Solana recovered 4% over the past 24 hours, regaining the crucial $120 resistance as buyers returned to the market following a consolidation period. The increase coincided with a shift to a more favorable US inflation outlook, lending momentum to the broader cryptocurrency market.
SOL regains momentum amid macro tailwinds
Solana’s recent rally brought trading volume to approximately $4.2 billion, accounting for about 6.5% of the token’s circulating market value. The rally follows a period where the price held below $120, maintaining an overall bullish trend in the market structure.
Earlier this week, SOL faced selling pressure at the $120 level, previously identified by analysts as an important upside target. A rejection at this area had suggested further bullish momentum was needed for Solana to move higher. Softer-than-expected US inflation data has provided that momentum, allowing buyers to push the price through resistance.
Despite this upward move, a sustained breakout above $120 is required to confirm the end of Solana’s short-term downtrend. Traders are now monitoring the next main psychological resistance, focused around the $150 region as a potential target.
The Solana community is also closely watching developments related to Alpenglow, an upgrade currently undergoing testnet and devnet trials on the network.
Mini dictionary: Alpenglow — A planned Solana network upgrade aimed at dramatically reducing transaction finalization times from around 12.8 seconds to about 150 milliseconds, though current figures are based on test environments and have yet to be proven on the Solana mainnet.
Alpenglow aims to sharply accelerate transaction finality, which could benefit high-frequency trading and financial applications requiring fast confirmation. However, these improvements are only demonstrated in development settings so far. There is currently no confirmed date for mainnet implementation, leaving the timeline for wider adoption open.
Network activity surges as fees climb
Solana has also recorded significant growth in generated network fees, pointing to increased user activity and ecosystem engagement. Data from DeFiLlama shows that Solana’s network fees rose from $639 million in the second quarter to $948 million in the third quarter, a jump of approximately 50%. Each of the last three months has contributed to this steady climb.
| Quarter | Network Fees | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 | $639 million | — |
| Q3 | $948 million | +50% |
Rising application fees often reflect growing engagement with the Solana ecosystem, capturing increases in economic activity that go beyond speculative trading. However, network fees do not automatically translate into returns for SOL token holders; their impact depends on how usage affects demand and valuation for the token itself.
Application fee growth signals more widespread activity across the Solana ecosystem, strengthening views that recent interest extends beyond the network’s announced technical improvements.
Technical outlook: Bulls target $150
Solana’s daily trading chart signals ongoing bullish sentiment as the price surges past the $120 threshold. Over recent days, buyers defended the $110 support level, reinforcing an upward trajectory.
With momentum now behind the bulls, attention has shifted to the $150 resistance zone. This target represents a potential 25% gain from the current breakout area, drawing additional interest from market participants.
In addition to the anticipated Alpenglow upgrade, increased network activity and fee growth provide further support for the positive technical outlook. However, analysts caution that failure to close above $120 would allow sellers to retest the $110 support area—a region where buyers could potentially return but not a guaranteed floor of defense.
Should Solana be unable to hold above $110, the near-term recovery thesis would weaken, prompting renewed caution among market participants.
