Solana ($SOL) Breaks Out—$180 in Sight as Network Challenges Ethereum’s Dominance
Solana’s native token surges past key resistance—traders now eyeing $180 price target as institutional interest grows.
Why it matters: The ’Ethereum killer’ narrative gets fresh legs as SOL’s throughput and low fees attract capital markets activity. Meanwhile, legacy finance still can’t tell a blockchain from a spreadsheet.
Behind the surge: NFT volumes spiking, meme coin degeneracy migrating from ETH, and that sweet institutional FOMO juice. Just don’t mention the 2022 outages.
The big question: Can Solana actually become the internet’s default settlement layer—or is this another ’flippening’ fantasy?
This latest price rally is supported by a major spike in trading volume, which has jumped 74.5% within the same 24-hour period.
Over $5.3 billion worth of $SOL was traded, levels last seen in April when the asset dipped below $100 before rebounding above $140.
Solana Tops DEX Charts Again—Outpaces Ethereum in Volume and Revenue
Solana’s recent market strength isn’t unexpected. In April, it retained its title as the top blockchain for monthly decentralized exchange (DEX) volume for the seventh straight month, handling twice the volume of Ethereum’s mainnet.
According to DefiLlama, solana continues to lead in network activity. In the last 30 days, its active address count rose by 28.84% to 3.21 million, nearly 10x Ethereum’s, and second only to Tron, which has 2.54 million.
Solana also tops blockchain revenue charts, generating over $7.9 million in-app revenue in just 24 hours.
For comparison, Ethereum and Hyperliquid posted $1.1 million and $1.64 million, respectively.
A significant contributor to this revenue is Pump.fun, which now ranks as the third-highest-earning protocol in crypto, behind only Tether and Circle.
REPORT: In April, @Solana DApps generated over $162 million in revenue.
Top revenue-generating DApps on Solana:
– @pumpdotfun: $46 million+
– @AxiomExchange: $33 million+
– @Phantom Wallet: $15 million+ pic.twitter.com/R1KgvEabZl
In April, Solana’s dApps pulled in over $162 million in revenue. Other notable earners include Axiom Exchange, which has over $33 million, and Phantom Wallet, which has more than $15 million.
Global Builder Adoption: Developers from Over 138 Countries Choose Solana
Solana’s ecosystem continues to grow rapidly. On May 2, the Solana Foundation shared that developers from over 138 countries are now building on the network, representing more than 65% of the world’s nations.
Consumer-facing applications on Solana are gaining real traction. ONDO Finance recently expanded its tokenized real-world asset (RWA) bridge to Solana via LayerZero.
Similarly, DeFi veteran 1INCH launched its DEX aggregator on the network, tapping into $7 billion in liquidity and offering users new trading avenues.
Crypto doesn’t need another hype cycle. It needs working products — and the Solana community keeps shipping them
Here’s your weekly Solana recap as we accelerate into May:
– ethereum DeFi OG @1inch launched their DEX aggregator on Solana, connecting Solana to $7B in… pic.twitter.com/U0zLNybJk4
The Solana ecosystem is being actively supported through a wave of hackathons, startup programs, and conferences to make the network a hub for builders, users, and the future of internet-based capital markets.
Stablecoins are also flourishing on Solana.
Since the beginning of 2025, over $5 billion in stablecoins, primarily from Circle, have been issued on the network, marking a 154% increase year-to-date.
SOL Price Analysis: Breakout Targets $165–$180 Range
The 4-hour chart for $SOL/$USDT reveals a strong bullish breakout from a descending channel, signaling the end of a consolidation phase.
Price action shows that $SOL successfully broke above the upper trendline of the falling channel, confirming a reversal pattern.
The breakout has propelled the price to around $154.63, and it’s now trading above key Ichimoku levels, including the Kijun-sen ($149.98) and Tenkan-sen ($149.16), as well as above the cloud (Kumo).
The transition from below to above the cloud often marks a shift from bearish to bullish bias on the Ichimoku system.
Notably, the chart contains a projected upside target of $165–$180, which appears achievable if the current buying volume is sustained.
$SOL bullish structure confirmed with higher lows and strong wick rejections NEAR 120 support.
price consolidating above 152 indicates accumulation phase.
break above 179 may trigger bullish continuation toward 244.
volume profile supports buyer interest in current demand zone. pic.twitter.com/QZl1qX4opz
This range corresponds to a previous resistance zone or Fibonacci extension level.
However, any decline below the cloud could indicate a failed breakout and warrant caution.