• SOL was showing strong signs of life, with its TVL nearing a new ATH and bullish performance across key internal metrics.
• All signs pointed to continued momentum, but….

If there’s one coin that’s grabbing attention this new year, it’s Solana [SOL]. After a tough month-long downtrend from its ATH of $264, HODLers’ patience is finally starting to pay off. Solana has surged back into double digits, bringing its price back to mid-December levels.

There’s still more ground to cover. The recent $1 billion in stablecoin liquidity is being absorbed. Solana’s Total Value Locked (TVL) is now nearing $12 billion.

Clearly, the foundation for a breakout is forming. A strong push past $220 could signal a more sustained recovery.

Yet, external market trends could throw a wrench in these plans. But with SOL’s impressive performance across internal metrics, can Solana defy the odds and hold its ground?

Solana’s tech is powering SOL’s comeback

Statistically, SOL only needs a 20% push to reach its ATH. With its impressive resurgence this New Year, many might think that’s a walk in the park.

Solana is showing strong signs of life with its cutting-edge tech and rising transactional volume. The 13% jump in network fees to $16,698.88 in the last 24 hours is clear evidence of high network usage.

But it doesn’t stop there. Pumpfun, Solana’s token creation initiative, is gaining traction too, with daily addresses nearing 250K. This signals that liquidity is flowing through the network for multiple use cases. TVL is just the tip of the iceberg.

Digging deeper, the return on staking is rising too, jumping by 5% to hit 8.5%.

Higher yields are fueling more demand for SOL, as investors flock to stake their tokens for better returns. This growing demand is reflected in the rising TVL, showing more liquidity being locked up.

In short, Solana’s robust tech is fueling mass adoption and bringing fresh liquidity to its network. But what does this mean for its price?

SOL kicked off the new year with a double-digit surge. Key indicators like the MACD crossover are turning bullish, and the RSI hasn’t hit overbought levels. If this momentum continues, a sustained rally seems likely.

But certain factors shouldn’t be overlooked

For Solana to break past $220, it needs a perfect storm – bullish internal and external trends aligning seamlessly, with no contradictions.

Internally, Solana kicked off 2025 with impressive momentum, starting at $190, and Open Interest (OI) at $4.78 billion. Fast-forward to today, and it’s already surged to $215, with OI jumping to $5.85 billion – a stunning 22.38% rise in just one week.

But that’s not all. Solana’s double-digit surge also brought the SOL/BTC pair into the green, signaling that investors were seeing it as a serious contender, which is backed up by a noticeable spike in trading volume.

Read Solana’s [SOL] Price Prediction 2025–2026

However, this momentum didn’t last long. As Bitcoin nears the $100K mark, external factors are shifting again, and the SOL/BTC pair has dipped back into the red.

This raises questions about whether Solana’s recent rally was just a temporary spike driven by users flocking to its network for speed and higher returns.

From a strategic investor’s perspective, Solana still has a long way to go in attracting capital and competing with other assets.

The road to breaking $220 isn’t guaranteed, but if Solana can overcome external pressures, it could pave the way for a potential breakthrough.