Key takeaways:
Solana (SOL) had one of its worst weeks of 2025, down 18% in the past seven days, trailing only Hyperliquid among the top 20 crypto assets in losses.
The drop puts SOL/USD on track for its lowest weekly candle close since late August, fueling speculation over a push toward the $120 level.
SOL/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewCoinGlass data shows Solana’s futures open interest (OI) hit a record 71.8 million SOL with $14.5 billion at the time of writing on Thursday. Similarly, perpetual funding rates flipped positive to 0.0043% from -0.0065% with the jump in OI.
Related: Australian fitness firm tanks 21% on Solana treasury gamble
Higher open interest and rising funding rates amid falling prices could result in an overleveraged market where the longs are caught off guard.
Solana futures open interest, SOL. Source: CoinGlassThe current market structure favors the bears, based on other metrics, too. Net taker volume leans sell-heavy, showing more aggressive sellers are stepping in.
Meanwhile, spot CVD dropped lower, suggesting that the sell-off is mostly spot-driven, which could also be interpreted as in the bears’ favor.
SOL price, Net taker volume, aggregated CVD spot and futures. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewIn addition, data from DefiLlama shows weakening network metrics, such as a 16% decrease in the total value locked in Solana DeFi protocols and an 11% decrease in daily transactions over the last seven days.
As Cointelegraph reported, Solana’s declining network activity and competition from other layer-1 blockchains are significant headwinds for any short-term price gains.
SOL price technicals: Will Solana revisit $120?
SOL price action between Aug. 2 and Thursday has led to a developing inverted V-shaped pattern on the daily chart.
Bears booked profits on this rally, resulting in a sharp correction to the current levels and halfway to the bottom of the pattern.
Meanwhile, the relative strength index (RSI) slopes downward, decreasing from 69 to 37 since Sept. 18, indicating increasing bearish momentum and still not “oversold.”
SOL/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewAs the price seeks to complete the inverted V-shaped pattern, it could drop further toward the pattern’s neckline around the $155 demand zone, representing a 22% price drop from the current price.
Zooming out, a double-top formation on the weekly chart hints at a possible return to the pattern’s neckline at $120, as shown below. Such a move would bring the total losses to 40% from the current levels.
However, the bulls have a good chance of respite in the short term. The RSI is now significantly “oversold” on shorter time frames.
As Cointelegraph reported, SOL price may extend its downtrend toward the $150-$110 range if the support at $200 is lost.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/solana-open-interest-72m-sol-record-why-price-falling?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound
