By Chris Hollingworth 
Solana’s native token, SOL (SOL), experienced an 8% increase on March 19, driven by investors moving towards riskier assets in anticipation of US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming remarks. While expectations suggest that interest rates will remain steady, analysts foresee a more moderate inflation outlook for 2025. In addition, key onchain and derivatives metrics point towards potential further upside for SOL’s price.
The cryptocurrency market reflected movements in the US stock market on the same day, indicating that SOL’s gains were not specifically tied to industry-related news, such as reports of a possible resolution to the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s long-standing lawsuit against Ripple.
On March 19, the Russell 2000 index futures, which track US-listed small-cap companies, surged to their highest level in twelve days. Despite a broader slowdown in decentralized application (DApp) activity, Solana stood out as a strong performer.
While Solana’s onchain volumes saw a 47% decline over two weeks, similar trends were observed across other major networks like Ethereum, Arbitrum, Tron, and Avalanche. This suggests industry-wide patterns rather than issues specific to Solana. Notably, Solana’s total value locked (TVL) reached its highest level since July 2022, supporting the positive momentum for SOL.
Solana’s TVL hit 53.2 million SOL on March 17, marking a 10% increase from the previous month. In comparison, BNB Chain’s TVL rose by 6% in BNB terms, while Tron’s deposits fell by 8% in TRX terms during the same period. Despite a decline in DApp activity, Solana continued to attract deposits, showcasing its resilience.
Driven by platforms like Bybit Staking, which saw a 51% increase in deposits since February 17, and Drift, a perpetual trading platform that experienced a 36% TVL growth, Solana maintained its strong position. Additionally, the restaking app Fragmentic recorded a notable 65% rise in SOL deposits over 30 days. In nominal terms, Solana secured the second spot in TVL at $6.8 billion, surpassing BNB Chain’s $5.4 billion.
Several Solana DApps remain among the top 10 in terms of fees, outperforming larger competitors like Uniswap and Ethereum’s leading staking solutions. Platforms such as Pump.fun, Jupiter, Meteora, and Jito lead the way in fees. Notably, Solana’s weekly base layer fees have exceeded Ethereum’s, which holds the top position with $53.3 billion in TVL.
Despite a 27% decline in SOL’s price over the past month, demand for leveraged positions remains balanced between longs and shorts, as indicated by the futures funding rate. The recent price weakness did not lead to a significant increase in bearish positions, possibly due to the anticipated reduction in SOL supply growth in the future.
Looking ahead, SOL appears to be well-positioned to reclaim the $170 level last seen on March 3, supported by strong deposit activity, balanced leverage demand, and a decrease in expected supply growth in the coming months.
