The Solana price is up 8% over the last 24 hours to trade at $77 as of 5:00 a.m. EST on Dec. 15.
Over the past three days, SOL has experienced a 24% recovery, rising from a low of $63.75 on Dec. 13 to an intraday high of $70.24 reached today, Dec. 15. On longer timeframes, Solana has rallied 16.6% over the last seven days and 36% over the last month.
The layer 1 token has also performed well over the last year. It trades 450% higher than its value 12 months ago and has recorded more than 680% gains year-to-date.
This impressive performance has left market analysts wondering whether Solana will continue its uptrend. Let's look at the factors that might affect SOL's price action in the short term.
There has been an increase in demand for SPL tokens on the Solana blockchain due to integrations with Binance and Coinbase exchanges.
On Monday, Dec. 7, Coinbase announced support for SPL tokens (Solana's ERC-20 equivalent) to Coinbase's token menagerie for the first time. Starting with Jito (JITO). The launch was highly successful, with 67 million tokens traded in the first five days — impressive considering the token's circulating supply of 115 million.
Additionally, Coinbase announced the listing of another SPL token, BONK, debuting on Dec. 14. At the time of writing, BONK was up 102% in the last 24 hours to $0.00003113, reversing nearly all losses from the prior week.
The successful airdrop of Jito's liquid staking protocol, which yielded over $14,300 for each participant based on JITO's current price of $2.90, drove up demand for SOL's token, as traders need to interact with the ecosystem's DApps to qualify for future airdrops.
As highlighted by analysts and Solana experts, including Patrick Scott, various projects within the ecosystem operate on a points system, adding an intriguing dimension. These projects include MarginFi (a lending platform), Tensor (an NFT exchange), Jupiter (an aggregator), Kamino (a lending platform), and Parcel (a real estate speculation platform).
The points-based system in these ventures contributes to the growing interest in SOL tokens, further solidifying Solana's position in the crypto landscape.
Solana's price has grown in tandem with network activity. According to data from DappRaddar, an on-chain DApp data tracking platform, the Solana network saw a 16% increase in seven-day transactions compared with a 1.2% decline in Ethereum and a 7% gain in BBN Chain in the same period.
Top Layer 1 blockchains by DApp volumes, past 7 days, USD. Source: DappRadar
Similarly, Solana's DApp volume surged by 50% in the past seven days, compared with a 13% increase in Ethereum and a 40% increase in BNB Chain.
Moreover, the total value locked (TVL) in the Solana network has reached its highest level since November 2022, prior to the collapse of the FTX exchange. The current TVL of $1.22 billion represents 95% growth compared to January 2022's and has been driven by the growth in Marginfi, Kamino and Orca.
Lastly, SOL's gains reflect an improvement in Solana's NFT market. The NFT volume has increased by more than 428% on Solana over the last week against a 50% increase on the BNB chain and a 20% decline on Ethereum.
Notable highlights in Solana include the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Rarible, which boasts 510,940 active addresses, and the cross-chain decentralized exchange (DEX) Saber, responsible for $113 million in trading volume.
NFT activity on top blockchains in the past 7 days, USD. Source: CryptoSlam
Data from CryptoSlam shows an impressive 90% increase in NFT sales volumes on Solana, driven by sales in Tensorians and Mad Lads. In comparison, Ethereum NFT sales in the same period declined by 2%, with the leading collection, Bored Ape Yacht Club, experiencing a 57% weekly reduction in volumes.
The bullish momentum in SOL token price is attributed to an improved regulatory environment, increased demand for SPL tokens and airdrops, and higher network activity, including DeFi and NFT markets. Where is Solana headed next? Here are the key levels to watch.
Solana's weekly chart shows that the price embarked on an uptrend in mid-October and has since climbed more than 255% from $22 to $78. This uptrend saw SOL flip key resistance levels into support including all the major moving averages and the psychological level at $50.
The weekly relative strength index (RSI) entered the overbought region around the same time and it has remained there, adding credence to the uptrend.
If SOL continues to rise from the current level, it would rise to confront the $80 and the $90 psychological levels. Next, the bulls will push SOL to confront resistance from the -27.2% Fibonacci retracement level, before reaching the much-coveted $100 mark.
SOL/USD Weekly Chart
Conversely, the RSI at 84 painted massively overbought conditions for Solana, suggesting that price correction may be in the offing. If this happens, SOL may retreat toward the 23.6% retracement level at $64. Other levels to watch on the downside are the $60 support level, the 38.2% retracement level at $56, the 100-week exponential moving average (EMA) at $53 and the $50 psychological level, embraced by the 50% Fibonacci level.
Lower than that, traders may watch out for the 61.% and the 78.6% retracement levels at $43 and $34 respectively, before returning to the mid-October levels around $22. Such a move would complete the retracement, undo all the gains and invalidate the bullish thesis.
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