Solana (SOL) has surged over 20% against Ethereum (ETH) in the past week, sparking speculation of a potential breakout to $300. However, a steep climb remains as on-chain activity falters.

SOL/ETH Ratio Hits Record Weekly Close

Solana’s strong performance against Ethereum continued this week, with the SOL/ETH trading pair reaching a multimonth high. On 13 April, the ratio rose to 0.080, marking its highest weekly close ever, according to data from Markets Pro and Binance. This upward momentum reflects growing confidence in Solana’s relative strength, especially as the pair has been consistently forming higher highs since 4 April.

SOL’s gains come amid a broader uptrend in the crypto market, where Solana surged 35% over the past seven days, compared to a 13% increase in Ethereum. The previous peak of the SOL/ETH ratio was 0.093 in January, during a rally driven by the optimism surrounding US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, when SOL briefly hit $295.

$300 Target: Can Solana Repeat Ethereum’s 2021 Breakout?
Crypto trader BitBull shared a CME futures chart suggesting Solana could be poised for a major breakout, similar to Ethereum’s price surge in 2021. According to the trader, SOL is forming a similar pattern between the $120 and $130 range — akin to ETH’s consolidation near $2,000 before reaching new highs.

“Just like Ethereum’s run in 2021, Solana is setting up for a massive move in 2025,” BitBull wrote on social media platform X, implying that a rally beyond $300 may not be far off.

Network Metrics Raise Concerns
Despite the bullish chart patterns, on-chain activity paints a more cautious picture. Solana’s network fees have plummeted by over 97%, from $35.5 million on 20 January to just $898,235 on 14 April. This decline reflects lower trading volumes across popular Solana-based decentralised applications (dApps) such as Raydium, Pump.fun, and Orca.

Moreover, fees have remained stagnant on other key dApps like Jito, Moonshot.money, Meteora, and Photon since mid-February, suggesting minimal growth in overall network engagement.

DEX Volume Plunges, Challenges Ahead for SOL
Adding to the concerns, daily decentralised exchange (DEX) volumes on Solana have also nosedived. On 14 April, total DEX volume stood at just $2.17 billion — a sharp 93% drop from its peak of $35.9 billion on 20 January.

These figures highlight a clear decline in user activity, which could hinder Solana’s ability to sustain its price momentum and reach a new all-time high.

Outlook
While Solana’s price currently sits at $133, up 3% in the past 24 hours, it remains 54.5% below its record high set in January 2024. Whether SOL can break the $300 barrier will depend not only on technical patterns and market sentiment but also on a revival in network utility and user engagement.