Is Solana gearing up for $100? Here's what futures data is signaling

The cryptocurrency market has continued its excellent start to the week as Bitcoin hit the $82,000 mark earlier today.

Altcoins are recording even bigger gains, with Solana the best performer among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

SOL has tapped the $89 resistance level at press time on Wednesday, maintaining an upward trend so far this week.

Retail confidence is rising, leading to increased activity in SOL futures, while steady inflows into SOL-focused Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) reflect institutional support. 

Momentum indicators support SOL’s breakout towards the $100 psychological level in the near term. 

Solana regains institutional support

SOL is currently up by more than 5% and could rally higher in the near term.

Retail and institutional support for Solana strengthens amid a broader market recovery, reflecting an upside bias.

Data obtained from CoinGlass shows the SOL futures Open Interest (OI) is up over 7% in the last 24 hours to $5.69 billion, suggesting an increase in the notional value of outstanding contracts. 

Usually, an increase in leverage exposure or the opening of new positions leads to an OI surge, suggesting a boost in trading activity. 

Furthermore, Solana’s positive funding rate of 0.0059% reflects a bullish tilt in positioning, as traders are willing to pay a premium to go long. 

The total liquidations of $7.27 million over the last 24 hours, led by $6.69 million in short liquidations, reaffirm the buy-side bias in Solana’s market. 

CoinGlass also shows that the long-to-short ratio now reads 1.1442 on Wednesday, from 1.0319, indicating a boost in the number of active long positions.

This increase in bullish bets on SOL futures reflects traders' optimistic anticipation.

While retail traders are increasing their exposure to Solana, institutions are not left out.

Solana spot ETFs recorded $1.74 million in inflows on Tuesday, after $3.28 million of inflows the previous day, reflecting renewed demand from institutional investors this week. 

Technical outlook: Solana bulls eye the $100 level

The SOL/USD 4-hour chart is bullish as Solana is trading above both the 50-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $84.82 and the 200-period EMA at $85.04, which are now acting as underlying support.

The recent rally above the previously downward-sloping resistance trendline suggests that buyers are holding support around the $86.45 area. 

Momentum supports the upside, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 77 on the 4-hour chart, indicating that Solana is now in the overbought region. 

Meanwhile, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is holding in the positive territory above its signal line with firm positive histogram bars, hinting that buyers still retain control.

If the rally persists, SOL could surge past the 4-hour swing high at $90.79, with a major resistance around the $100.80 psychological zone. 

However, if the market undergoes a correction, immediate support would be seen at the reclaimed trendline area around $86.45, ahead of the 200-period EMA at $85.04 and the 50-period EMA at $84.82.