Key takeaways:

• SOL fell to its lowest level since 2026 as technology sector layoffs and concerns about AI revenues hit markets.

• Despite the bleak environment, Solana outperformed the competition by increasing network fees by 81%, securing its runner-up position.

Solana’s native token, SOL (SOL), fell to $100.30 on Saturday, hitting its lowest level since April 2025. While the 18% price correction in 30 days surprised traders, the move largely reflected broader altcoin market capitalization trends. A 26% drop in silver prices on Friday further prompted cryptocurrency traders to brace for additional declines.

SOL was able to recover to the $102 level on Saturday, but sentiment remained frail following the forced liquidation of $165 million in leveraged bullish positions. Sentiment soured amid escalating tensions in Iran and fears of an economic downturn after Amazon (AMZN US) announced layoffs of 16,000 white-collar workers on Wednesday.

Investors became more risk-averse after learning that OpenAI accounts for 45% of Microsoft’s (MSFT US) Azure cloud computing backlog. Additional tension resulted from a Wall Street Journal report that stated that Nvidia (NVDA USA) would no longer invest $100 billion in OpenAI. According to The Information, the manufacturer of ChatGPT is estimated to suffer net losses of $14 billion in 2026.

Despite the bleak socio-political environment, Solana’s onchain business has outperformed its competitors, consolidating its position as runner-up in network fees and Total Value Locked (TVL). Hearty onchain metrics provide a dual benefit to the native token: they augment staking returns to encourage long-term holding, while creating ongoing demand for data processing fees.

According to Nansen data, Solana network charges have increased 81% above trend in the last 30 days. Additionally, the number of busy addresses increased by 62% and the number of transactions increased to 2.29 billion. By comparison, the Ethereum ecosystem – which includes Layer 2 solutions – totaled 623 million transactions, while Ethereum base layer fees increased by just 11%. Solana remained the clear leader in the decentralized application (DApp) business.

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Demand for leveraged bullish positions on SOL disappeared as investors sought the safety of cash and short-term government bonds. Multi-billion dollar tech companies including Unity (U US), AppLovin (APP US), Figma and HubSpot (HUB US) faced price drops of 30% or more in 30 days. Gold, usually seen as a secure haven, fell 13% from a high of $5,600 reached on Thursday.

The annual funding rate for SOL perpetual futures has dropped to -17%, meaning sellers are paying to keep their positions open. This condition is unusual, rarely lasts long, and indicates an extreme lack of appetite for leverage in bulls. The move coincided with political disputes over U.S. government funding.

The U.S. Senate on Friday approved the funding package along with a two-week stopgap measure intended to give the government more time to resolve disputes over funding for the Department of Homeland Security following criticism from Democrats over immigration enforcement. The US House of Representatives must vote on the final version on Monday.

Solana’s spot ETFs saw a net outflow of $11 million on Friday, according to CoinGlass. Meanwhile, listed companies using SOL as a corporate reserve strategy are under pressure. Shares of Forward Industries (FWDI US), Upexi (UPXI US) and Sharps Technology (STSS US) were trading 20% ​​or more below net asset value.

SOL’s path to regaining bullish momentum depends largely on renewed confidence in global economic growth and reduced socio-political risks, which may not materialize in the tiny term.