Solana (SOL) enters its final stretch of 2025 under sustained pressure, caught between a weakening price structure and signs of steady interest from institutional investors.
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After plunging 39% in the fourth quarter, SOL has struggled to regain momentum and is trading in the low $120s as traders focus on whether it can hold a key support level. The contrast between declining network activity and continued inflows into investment products has divided market opinion on what will happen next.
While ETF-linked demand suggests confidence in Solana’s long-term relevance, short-term price movements remain fragile. With liquidity thinning towards the end of the year and overall crypto market sentiment remaining cautious, SOL’s ability to defend the lower support zone could determine how the market opens in 2026.
SOL's price trends to the downside on the daily chart. Source: SOLUSD on Tradingview
Solana network slowdown and bearish technical signals
One of the main pressures is sol On-chain activity has sharply decreased. The number of active users on the network declined from approximately 30 million at the end of 2024 to less than 1 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, resulting in lower fee income and weaker demand for the token.
The slowdown coincided with a broader market decline as crypto market capitalization neared $2.9 trillion and investors withdrew nearly $1 billion from digital asset investment products in one week.
Technically, momentum indicators are still tilted to the downside. SOL has recorded negative MACD readings and RSI below neutral levels, while repeated failures to regain the $126-$130 zone have triggered an extended liquidation.
Analysts have warned that a loss of the $120 area could expose SOL to a more severe move towards $110, a level increasingly cited as a key downside indicator.
ETF inflows highlight institutional differences
Despite weak price movements, Solana-related exchange-traded products continue to attract capital.
recent data Net inflows have exceeded $69 million, setting it apart from Bitcoin and Ethereum products, which have net outflows. This divergence suggests that some institutional investors are accumulating assets at low prices even as short-term traders remain defensive.
Market watchers point out that this gap between capital flows and spot prices reflects differences in time horizons. While the spot market remains constrained by technological resistance and reduced retail activity, institutions appear to be eyeing Solana’s role as an infrastructure for payments, tokenization, and high-throughput applications.
Cross-chain development and upcoming major SOL levels
In addition to this saga, recent comments from Charles Hoskinson and Anatoly Yakovenko have reignited the debate over interoperability, with both founders suggesting they are open to future cross-chain bridges between interoperability. solana and cardano.
Although still early and unofficial, such developments highlight ongoing efforts to expand liquidity and utility across the ecosystem.
Traders currently continue to focus on price levels rather than the long-term vision. If the price sustains above $120, sentiment may stabilize, but a clear break below will likely shift attention firmly to the $110 support zone.
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Until SOL confidently regains resistance near $130, price pressure is likely to continue despite a steady drumbeat of institutional inflows.
Cover image from ChatGPT, SOLUSD chart from Tradingview
