After posting a stellar performance through the month of September, Solana (SOL) is surging ahead during early trading on Friday, starting the fresh month on a weak note although analysts forecast a strongly bullish outlook for it. At the time of writing, SOL/USDT is trading at around $148.66.

Solana Takes on Ethereum?

The high-speed blockchain network which has turned into one of the most attractive alternatives to Ethereum for dApps registered a 23% growth during the month of September, even as DeFi leader Ethereum lost 23% of its value during the period. Gains were limited due to brief network outage it suffered as well as news of China’s latest cryptocurrency ban which weighed on the overall market sentiment. Despite these challenges, it went on to garner considerable attention from institutional investors, experiencing high levels of fund inflows through September despite news of the outage denting its appeal.

On the fundamentals front, the SOL token can receive some support from growing adoption of its blockchain technology among dApps, especially in the DeFi and NFT sectors. One recent initiative Endangered Animals launched its very first NFT collection on the Solana blockchain, The Flying Frogs, switching from Ethereum on account of Solana’s lower gas fees. The initiative aims to raise funds for donation to various charities involved in saving endangered species around the world.

Other Factors Support Bullish Mood

Another interesting development that can increase activity on the network is leading education blockchain platform Codemy has partnered with Solana-based coin developer Coconut to equip its platform with an educational metaverse and NFT by the end of 2021. According to the CEO of Coconut, Ho-Jun Jung, “The transmission speed and processing speed are much better than Ethereum coins. Security is also good, and it is expected to be popular in Korea soon.”

Popular crypto analyst and trader Lark Davis has recently shared a bullish forecast for Solana for the present month. According to him, the blockchain has seen the launch of several NFTs lately which can spur investor interest in its network. In his latest YouTube video, he observes, “The whole NFT craze that’s been happening on Solana is very serious. We’ve seen people flipping NFTS for insane gains over on Solana, showing that Solana is providing the kind of NFTs that people want to buy and want to use to make money off of.”

Key Levels to Watch

On the 4-hour chart of SOL/USDT, all moving averages along with leading technical indicators MACD and momentum are suggesting a strong bullish bias. Solana’s price has overcome the pivot point and buyers look set to target the upcoming resistance at $154.05 soon.

A break above this can help Solana reclaim the $160 and even $170 levels easily until the second resistance at $172.45. However, the uptrend will only continue strong as long as the market sentiment towards cryptocurrencies remains in the positive territory.