Solana trades 3x its TVL as Wall Street bets big – But traders are wary

Key takeaways

Why is Solana trading so high despite weak sentiment?

Because SOL trades at 3x its TVL, with strong inflows from institutions like BSOL ETF pushing prices up.

What does negative funding and soft derivatives mean for SOL?

Traders are cautious and leaning short, but Spot buyers are keeping SOL’s price stable.

Solana’s [SOL] numbers don’t match the mood. The network now has over $40 billion in user assets, and SOL trades at more than 3 times its TVL.

Even so, on-chain sentiment is weak, with Funding Rates turning deeply negative as traders reduce risk. Meanwhile, Wall Street is still buying.

What’s going on?

Solana valuation far above its TVL

Solana apps now hold roughly $40 billion in user assets, yet SOL trades at more than 3x the ecosystem’s TVL. The chart shows how this multiple expanded through late-2024 and early-2025, even as TVL kept climbing.

Source: TokenTerminal/X

That means price strength was driven by outside flows, bidding the asset up faster than on-chain value grew.

Stablecoins, liquid staking, DEXs, lending, and RWAs pushed TVL toward all-time highs, but the FDV/TVL ratio stayed elevated.

In simple terms: Solana was priced aggressively, and markets paid a premium for exposure.

Institutions didn’t hesitate

While Solana looked “expensive” relative to TVL, that didn’t stop institutions from buying.

Source: Eric Balchunas/X

Bitwise’s BSOL ETF posted $417 million in weekly inflows, the highest across all crypto ETPs. Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas called it a “big time debut,” and the data backs it up.

Even though Bitcoin ETFs like IBIT slowed this week, BSOL kept moving. Wall Street money is getting in, and the higher prices might be driven by institutions.

Sentiment is soft, but price holds its range

Source: Coinalyze

Derivatives data shows that Open Interest has slipped from the highs, and Average Funding Rates have stayed negative around -0.17. This means traders have been leaning short and paying to be short.

Yet Spot price hasn’t broken down.

Source: TradingView

On the daily chart, SOL is still holding inside a tight $180-$195 band, with RSI near 44 and CMF slightly negative. This means caution.

Bears have conviction in the derivatives market, but Spot buyers are still absorbing supply. If funding flips back to neutral, this reset could turn into a rebound rather than another leg lower.