Solana SOL/USD Dropped 5% to $161.85

Solana SOL/USD dropped 5% to $161.85

After a three-day rally, Solana (SOL/USD) dropped 5% on Friday as profit-taking hit following a burst of meme-coin activity and infrastructure news.

Solana pulled back around 5% from Friday’s high of $171.72 to reach lows of $161.85 by 09:00 ET (13:00 GMT). The cryptocurrency had risen sharply after a period of consolidation around $150.

The pullback pressured price back near key technical levels, while underlying signals continued to point to sustained ecosystem growth, developer momentum, and institutional engagement.

Here’s what happened and what’s next for Solana in May.

Solana Q1 App Revenue Surges 20% As Meme Coins, Stablecoins Drive Activity

The Crypto Times estimates that Solana’s first quarter app revenue rose around 20% quarter-over-quarter to $1.2 billion.

Pump.fun led the way with $257 million in revenue, highlighting Solana’s position as the hub for quickly-mobilized meme coin launches.

Stablecoin market cap on the chain also soared 145% to $12.5 billion, even as DeFi TVL pulled back around 64%.

Relative to the prior quarter, decentralized exchange volumes jumped over 40% to $4.6 billion, with meme tokens like TrumpCoin (TRUMP/USD) and MelaniaCoin (MELANIA/USD) posting multi-day gains of 2x or more.

On Friday, a whale wallet spent nearly $5.9 million on Solana meme coins, including WIF, Fartcoin, and BONK, according to the outlet.

DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV) had also partnered with BONK to co-run a validator node that bridges public markets with crypto-native assets.

Solana Futures Positioning Strengthens- Binance

Derivatives markets showed positioning into strength. Open interest in SOL futures climbed 9% to $2.1 billion on Binance (BNB/USD), part of a broader total of $5.55 billion across exchanges.

Funding rates remained neutral to slightly negative, suggesting cautious bullishness without frothy leverage.

Daily active addresses also rose 18% week-over-week to 1.2 million, while large wallet holders with 10,000+ SOL had increased by 1.5%, signaling accumulation rather than exit.

SOL is meanwhile holding above its 200-day moving average at $162. A confirmed break below $160 could open a path to the $145-$150 range, according to CoinGlass. Resistance is at $180.45, setting up a potential upside target of $190 if sentiment shifts.

Bitcoin’s (BTC/USD) tight consolidation above $103,000 has also seen trader focus shift to higher-beta assets like SOL. This inter-asset flow continues to amplify price volatility across Solana-linked tokens.

Looking ahead, U.S. regulatory updates, staking reward changes, and broader institutional integrations will be key. CoinCodex adds that a break above $190 could set up a retest of the $200 level last reached in Q1.

Despite the short-term pullback, Solana’s core metrics—rising app revenue, surging stablecoin use, dev growth, and enterprise adoption—suggest the dip is more consolidation than reversal. The fundamentals remain intact, and the bid from whales, builders, and institutions appears to be holding.