Solana (SOL) Eyes $160 Breakout as ETF Frenzy Ignites Rally—Here’s Why Traders Are Betting Big

Solana's SOL token is flirting with a seismic price surge—and Wall Street's sudden love affair with crypto ETFs might just be the rocket fuel it needs.

Why $160 matters

The magic number isn't arbitrary. Clearing this level would smash psychological resistance while putting SOL within striking distance of its all-time high. Market makers are already positioning for the squeeze.

ETF effect: More than just hype?

Traditional finance's latest attempt to co-opt crypto—sorry, 'provide regulated exposure'—has traders piling into SOL futures. Never mind that most can't spell 'proof-of-history.' The inflows don't lie.

Risks they won't mention at the conference

Network outages? Competitor chains? Regulatory curveballs? All secondary when momentum takes over. Just ask the guys still holding Grayscale bags from 2021.

Bottom line: SOL's primed for volatility—whether that means $160 or a brutal pullback depends on who blinks first.

TLDR

• Solana broke above $155 zone with over 10% increase to reach $159 high
• Price faces major resistance at $160-$162 levels with bullish trend line support at $155
• Options market shows bearish sentiment with Put/Call ratio jumping to 1.19
• Open Interest remains flat at $7.1 billion while spot demand declined in July
• $600 million in long positions clustered at $145 level could trigger liquidation events

Solana price surged over 10% to reach a high of $159.24 before consolidating gains above the $155 support zone. The cryptocurrency broke out from its July compression channel ahead of the Federal Market Open Committee minutes release.

The price climb pushed SOL above both the $150 and $155 resistance levels against the US Dollar. Trading data shows solana now sits above the $152 level and the 100-hourly simple moving average.

A key bullish trend line has formed with support at the $155 level on the hourly chart. This technical pattern suggests potential for further upward movement if bulls can clear the current resistance zone.

The major hurdle now sits at the $160 to $162 price range. Technical analysis indicates the next resistance levels are positioned at $165, with potential targets at $178 and $185 if the breakout continues.

However, the options market tells a different story about trader sentiment. The Put/Call ratio jumped from a bullish 0.35 to a bearish 1.19 between July 7-9, indicating increased hedging activity.

This shift suggests traders are positioning for a potential pullback, particularly if the FOMC minutes turn hawkish on interest rate policy. The premium for puts over calls shows market participants remain cautious despite the price surge.

Derivative Market Shows Mixed Signals

Open Interest has remained flat at approximately $7.1 billion, indicating speculative interest has stagnated compared to the recovery from $4 billion to over $7 billion in Q2. This lack of expansion raises questions about the sustainability of the breakout.

The derivative market data suggests the recent price action may be driven primarily by speculation and leverage rather than genuine spot demand. Coinalyze data shows the spot Cumulative Volume Delta, which tracks overall demand and selling pressure, has declined in early July.

Despite the flat Open Interest, the metric jumped 11% over the same period, confirming that July’s price action appears to be leverage-driven rather than supported by strong spot market bidding.

Liquidation Levels Present Key Risks

CoinGlass data reveals nearly $600 million in cumulative long positions clustered at the $145 level, making it a potential price magnet for liquidation events. This concentration of Leveraged positions could trigger downward pressure if the current rally falters.

If SOL fails to clear the $160 resistance, initial support lies NEAR the $155 zone and the established trend line. The first major support level sits at $152, which corresponds to the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level.

A break below $152 could send the price toward the $145 zone where the large concentration of long positions awaits. Further decline below $145 support could target the $136 level in the near term.

Technical indicators show the hourly MACD gaining pace in the bullish zone, while the RSI sits above the 50 level, suggesting continued upward momentum remains possible.

The current market structure maintains its bullish bias as long as SOL holds above its realized price of $131, which represents the average cost basis of most holders. Any sustained drop below this level WOULD invalidate the bullish market structure established during the Q2 rebound.

SOL price currently trades above $155 with the 100-hourly simple moving average providing additional support for the recent breakout move.