Solana’s Price Hovers Near $117 as Major Network Upgrade Passes Key Test
Solana (SOL) is trading around $117, a slight dip of 0.78% on the day, as the network prepares for its most significant structural overhaul in years, which has quietly achieved a critical testing milestone. This development holds crucial implications for traders anticipating further price appreciation.
Developers have successfully deployed the Alpenglow upgrade to Solana’s public testnet. The upgrade aims to drastically reduce transaction finality from approximately 13 seconds to a mere 0.15 seconds by replacing the current TowerBFT consensus mechanism with a new voting protocol named Votor.
Validators operating Agave 4.3 can now conduct tests on a live replica of the network without risking actual funds, following over four months of rigorous trials in a dedicated testing environment. Anza, the firm responsible for maintaining Agave, confirmed the deployment via its feature-gate tracker. Mainnet activation is currently slated for around September 28.
ETF Demand Remains Strong Amidst Upgrade Hopes
Demand for Solana Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) remains robust. On September 21, net inflows reached $26.1 million, bringing the cumulative tracked flows to $1.44 billion. This follows a 12-week streak of consistent weekly inflows, underscoring sustained investor interest despite recent market fluctuations.
The timing of these inflows is significant. Spot Solana ETFs saw $26.1 million in net inflows on September 21. Concurrently, network usage metrics, including 23.2 million x402 AI-agent transactions in the past four weeks, suggest that both institutional and application-layer demand are building in anticipation of the upgrade.
Technical Outlook for SOL
The SOL/USD price is currently testing the lower boundary of a resistance band between $116 and $117.65. A decisive break above this level is necessary to pave the way for potential advances toward $137.65 and ultimately $144.76.
The four-hour Relative Strength Index (RSI) is hovering near 71, indicating strong momentum but also signaling a potentially overextended market where a pullback would not be unexpected. Immediate support is found around $114.67, with a more significant floor near $106.95 should sentiment turn bearish.
Buying walls are noted at $123 and $132. If both these levels are overcome, $150 emerges as a consensus upside target.
The base case scenario anticipates SOL consolidating against resistance leading up to the September 28 Alpenglow activation, with the upgrade serving as a catalyst for a breakout attempt.
Conversely, the bear case suggests a rejection at the $120-$123 range could send the price back to retest $114.67, postponing discussions of a $150 target. Traders are advised to monitor trading volume during any resistance tests; a low-volume push through $123 would be less convincing than one supported by substantial trading activity.
For a more in-depth understanding of how the upgrade integrates with capacity and adoption trends, a recent Solana infrastructure update provides further context.
Shifting Investor Focus to Early-Stage Projects
While investors holding SOL from sub-$100 levels are in a comfortable position, buying in now, with the token already up 22.57% over seven days and approaching resistance, presents a different risk-reward calculation. The “easy money” on this recent upward leg appears to have largely been made.
This dynamic is prompting some traders to explore earlier-stage projects with greater growth potential. Cross-chain infrastructure is currently a particularly active area in this search.
LiquidChain (LIQUID) is developing a Layer 3 execution environment designed to unify liquidity from Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana into a single, cohesive layer. This “deploy-once, access-all” model aims to address the fragmentation of liquidity across different blockchains, a common frustration for developers.
The LiquidChain presale is priced at $0.014958 per token, having raised $971,680.17 to date. Key features include single-step execution and verifiable settlement, intended to streamline the process of moving assets between ecosystems. As with any presale, there is no secondary market yet, and the successful delivery of the mainnet according to the roadmap is not guaranteed, necessitating thorough due diligence.
Those interested in the potential connection between Solana and LiquidChain are encouraged to conduct further research on LiquidChain before making any investment decisions.
