Solana (SOL) Price Near Two-Week High Following Trump Shooting

Solana (SOL) rose to a two-week high of $154.25 on July 15, up by around 4.75% intraday. This jump is part of an uptrend that started during the weekend, primarily after an assassination attempt on pro-crypto US presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Solana Open Interest and Funding Rates Improve After the Trump Shooting

The open interest (OI) and funding rates for Solana have risen in the aftermath of the Trump shooting. As of July 15, SOL’s open interest has climbed by $140 million following the event, while its funding rates have flipped into positive territory.

Open interest (OI) represents the total number of outstanding derivative contracts that have not been settled. An increase in OI indicates that more traders are entering the market and taking positions, often reflecting heightened interest and activity.

On the other hand, funding rates are periodic payments made between long and short positions in perpetual futures contracts. When funding rates are positive, traders with long positions (those betting on price increases) pay those with short positions (those betting on price decreases).

The shift of Solana’s funding rates into positive territory and a rising OI indicate that the market sentiment is leaning bullish, with more traders willing to pay a premium to maintain their long positions.

Institutional Interest in Solana Remains Strong

In addition to the retail investor interest, Solana has attracted substantial institutional investments.

According to a weekly report by CoinShares, institutional investors have poured $4.4 million into Solana-focused funds in the week ending July 13. This influx of capital comes primarily in the wake of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s dovish tones in his address to the US Congress.

Powell noted that the United States is “no longer an overheated economy,” adding that the job market has “cooled considerably” from its rapid growth following the initial pandemic impacts.

Excerpts from his statement:

“We recognize that reducing policy restraint too soon or too significantly could hinder or even reverse our progress on inflation. However, given the strides made in lowering inflation and cooling the labor market over the past two years, elevated inflation is not the only risk we face.”

As of July 15, the target rate probabilities for a September rate cut were around 90%, compared to 62% a month ago. Lower interest rates typically reduce the opportunity cost of holding yielding assets like US Treasury notes, prompting investors to move funds into riskier alternatives like the stock and crypto markets.

Solana and the broader crypto market have benefited from this growing risk appetite.

Solana Will Likely Hit $160 in July — But What’s Next?

Solana’s potential to reach $160 by the end of July has increased, driven primarily by the aforementioned bullish catalysts.

From a technical standpoint, SOL’s current consolidation within a descending triangle pattern suggests a higher likelihood of achieving this upside target. The $160 mark aligns with the triangle’s upper trendline.

In addition, SOL’s daily relative strength index (RSI) is on an upward trajectory, with its July 15 reading coming to be around 56.75. This indicates the cryptocurrency has more room to grow, at least the RSI reading reaches the oversold threshold of 70.

Switching to a weekly timeframe chart raises SOL’s probability of undergoing a breakout after the US presidential elections in November. Notably, the cryptocurrency’s descending trendline pattern is part of an uptrend, which points to bullish continuation possibilities.

As a rule of technical analysis, a descending trendline breakout in an uptrend happens when the price breaks above its upper trendline. Meanwhile, it resolves when the price rises by as much as the maximum distance between the triangle’s upper and lower trendlines.

Should a breakout occur, SOL’s price will likely climb toward the $208-260 range by the first quarter of 2025. Interestingly, that is around the same time the US Securities and Exchange Commission may take its final decision on the recently-filed Spot Solana exchange-traded fund applications, according to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas.

“Looks like Solana ETFs are going to have a final deadline of mid-March 2025,” he argued, adding:

“But between now and then, the most important date is in November. If Biden wins, these likely DOA. If Trump wins, anything possible.”