Solana (SOL) rallied 5% to $184.05 in Wednesday trading as blockchain analytics show decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols on the network processed $8 billion in transactions over the past 24 hours. The surge comes alongside a 22% weekly gain that’s outpaced top rivals Ethereum and BNB Chain according to CoinGecko data.
Trading volume spiked to $3.16 billion as Solana’s market cap reclaimed $94.3 billion, cementing its position as the sixth-largest cryptocurrency. The network’s total value locked (TVL) crossed $4.8 billion for the first time since January 2025, with derivatives platform Drift Protocol and liquid staking protocol Jito leading the growth.
Analysts attribute the momentum to Tuesday’s launch of Firedancer testnet on Solana mainnet, a new validator client designed to enhance network stability. “This upgrade addresses last year’s outage concerns while maintaining sub-second finality,” said Messari researcher Chase Wright in a Telegram update.
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Solana Technical Analysis
The SOL/USDT pair broke through key resistance at $180 after consolidating for 72 hours. On-chain data shows whales accumulated 2.1 million SOL ($387 million) through OTC desks during this period.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 24H High | $186.72 |
| 24H Low | $178.15 |
| RSI (4H) | 68 |
| Volume/Market Cap | 3.35% |
DeFi Ecosystem Expansion
Solana’s DeFi ecosystem now comprises 48 protocols with over $10 million TVL, up from 32 in Q1 2025. The network’s DEX volume reached $1.8 billion Wednesday, with:
- Raydium: $620 million (34.4% market share)
- Orca: $580 million (32.2%)
- Phoenix: $210 million (11.7%)
Liquid staking protocol Marinade Finance crossed $2 billion TVL, offering 6.8% APR on SOL staking. This growth comes despite Ethereum’s dominant 58% share of total DeFi TVL across all chains.
Institutional Interest Grows
Coinbase Prime reported record SOL custody inflows of $140 million Wednesday morning, while Grayscale’s Solana Trust (GSOL) traded at a 12% premium to NAV. VanEck filed updated paperwork for a Solana ETF in the European Union, though US regulators haven’t approved similar products.
CryptoQuant data shows exchange reserves dropped to 18 million SOL ($3.3 billion), the lowest level since November 2024. This supply squeeze coincides with increased usage from Solana-based NFT projects like Mad Lads and Tensorians, which burned 4,200 SOL ($773k) in mint fees this week.
Options traders remain bullish with $200 million in open interest for June $200 calls. Deribit’s volatility index hit 82% for SOL options, compared to 68% for ETH and 54% for BTC.
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The SOL rally has lifted other Solana ecosystem tokens with:
- JTO (+14% to $4.82)
- JUP (+9% to $1.12)
- PYTH (+7% to $0.58)
As the only top-10 cryptocurrency outperforming both Bitcoin and Ethereum this week, Solana’s resurgence signals renewed confidence in high-throughput blockchains. With network upgrades progressing and institutional products developing, analysts at Changelly predict SOL could test its $294.85 all-time high by Q3 2025.
