This past week, the SOL price saw staggering 7% growth. At press time, the fifth largest cryptocurrency is traded $157.22.

Past attempts to break this level since August have triggered selling pressure. Similarly, Solana has struggled to breach the $150 mark, facing sharp sell-offs each time it approaches.

Despite these challenges, traders remain cautiously optimistic about a potential breakthrough, supported by current bullish sentiment.

SOL/ETH rivalry

Ethereum's recent price surge, driven by market factors and growing interest, has caused the SOL/ETH pair to decline, showing a relative underperformance of Solana compared to Ethereum.

However, according to the CEO of CryptoQuant Ki Young Ju, Ethereum is progressively losing market cap to Solana.

Although Solana has seen strong growth over the past year, the rise in Ethereum's dominance has overshadowed competing Layer-1 chains like Solana.

As ETH attracts more capital, Solana’s USD price may remain stable. That being said, its value relative to Ethereum has dropped, highlighting the challenge of maintaining momentum against the leading blockchain.

A report by VanEck released Sept. 25 predicts that Solana could surge to $330, potentially reaching 50% of Ethereum's current market capitalization.

The report highlights Solana's superior speed and efficiency as key drivers of this growth. For instance, Solana's transaction processing speed, measured in transactions per second (TPS), is 3,000% higher than Ethereum's.

Additionally, Solana boasts a daily active user count that is 1,300% higher and transaction fees nearly 5 million percent cheaper than those on Ethereum, underscoring its competitive advantages.

SOL price prediction

Solana has struggled to maintain upward momentum as it nears key resistance levels, particularly the $160 mark.

Breaking through and turning this level into support could ignite another rally, potentially pushing SOL toward $180.

A successful breakout would signal the continuation of a long-term bullish trend, which would be promising for investors. However, if Solana fails to overcome this resistance, a retracement back to the $140 range is possible, with further consolidation likely.