Solana ($SOL) edged lower on Tuesday after beginning the week with a 3% gain, extending its consolidation around the psychologically important $100 level.
Institutional demand remains strong, with Solana exchange-traded funds attracting $11.01 million in inflows on Monday.
Meanwhile, rising transaction activity, network revenue, and real economic value suggest that the blockchain’s underlying fundamentals are improving.
$SOL’s technical outlook remains neutral to moderately bullish as traders await a breakout from a symmetrical triangle pattern.
Transaction V1 upgrade expands Solana’s capabilities
Solana’s recently activated SIMD-0385 upgrade introduced the Transaction V1 format, raising the maximum transaction size to 4,096 bytes.
The expanded format gives developers more room to include instructions, signatures and other data within a single transaction.
According to Solana Foundation Vice President of Technology Jacob Creech, the upgrade could support zero-knowledge privacy features and more complex transaction routing.
Larger transactions may also enable developers to build more sophisticated applications without splitting operations across multiple transactions.
Solana generated $45.35 million in network revenue last week, up from $32 million during the previous week, according to Blockworks data.
The network’s real economic value—which measures transaction fees and out-of-protocol tips—increased to $6.33 million from $5.36 million.
Transaction activity also climbed to 1.07 million from 966,862 a week earlier. Together, the increases suggest stronger demand for Solana’s blockspace.
Sustained growth in network usage and revenue could eventually support greater demand for $SOL, which is used to pay fees and participate in the blockchain’s staking system.
Solana ETFs record $11 million in daily inflows
Institutional investors continue to increase their exposure to Solana. Spot $SOL ETFs registered $11.01 million in net inflows on Monday, surpassing the $10.30 million accumulated throughout the previous week.
The latest result extends Solana’s run to 11 consecutive weeks of ETF inflows. The products attracted $14.62 million in July before inflows accelerated to $193.54 million in August.
This sustained demand indicates that institutional confidence remains firm despite $SOL’s ongoing consolidation around $100.
Speculative activity is returning to Solana’s memecoin ecosystem, strengthening the bullish narrative surrounding $SOL.
Pump.fun, one of Solana’s largest token-launch platforms, recorded approximately 34,184 new token launches on September 10. The platform accounted for roughly 85% of all launches across the Solana launchpads tracked that day.
The resurgence in activity is also boosting Pump.fun’s revenue, signaling that traders are once again willing to allocate capital to high-risk assets on Solana.
Pump.fun’s share of new token launches highlights its continued dominance within Solana’s memecoin sector.
The platform allows users to create and trade tokens with limited technical knowledge, making it a significant gateway for speculative activity on the network.
Its 34,184 launches on September 10 indicate a sharp return in demand for newly created memecoins.
By capturing approximately 85% of tracked launches, Pump.fun also appears to be benefiting more than rival Solana launchpads from the renewed interest.
A sustained increase in token creation could generate additional transactions, fees, and demand for blockspace across the Solana network.
Pump.fun has generated approximately $89 million in gross protocol revenue during the third quarter so far, according to DefiLlama.
That figure has already surpassed the roughly $79 million generated throughout the entire second quarter, despite Q3 remaining incomplete.
The quarter-over-quarter increase suggests that the recent recovery is not limited to token-launch counts. Traders are also committing enough capital and completing enough transactions to produce substantial protocol revenue.
This growth provides another indication that speculative liquidity is returning to Solana-based assets.
Solana forms Symmetrical Triangle Near $101
The increase in Pump.fun activity coincides with a bullish technical setup for Solana’s native token.
A confirmed breakout from $SOL’s bull pennant pattern could place the $150 technical target in focus.
Renewed memecoin speculation could reinforce that move by bringing more users, trading volume, and liquidity onto the network.
However, memecoin activity is highly volatile and can decline rapidly when market sentiment weakens.
$SOL would still need to confirm its breakout and maintain key support levels before the $150 target becomes more credible.
$SOL traded around $101 on Tuesday, remaining close to its 50-period EMA at $101.72 and slightly above its 100-period EMA at $100.71 on the four-hour chart.
The token also remains comfortably above its 200-period EMA at $96.06, preserving its constructive short-term structure.
Price action is narrowing between two converging trendlines, creating a symmetrical triangle.
The 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level at $101.51 provides additional near-term support.
Momentum indicators remain neutral. The RSI stands near 51, while the MACD is marginally above its signal line and approaching the zero level, suggesting modest bullish momentum.
Immediate resistance sits at the triangle’s upper trendline near Tuesday’s high of $104.82. A breakout could allow $SOL to retest the $110.60 swing high.
A confirmed move above $110.60 would activate a potential target at the 127.2% Fibonacci extension of $123.32, representing nearly 20% upside from current prices.
On the downside, the 100-period EMA at $100.71 provides initial support. Further protection lies near the lower trendline at $98 and the 200-period EMA at $96.06.