Institutional investors maintain long-term commitment to Solana
Despite ongoing market volatility, institutional demand for Solana remains notably strong. Since the launch of Solana-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S., capital inflows from institutional investors have continued to grow steadily, highlighting sustained long-term confidence in the network.
According to Eric Balchunas, cumulative inflows into Solana ETFs have climbed consistently, reaching a record $1.45 billion on Tuesday. This marks a significant increase compared to the $410 million recorded on October 23.
Meanwhile, outflows have been sporadic and relatively small in scale. For instance, total net outflows on Thursday were only around $5.23 million. This suggests that most ETF holders are maintaining their positions even as SOL’s price has corrected below the $100 level.
Balchunas also emphasized that a large portion of these holdings appears in 13F filings, indicating a clear presence of institutional investors pursuing long-term exposure to Solana.
Derivatives data signals weakening retail sentiment
In contrast to the steady commitment from institutional investors, retail sentiment toward Solana appears more fragile. Thursday’s price pullback triggered a notable wave of liquidations in the derivatives market.
Data from CoinGlass shows that total liquidations over the past 24 hours reached approximately $11.91 million, with $8.43 million coming from long positions alone. This indicates that a large portion of bullish bets was wiped out as prices reversed.
The pressure pushed the long/short ratio down to 0.996, slipping below the neutral level of 1 and signaling that short positions are beginning to dominate the market.
At the same time, open interest (OI) in Solana futures declined by roughly 1%, falling to $5.20 billion. This suggests traders are either reducing their exposure or limiting leverage as risk appetite weakens.
Additionally, the funding rate has turned negative at -0.0078%, reversing from a positive 0.0067% earlier on Friday. The shift reflects a growing buildup of short positions across the derivatives market.
Technical outlook: Will Solana break out of its accumulation range?
At the time of writing, Solana is trading below $88, extending the 2% decline recorded in Thursday’s session. In the medium term, the outlook remains slightly bearish as the price continues to trade below the 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day EMAs, all of which are sloping downward and acting as strong resistance levels.
The current correction keeps SOL moving within an accumulation range that has been in place since the daily candle on February 5, with boundaries between $92.11 and $78.35.
Based on previous price behavior within this range, there is a strong possibility that Solana may revisit the $78.35 support level. If the price closes below this level on a daily basis, selling pressure could intensify and push SOL further down toward $67.50, the low established on February 6.
Technical indicators on the daily timeframe also suggest that bearish momentum is gradually building. The MACD remains above its signal line but is still positioned in negative territory, while the histogram bars continue to shrink, indicating weakening bullish momentum.
Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index has fallen to 47, below the neutral level of 50, suggesting the market is shifting toward a neutral-to-bearish stance.
Conditions for a renewed recovery
On the upside, Solana would need to secure a daily close above $92.11 to restore stronger bullish momentum. If that occurs, the next resistance levels lie near the 50-day EMA around $97.57 and the key psychological level of $100.
A successful breakout above these barriers could open the path for SOL to target the 100-day EMA near $114.70, potentially signaling the start of a more sustained recovery phase.
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