SOL, Solana's native token, has gained 15% over the week, with most of its growth occuring in the last few days. Demand for the altcoin increased on important announcements related to the currency. Bitcoin's recent slump also pushed up SOL.
Solana is trading near $233. Earlier, it rose by 3% over the day, supported by recent developer announcements. The developers of the altcoin announced the implementation of new eco-friendly algorithms in the end of 2021 that would make Solana 100% carbon-neutral and more energy-efficient compared to BTC and ETH. A single Solana transaction requires 1,836 Joules of energy. In comparison, Bitcoin's energy demand is 6,995,592,000 Joules per transaction, while Ethereum requires 692,820,000 Joules per transaction. This could make the project desirable for major companies and decentralized projects.
On December 1, amid high demand for the token, Grayscale launched the Grayscale Solana Trust, which is likely to raise direct investments into the cryptocurrency. The news has been priced in by the market, however the new investment fund is yet to receive regulatory approval.
The altcoin has been on the uptrend since November 28. On November 30, Solana broke through the downtrend line of November 7. On December 2, the token broke above the Fibonacci levels of 0.618 ($230) and 0.786 ($240) in a massive impulsive move, but retreated afterwards, trying to settle above the strong resistance zone at $230. The long upper shadow of the candlestick following the bounce off the 0.768 Fibonacci level indicates that bears remain strong at this point. A bullish rally would require SOL to perform an impulsive move upwards after settling above $230. The MACD and Stochastic indicators give some bearish signs on the H4 timeframe, which could be a result of the upward impulsive move.
According to the daily chart, the altcoin is approaching the key resistance zone. Following the upsurge, SOL is likely to undergo a retracement before testing the Fibonacci level of 0,786 ($240). Earlier, the token failed to retest the key resistance zone and was pushed back to the 0.618 Fibonacci level. The altcoin is likely to undergo a rally and could reach $300, but it could be challenged by bitcoin if BTC goes on the upside. At this point, Solana is supported by investor uncertainty over BTC.
