- Despite rising optimism around Solana ETFs and a $63 million staking boost from Galaxy Digital, SOL struggles to gain momentum as derivatives market sentiment remains weak.
- A drop in open interest and a surge in long liquidations signal caution, even as technical indicators hint at a potential breakout if SOL clears key resistance near $167.
Solana (SOL) showed modest gains on Tuesday, rising just over 1% to reclaim the $150 level. This came after a failed bullish start to the week and a sharp pullback on Monday. Despite mounting optimism around potential Solana-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and notable institutional investment, market sentiment in derivatives remains notably bearish.
CoinShares filed an S-1 application for a Solana ETF last Friday, joining a growing list of firms — including Grayscale, VanEck, and Fidelity — awaiting regulatory green lights. Bloomberg analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart estimate a 90% chance of eventual approval, a figure that briefly fueled bullish speculation. The filing marks the eighth such application, reflecting growing interest in Solana from traditional finance.
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Meanwhile, Galaxy Digital has significantly boosted its stake in the network, adding $63 million worth of SOL in two recent transactions. Data from Arkham Intelligence indicates the firm now holds over $101 million in staked SOL, with another $18.8 million in reserve. Galaxy’s move underscores increasing institutional confidence, potentially laying the groundwork for longer-term growth.
Despite these developments, sentiment in Solana’s derivatives market has turned sharply negative. Open Interest (OI) in SOL contracts dropped more than 7% in the past 24 hours, sliding to $6.37 billion. Analysts attribute this decline to a wave of long liquidations, which spiked to $15 million — nearly four times the volume of short liquidations. The sharp divergence suggests many bullish traders were caught off guard by recent price volatility.
Technically, Solana is attempting a rebound from the $140 support level. The key test lies at $167, the 50% Fibonacci retracement from its all-time high. A sustained move above this level, reinforced by a potential MACD buy signal and improving RSI momentum, could open the door to $191 — the next major resistance aligned with the 61.8% retracement.
Still, caution lingers. A failure to break higher may invite further downside, especially if SOL closes below $140 again. That would risk a drop toward the psychologically significant $100 mark, undoing much of this year’s gains.
For now, Solana’s price action remains caught between promising fundamentals and a cautious market, with bulls waiting for a definitive catalyst to awaken.