Solana rallies as ETF decisions loom despite mixed on-chain metrics

Solana's native token SOL has rallied into the low 200s as investors and institutions position for imminent U.S. decisions on spot Solana exchange traded funds, even as core onchain activity shows mixed signals. Prices have recovered from recent local lows near 191 to trade around 225 to 230 in early October, while network metrics such as daily transactions and new-address growth have weakened compared with summer peaks.

The divergence is striking. Onchain analytics show daily transactions fell from roughly 125 million in late July to about 64 million, a near 50 percent decline, and active addresses have dropped to yearlong lows, prompting analysts to question whether the price move is being driven more by sentiment and speculative flows than by sustained user demand. At the same time, Solana continues to register strong institutional engagement: tokenized stock trading on Solana has captured a dominant share of recent volumes, stablecoin supply on the chain has expanded substantially to the low‑ to mid‑teens of billions of dollars, and various Solana ETPs and ETF applicants have reported large inflows in recent weeks.

Institutional market plumbing is also developing. CME-listed...