Solana Growth Shows Hope Despite Grief

Data from Santiment shows new wallet creations rising as prices drop, suggesting that the network’s curiosity and sentiment hasn’t died down yet.

The price of Solana’s native SOL token is near $84, after a steep, multi-month slide that has taken it nearly 67% since its September 2025 all-time high, with new on-chain data and public arguments pointing to the network under strain.

The mixed signals are important because they show a disconnect between falling market sentiment and activity metrics that suggest users haven’t abandoned the chain yet.

Security Patch Delays and Infrastructure Concerns

A February 19 report from Santiment noted that a significant source of the Solana community’s recent frustration stems from a serious security threat in January. Client maintainers urged verifiers to upgrade to Agave/Jito v3.0.14 after disclosing a vulnerability that could disrupt environments and threaten the integrity of the consensus.

Tim Garcia of the Solana Foundation urged operators to update immediately, but reports at the time said more than half of the verifiers were still on old versions, exposing the chain to potential risks.

This conflict of activity resurfaced in February when a network outage rerouted US traffic through Europe and Asia. While infrastructure providers like DoubleZero have noted that such redirects are a normal part of Internet communication, for verifiers using a high-speed chain, milliseconds matter.

These events have forced the market to take a closer look at how Solana’s decentralized credential set can respond smoothly to pressure, as that response directly affects the timing and security of DeFi transactions.

Uncertainty reflects the price of SOL, at the beginning of the month it fell by 25% in a week to about $96, with analysts such as Ali Martinez warning that a loss of $100 could open the way to $74 or even $50.

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At the time of writing, the stock was trading at $84, down nearly 35% over the past month and over 51% year-to-date. Shorter time frames show little relief, with gains close to 3% in 24 hours and around 6% in seven days, according to CoinGecko data.

Technical indicators remain mixed. Some traders say that a break near $80 has confirmed a bearish chart pattern, while others see a short-term setup that could push prices back to $114 if resistance weakens. Santiment added that the negative support levels suggest that many traders are betting against SOL, a setup that comes before the short squeeze.

Job Growth Versus Fading Hype

Despite price pressure, Santiment reported an increase in daily wallet creation in February. That metric tracks new addresses interacting with the network and suggests continued user interest even in the face of weak sentiment.

Exchange data also shows outflows exceeding revenues in recent weeks, a sign that some holders are moving tokens to trading platforms rather than preparing to sell.

However, the current situation is at odds with the earlier cycles that defined the Solana culture. According to Santiment, traders still refer to past events such as NFT booms, meme coin, and exchange-related shocks that once dominated the internet conversation.

Recently, the app builder Zora switched the new product from Base to Solana, charging about 1 SOL per creation, which sparked a debate about the benefits but also showed the continued interest of developers.

Finally, Solana’s layered image, prices and online attention have decreased since late 2025, however new wallets, active builders, and dense short positions show that participation has not disappeared.