuengirola to assassinate a Dutchman next to a cannabis club in December last year.

Police have described it as the first case in Spain in which an underage hitman was the main suspect.

Kerry Katona claimed she had U-turned on a decision to move to the famous Costa del Sol resort with her family.

She changed her mind on moving with then-fiancé Ryan Mahoney because she no longer felt safe following the violent incidents there.

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If you catch an asset early in its adoption curve, you don’t need to be perfect to do really well. On that note, five years ago, Solana (SOL -3.61%) was a fledgling smart contract network with more ambition than market share. Had you invested $1,000 then, it would be worth roughly $55,000 on August 27, 2025, or around 5,620% more than what you started with.

That kind of growth, despite skepticism and severe setbacks, is why investors pay attention to the Solana blockchain today. Let’s break down its path and examine its future prospects.

Image source: Getty Images.

The last five years were amazing for investors — but extremely difficult too

Today, Solana trades a little above $204 per coin. On Aug. 27, 2020, just shortly after its mainnet beta went live in early 2020, its price was about $3.44.

The price action over the last five years was not a straight line upward. In fact, as coins go, this one was an extremely difficult investment to hold. Most investors probably would have cracked and sold their coins at one moment in particular.

The FTX bankruptcy hit in November 2022, obliterating all positive sentiment in the crypto sector overnight, and sharply disrupting the supply dynamics around coins associated with the exchange.

Solana was especially hard hit because FTX was heavily promoting it, and owned a stake equivalent to roughly 10% of its total market cap at the time. The exchange had also issued wrapped tokens on the chain, which many users and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects were using as collateral. When the assets backing those tokens were revealed to be missing, they went to zero and took down a significant portion of the Solana ecosystem on the way.

Between the end of November 2021 and a year later, Solana lost 93% of its value.

Even so, by January 2025, Solana’s DeFi total value locked (TVL) had pushed back above $10 billion for the first time since before the collapse, a sign that builders and users had returned.

But why did capital come back after seeing the coin’s value evaporate nearly overnight?

The chain’s core pitch to investors, users, and developers remains its high throughput and low fees, which are both significant advantages for consumer-facing activity. Recent usage data supports that reality, with millions of daily active wallet addresses and tens of millions of daily transactions at periods of peak demand.

Will the next five years rhyme?

Solana’s near-term upside will likely be driven by where it already shows product-market fit. But don’t expect a repeat of its past bull run.

Start with DeFi and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Even after the 2022 to 2023 crypto winter, NFT sales on Solana have remained active. For 2024 as a whole, Solana ranked third in NFT sales at roughly $1.4 billion, an indication that participation persisted through the broader recovery.

But the bigger story is probably in the rise of a certain kind of fungible crypto token: tokenized stocks.

Such assets are simply stocks that are tracked and traded on the blockchain instead of on the traditional markets. Currently, there’s nearly $500 million in value stored on the chain’s tokenized equities. If the asset tokenization trend continues, and it probably will, that sum could balloon significantly over the coming years, attracting a lot of new value to the chain and generating revenue for the network when investors trade their tokenized stocks.

Another new catalyst is the emergence of on-chain AI agents, small programs that can reason over tasks and transact with decentralized applications (dApps) or smart contracts on a user’s behalf. If agent-mediated activity scales, Solana is well placed to capture it. There’s not much hope for the emerging AI agent segment to power the same scale of returns that Solana experienced over the last five years, but it could still make the coin’s value increase substantially if it takes off.

So, is it worth buying some Solana and holding it for the next five years? Absolutely. Just keep your expectations in check, and be aware that it’s very possible for the coin to experience another wild ride like it has since 2020.

A 59-YEAR-old Brit woman was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl at a popular holiday spot.

The shocking incident is alleged to have taken place earlier this month, but only came to light today.

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The Brit is said to have approached the teenager on a Costa del Sol beach.

She allegedly spoke to her in English to “gain her trust” before groping her.

The youngster, who is an Italian national, rushed to a nearby shop to seek help where a relative was working.

They subsequently called the police to report the incident.

Cops held the Brit, who allegedly has a history of sexual offences, in the same area.

The shocking incident happened at La Cala de Mijas near Fuengirola earlier in the month.

While the arrest was made by local police, Civil Guard officers are the ones who took her to court.

It is unclear today whether the Brit was a holidaymaker or an expat in Spain.

In addition, it’s also unknown if she has been remanded in custody pending an ongoing investigation or released on bail.

Local councillor Juan Carlos Cuevas described her alleged behaviour as “repugnant and intolerable”.

He added that, even though she has not yet been charged with any crime, it “deserves the strongest condemnation”.

The councillor further said the co-operation of locals and the rapid intervention of local police helped secure the arrest.

 “This case shows that when we work together, we manage to halt very serious situations,” he said.

Earlier this month, a Brit assassin who Spanish police say was on the run was arrested in Costa del Sol.

Pistols, ammunition and a silencer were found in his smashed-up Nissan Qashqai.

The suspected hitman had a run-in with two women at a petrol station – after which he crashed his car.

He reportedly began harassing two Dutch women after trying to get them to buy him cocaine.

The suspect tried to flee as cops arrived at the scene.

Sources told local paper Diario Sur that he ran out of the car “with visible injuries” before quickly being caught by police.

Chaotic footage was captured Saturday night at Rose Bowl Stadium of a man brutally beating a woman in the stands during a Rüfüs Du Sol concert. Other concertgoers expressed shock over the incident, and some attendees said they were concerned about crowd control and safety measures at the sold-out show.

The video, shared by festival news platform Festive Owl, shows a man knocking a woman to the ground and repeatedly throwing punches at her while other attendees try to pull him back.

“This man punched me in the face, knocking me out and causing significant bleeding, while he continued attacking our group,” the woman wrote in a message shared by Festive Owl. She is asking for the public’s help in identifying the man after the attack, which took place in Section 12-H, Row 20 at the venue.

The victim said the man became agitated after a drink was accidentally spilled on him. According to the woman, he then yelled that the spill was intentional and stormed off before returning 30 minutes later screaming and threatening violence.

“I tried to calm the situation and apologized again — and the next thing I remember I woke up in a medical tent an hour later and missed the entire show,” the woman wrote.

The Australian electronic music trio said in a statement shared on social media Monday night that they were heartbroken to hear about the act of violence that took place during the opening act of their show. They encouraged anyone with information on the incident to contact the Pasadena Police Department.

“This type of behavior is completely unacceptable anywhere and the fact that this happened at one of our shows was devastating to hear about,” the group wrote. “Local law enforcement is actively investigating the situation.”

The concert organizers were criticized on social media, with fans complaining about long lines, the packed venue and poor crowd control, with some citing fears that it could have turned into a tragedy similar to the fatal crowd crush at 2021 Astroworld.

“It was honestly out of control. It was a circus. It was not safe, and I’m very angry,” a concertgoer identified as Derek told NBC4 News.

Christina Molina told KTLA News that the venue was so packed people were watching the show from the walkway.

“I literally had people pressed up against my back, all of them blocking that entire walkway,” she told the station. “Crowd control was nonexistent.”

With growing activity across decentralized apps, NFT platforms, and a fresh wave of meme coin launches, analysts say a Solana run to $300 isn’t out of the question. If the trends from six months ago are replicated, we could see a new all-time high for SOL, a record previously set at $294 in January this year.

Much of the momentum this cycle is again tied to meme coins, and with the launch of platforms like LetsBONK, Solana’s part in the meme coin economy is increasing rapidly. As over 40,000 new tokens launch each day on Solana, most are destined to fail, some are scams, but a few deliver big returns.

Snorter Bot (SNORT) is emerging as an indispensable automated trading bot aimed at sniping that 1% of meme coins that make it big. With sub-second speed, tools to block honeypots and rugpulls, and over $2 million raised, the Snorter Bot presale is grabbing attention as the top new utility project in Solana’s meme coin space.

Solana’s $300 Target a Reality as Meme Coins and DeFi Projects Multiply

In a game-changing development, tokenized stocks have recently gone live on Solana, enabling users to purchase their favorite stocks, such as Tesla, Nvidia, or Amazon, without requiring a traditional brokerage account. Users can buy these tokens on Jupiter or any other DeFi platform on Solana, using a variety of assets, including USDC and SOL, as well as meme coins like BONK and PENGU.

Even the technical charts point to further gains for SOL. A popular Solana analyst, jussy, predicted that Solana could push towards $263 if it breaks resistance at $180. Having just crossed $190, a continuation of its rise towards high $250s could give SOL further momentum to break the magical $300 mark.

The recent rise of ETFs paints SOL’s new climb towards an ATH in a completely different light. Now, with Solana ETFs attracting $78 million in inflows within a few days of their launch and new institutions filing for a Solana ETF, the door to boundless capital from traditional investors has been wide open.

But nothing moves the charts like meme coins. Tokens like BONK and PENGU recently overtook TRUMP as the two largest meme coins on Solana. Bonk’s launchpad LetsBONK is seeing a surge in revenue, too, and it consistently pushes past $400 million in 24-hour trading volume.

The meme meta is what drove Solana to its all-time highs at $294, and it appears that the meme meta will be instrumental in propelling Solana to $300 this time.

However, over 40,000 meme coins are being created daily on the Solana blockchain. It’s chaos where most of the coins have no future. A recent report from Solidus Labs flagged widespread rugpulls and pump-and-dump activity across more than 98% of the tokens launched via Pump.fun, another meme coin launchpad on Solana.

But within that chaos, there’s also an opportunity, as a small percentage of golden goose tokens can return life-changing upside. Around 300 of these elusive coins reach bonding within 24 hours and continue to the next phase, according to the Jup Pro analytics platform.

To survive the trenches and thrive, manual trading and gut feeling may no longer be enough. That’s where Snorter Bot comes in. This Telegram-native bot features automated tools designed to collect the best coins at launch and uses built-in protection against honeypots and rug pulls, providing retail traders with an edge that was long overdue.

Could Snorter Become the Next Big Solana Token?

As the name suggests, Snorter Bot is a trading bot built for Solana. It’s native to the Telegram app, meaning it transforms the chat app into a full crypto trading terminal where users can snipe meme coins and swap tokens with MEV protection.

The bot delivers sub-second execution speed thanks to its own RPC architecture, enabling its users to outspeed platforms like Jupiter. Additionally, the bot offers rugpull and honeypot detection mechanisms which have proven an 85% effectiveness in eliminating scams and malicious tokens.

Another useful feature is its portfolio tracker, where users can easily monitor their cost basis, PnL, and open positions without resorting to an external app or site. And that’s the beauty of its Telegram integration: there’s no need for complex wallet setups or a flood of browser tabs, it’s all within the chat app.

Initially, Snorter Bot will begin operation on Solana. However, the team plans to expand to EVM-compatible chains, such as Ethereum, BNB, Polygon, and Base. There it will be able to capture an even larger portion of the meme coin market and simplify cross-chain meme coin trading for its users.

SNORT Token Cranks the Features Up to Eleven

The SNORT token is a utlity token used to power and manage Snorter Bot’s wide array of features. It’s multi-chain token, available on both Solana and Ethereum, and gives its holders premium access to unlimited token snipes and advanced portfolio analytics.

For those looking for passive income opportunities, holding SNORT unlocks staking rewards, as well as copy trading capabilities, an extremely welcome feature that is rarely seen outside of centralized exchanges. With Snorter Bot, users can copy the traders of their favorite trader while keeping their assets in a non-custodial wallet.

Snorter Bot also leads the way in fees. With SNORT, users can enjoy fees as low as 85%, a considerable discount from the full 1.5%, whereas standard industry fees often go up to 2%.

The analysts at 99Bitcoins see fundamental value in the SNORT token and believe it can take a serious share of the meme coin market.

Snorter Token Next 10X Potential Crypto?! NEW Solana Meme Crypto Trading Bot!!

Why SNORT Could be the Top Solana Meme Coin

Most meme coins offer no tools, no product, and rarely any use beyond price speculation. Snorter Bot flips that model by building real trading infrastructure in a market where speed and protection matter more than ever.

With LetsBONK and Pump.fun showing that the Solana meme coin moment could experience its biggest charge yet, bots like Snorter could become the core tools for traders looking to discover the next big coins and turn a profit. And with over $2 million raised in its presale, this is one of the top Solana projects right now.

Interested investors can buy SNORT using SOL, ETH, BNB, USDT, USDC, or a bank card. Visit the Snorter Bot presale site and connect your wallet to make the purchase. Early investors can increase their holdings while the presale lasts by staking for a dynamic yield of 186%.

Alternatively, download Best Wallet and buy SNORT from the Upcoming Tokens tab.

Visit Snorter Bot Presale

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. ModernDiplomacy.eu is not a licensed crypto-asset service provider under EU regulation (MiCA). Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and involve significant risk. Always conduct your own research and consult a licensed advisor before making any investment decisions.

Crypto prices are surging after Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran in the Middle East. Solana is a top gainer with an 8% pump.

It now trades at $145 and appears well on track to take local highs in the days ahead.

However, as the Solana price surges on renewed investor confidence, the newly launched Solana layer 2 blockchain, Solaxy ($SOLX), has gained 60% in the past 24 hours following its DEX launch on Uniswap and Raydium.

According to CoinMarketCap data, presale profit-taking ensued once $SOLX hit the open market on Monday, causing an initial crash to lows of $0.00059. However, the selling has stopped, and bulls have taken charge, with the $SOLX price rallying to a current valuation of $0.0011.

Solaxy is strategically positioned to extend Solana’s ecosystem with layer 2 scaling, removing the network’s long-standing congestion issue and replacing it with blistering speeds, lower fees, and reliability.

Investors looking to capitalize on Solana’s growth appear to be buying Solaxy in order to generate bigger gains. While Solana is worth $76 billion, Solaxy’s market cap is just $124 million, offering huge upside potential, especially since it solves a crucial ecosystem issue.

Solana’s rapid surge as geopolitical tensions soften

Solaxy leads crypto gainers – but there’s room for more big gains

After raising $58 million to become the largest Solana presale in history, Solaxy is living up to expectations on its decentralized exchange (DEX) debut.

With a 60% pump over the past 24 hours, it’s one of the biggest gainers across all altcoins as seen on CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko.

Furthermore, its trading volume is also surging, having increased from $2 million 16 hours ago to over $6 million at press time.

As word spreads about Solaxy’s exchange listing, new investors are scrambling to buy. It’s important to note that Solaxy currently remains at a substantial discount compared to the price at which several top analysts anticipate it trading this cycle.

Something else worth noting is that Solaxy has locked $1.6 million in liquidity until June 2026. This doesn’t just ensure seamless buying and selling; it reflects Solaxy’s long-term approach and signals that the team isn’t going anywhere.

And the chart is starting to reflect that – $SOLX has broken all key resistance and now has room for an 59% uptick to the next important price point.

Solaxy mainnet launch and “massive exchanges” coming soon

Strap in because Solaxy’s gains may just be getting started.

The project aims to address Solana’s congestion issue by utilizing off-chain computation and transaction bundling technology, validating transactions on its layer 2 in batches and then reporting back to Solana for finality.

Its goal is to achieve 10,000 transactions per second (TPS), which will make it significantly faster than Solana, capable of 6,500 TPS.

The test network is now live, allowing developers to begin building Solaxy apps. The team has confirmed that the main network will go live on July 7. Other key launches include Solaxy’s meme coin launchpad Igniter Protocol and its native DEX Neptoon.

The team has also promised that Solaxy will list on “massive exchanges.” And although they have yet to confirm which ones, its ambitious use case, ties to Solana, and strong DEX debut all indicate that top tier 1 platforms will be interested.

There is no doubt that listings on such exchanges, coupled with the launch of major ecosystem features, will contribute to a strong uptrend continuation for Solaxy in the months ahead.

$SOLX is currently available on the Ethereum and Solana networks, so investors can purchase it from Uniswap or Raydium.

Holders can also transfer their tokens between networks using the Solaxy bridge.

You can also follow the project on X or join its Telegram for the latest news and updates. Alternatively, visit its website to learn more or stake $SOLX.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not provide financial advice. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, and the market can be unpredictable. Always perform thorough research before making any cryptocurrency-related decisions.

Bitcoin just hit a new all-time high (ATH), but Solana is setting the pace among crypto majors with a 6.8% gain today. Can it rally to $200 this month?

Meanwhile, the new Solana layer 2 Solaxy displays incredible strength in its presale, raising $39 million. Will this follow Solana’s lead and explode once it hits exchanges?

Solana Outpaces Peers as Ecosystem Explodes

The market is euphoric right now, with Bitcoin trading above $110,000 and altcoins green across the board.

But amidst this excitement, Solana leads the way among large-cap cryptos. With a 6.8% gain in the past 24 hours, it has just tapped the $180 level.

This makes it the best-performing top five crypto by market cap today, underlining that investors are eager to get involved as market conditions show positive signs.

But this momentum extends beyond $SOL and into its ecosystem tokens. Solana-based meme coin SPX6900 is the biggest gainer among the top 100 cryptos by market cap today, with a 24% gain. It’s followed by fellow Solana meme coins Fartcoin and Dogwifhat, up 21% and 20%, respectively.

It’s no surprise that Solana leads the way in terms of daily active users among all blockchains, with 4.5 million people interacting with it today alone. This figure stretches to a staggering 82 million users over the last month, almost double the next-most-active blockchain, Near Protocol, with 42 million daily active users.

Solana’s vibrant ecosystem is the reason it’s performing so well today, and judging by its on-chain activity, there’s no sign that it will slow down anytime soon. With that in mind, Solana looks poised for an uptrend continuation, but what does its chart say?

Expert Says Solana to Break $200 Within 1 Month