Solana Faces Mixed Signals: SOL Hovers Above $140 Despite Growing Institutional Interest

Solana (SOL) is trading above $140 after having posted an 11% decline over the past 24 hours. SOL/USD grapples with conflicting market

Solana Faces Mixed Signals: SOL Hovers Above $140 Despite Growing Institutional Interest

Quick overview

  • Solana (SOL) is currently trading above $140, despite an 11% decline in the last 24 hours amid mixed market sentiment.
  • The Solana derivatives market has reached new highs, with futures open interest increasing by 22% to 46.2 million SOL tokens, indicating growing institutional interest.
  • A significant drop in on-chain activity raises concerns about Solana's long-term growth, as competition from other blockchain systems increases.
  • Corporate investment plans face regulatory challenges, but there is optimism about potential ETF approvals that could boost Solana's market position.

Solana (SOL) is trading above $140 after having posted an 11% decline over the past 24 hours. SOL/USD grapples with conflicting market dynamics weighing on the sentiment. Despite facing recent selling pressure, the digital asset continues to attract significant institutional attention, as indicated by record-breaking futures activity and substantial corporate investment plans.

Solana Faces Mixed Signals: SOL Hovers Above $140 Despite Growing Institutional Interest
Solana price analysis

Record SOL Futures Activity Signals Growing Institutional Appetite

The Solana derivatives market has hit new highs, with futures open interest reaching 46.2 million SOL tokens on Wednesday, the highest level in more than two years. This is a 22% rise from the month before, bringing the total amount of open futures positions to over $7.4 billion.

This rise in leveraged trading activity shows that more institutional investors are getting involved. These investors use complex arbitrage methods, such as carry trades, where they buy SOL on the spot market and sell futures contracts at the same time. The derivatives market for Solana has become more liquid, which gives expert traders more chances to make money and shows that more institutions are accepting the cryptocurrency.

SOL/USD Technical Analysis Points to Uncertain Price Direction

SOL/USD

 

From a technical point of view, SOL’s current position gives traders contradictory signals. The cryptocurrency has had a hard time keeping up its pace after testing the $180 barrier level several times in May. It couldn’t keep the 10% gains it made between Monday and Thursday of the prior week.

The financing rates for SOL’s perpetual futures have stayed mostly neutral, moving between flat and slightly bearish levels. In a normal bullish market, financing rates would be more than 15% a year, which means that long positions (buyers) are paying more to keep their holdings. The lack of these premiums shows that traders aren’t very confident in a bullish market, even though the open interest has gone up.

Network Activity Decline Raises Growth Concerns

The big drop in on-chain activity is probably the most worrisome thing for SOL’s long-term future. The amount of decentralized exchanges (DEXs) on the Solana network has declined a lot, from $29.2 billion to $10.5 billion each week in just 30 days, a drop of about 64%.

This drop in network usage shows that other blockchain systems are becoming more competitive, especially BNB Chain, which has gained market dominance by offering lower fees and easy connection with major cryptocurrency exchanges. The memecoin trading frenzy that used to be a big part of Solana’s activity has also slowed down a lot since its peak in January.

Corporate Investment Plans Face Regulatory Hurdles

Not only are institutions interested in trading Solana, but they are also interested in directly investing in it. DeFi Development Corp., a business listed on Nasdaq, has set up a $5 billion equity line of credit with RK Capital Management LLC. The money will mostly be used to buy SOL tokens. But with the SEC’s recent rejection of a separate $1 billion registration filing because of missing internal controls documents, compliance with regulations is still a problem.

There is also still uncertainty about whether Solana will get spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) licenses. Bloomberg experts are sure that the SEC will allow SOL ETFs along with Litecoin and XRP by the end of the year.

Solana Price Prediction and Market Outlook

Given how the market is right now, it’s hard to say how SOL will get to $200 in the near future. Neutral funding rates, less activity on the network, and more competition all point to a lack of major events that could cause prices to rise quickly. However, the record-high futures open interest and large corporate investment plans show that institutions are confident in Solana’s long-term potential.

The $180 barrier has been hard to break through in the last few months, and the $140-$155 zone seems to be a good place to buy. If the price stays over $180 with a lot of volume, it might mean that the price is trying to reach $200 again. However, this would probably need a big event, like the approval of an ETF, or a rise in the price of all cryptocurrencies.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR See More
Arslan Butt
Lead Markets Analyst – Multi-Asset (FX, Commodities, Crypto)
Arslan Butt serves as the Lead Commodities and Indices Analyst, bringing a wealth of expertise to the field. With an MBA in Behavioral Finance and active progress towards a Ph.D., Arslan possesses a deep understanding of market dynamics. His professional journey includes a significant role as a senior analyst at a leading brokerage firm, complementing his extensive experience as a market analyst and day trader. Adept in educating others, Arslan has a commendable track record as an instructor and public speaker. His incisive analyses, particularly within the realms of cryptocurrency and forex markets, are showcased across esteemed financial publications such as ForexCrunch, InsideBitcoins, and EconomyWatch, solidifying his reputation in the financial community.

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