Solana (SOL) Climbs 6.2% to $181.54, Outpacing the Broader Crypto Market's 12.7% Uptick This Week

SOL climbed 6.2% over 24 hours to $181.54, outpacing the broader crypto market's 12.7% uptick this week.

Solana (SOL) price showed strong gains of 6.2% over the past 24 hours, outpacing the broader crypto market's 12.7% uptick this week, as reported by CoinMarketCap.

The push leaves SOL up 23.4% for the week, and 37.14% over the past month. The surge follows the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) deferral of its decision on Grayscale's proposed Solana ETF, signaling renewed bullish momentum in the wake of improving on-chain fundamentals, ecosystem growth, and growing investor appetite.

According to BeInCrypto, the SEC's filing emphasized that the deferral "does not indicate any conclusions" and invited public comment on the proposed rule change - muting immediate price fallout as analysts expect approval later this year.

Meanwhile, big players are quietly stacking up their SOL stashes. Nasdaq-listed DeFi Development Corp. announced that it added 172,670 SOL (about $23.6 million at an average $136.81 price) to its treasury, bringing its total holdings to nearly 595,000 SOL (worth $102.7 million).

It's the firm's largest single acquisition to date, a concrete vote of confidence in Solana's long-term scalability and yield potential.

On the retail front, Solana's meme-coin scene is back in the spotlight. According to Decrypt, a trader turned a modest $332 wager on Gooncoin (a Solana-based meme token) into $190,000 in a matter of days.

It's an extreme example, but it highlights how Solana's low fees and fast block times have reignited speculative fervor. This also highlights how hype and liquidity are converging to fuel outsized short-term returns within Solana's fringe markets.

Digging deeper, the network's health metrics underscore that this isn't just hype. CoinMarketCap found that the daily active addresses are approaching multi-month highs.

Meanwhile, total value locked (TVL) in Solana-based DeFi protocols continues to climb, exceeding that of all Ethereum layer 2s combined, a sign that genuine user adoption is underpinning the price moves, not just thrill-seeking traders.

Solana isn't stopping there. According to BitcoinInfoNews.com, the network is forging new speed-optimized partnerships to bolster on-chain payments, enabling fast, low-cost transactions at scale.

These alliances position SOL as more than a DeFi play, and usher it into real-world use cases in micropayments and tokenized commerce.

Looking ahead, keep an eye on the $185 level as the next resistance hurdle. A sustained break above it could send SOL toward the $200 to $220 zone, while failure to hold current gains may trigger a dip back to the $172 to $175 range.

The ultimate catalyst may be an eventual green light for a Solana ETF, and upcoming protocol upgrades, such as improvements to cross-chain bridges and smart-contract tooling.

Solana's price action splashed with vibrant retail activity, institutional endorsements in the background, and a quietly strengthening network infrastructure, paints a compelling picture. While regulatory roadblocks may slow the pace, the pieces are falling into place for a bullish second half of 2025.