Solana Price Dips as Open Interest Hits Record High Despite Weak Onchain Activity

The Solana price has dropped 1.58% in the last 24 hours to trade at $208 on a 33% slump in the daily trading volume to $6.07 billion.

Solana OI Hits Record High Despite Weak Onchain Activity

Solana’s open interest (OI) in futures markets reached a record $13.68 billion on Saturday, showing strong demand from derivatives traders. This surge points to rising bets on SOL’s price, fueled by institutional inflows and ETF speculation.

In the past, rising OI has signaled big price moves. Between April and July, OI jumped 188%, followed by a 103% price increase. Now, with SOL up 17% to around $217, the latest spike comes as the Alpenglow upgrade gets approved.

Backed by 98.27% of validators, the upgrade cuts transaction finality from 12.8 seconds to just 150ms and boosts throughput to over 107,000 TPS. This gives Solana an edge over Ethereum and could drive SOL to new highs in 2025 if adoption grows.

But the on-chain data tells a different story. Even with $12 billion locked in DeFi and active token launches, network activity has slowed. In the past 30 days, Solana’s transaction count dropped 99%, and active addresses fell 22%. By contrast, Ethereum’s transactions grew 39% in the same period.

Blockchains ranked by 30-day transactions. Source: Nansen

DEX trading on Solana also slumped for the third week in a row, with weekly volumes falling 65% to $10.67 billion, according to DefiLlama. These weak on-chain metrics may limit SOL’s price momentum despite the bullish derivatives market.

Solana Price Analysis: SOL Could Rally Toward $260

Solana (SOL) is gaining strength after months of sideways trading, with charts now showing signs of a possible push toward the $260 level. The token is trading near $208, down slightly on the day, but its overall trend remains positive.

On the downside, support has formed around $160, which acts as a key level if the market turns bearish. As long as Solana stays above this zone, the bullish outlook remains intact. The upside target sits near $260, where buy-side liquidity is expected, meaning many traders may look to take profits or enter new positions there.

SOLUSDT (1 Day Chart Analysis). Source: Tradingview

Technical indicators also support the bullish case. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 57, which is neutral and leaves space for more growth before hitting overbought levels. This suggests Solana could continue rising without facing strong resistance from sellers.

Beyond technicals, Solana’s ecosystem is expanding. The network is seeing more activity in decentralized finance (DeFi) and NFT projects, while upgrades continue to improve speed and scalability. This is helping to boost investor confidence and keep demand for SOL strong.

In the short term, traders are watching the $220–$230 range as the next test. If Solana breaks through this zone with strong momentum, it could clear the way for a run to $260. However, failure to hold above $160 could lead to renewed volatility and slow down the rally.