**Solana Prepares Major Network Upgrades Amid Price Volatility and Strong Buyback Confidence**
Solana is gearing up for significant network upgrades, known as **Firedancer** and **Alpenglow**, aimed at boosting transaction speed and reducing the risk of outages. These developments could fundamentally change how the blockchain operates and enhance its overall reliability.
### Firedancer and Alpenglow: What to Expect
**Firedancer**, developed by the Jump Crypto team, is a new validator client designed to improve Solana’s infrastructure. Currently in advanced testing phases and limited use on the mainnet, Firedancer seeks to enable Solana to run on diverse validator clients, thereby reducing network failures and outages. It represents a critical third-party option for validators, supporting decentralization and robustness.
**Alpenglow**, announced in May 2025, introduces a redesigned coordination protocol for Solana’s validators. It employs a lightweight voting system called Votor, finalizing blocks through a single or dual-run voting process. This upgrade aims to cut latency to milliseconds, eliminate the need for inter-validator gossip, and provide higher speed and more transactions per block — driving near-instant consensus across the network.
### SOL Price Trends and Market Sentiment
Despite these promising technical upgrades, Solana’s native token, **SOL**, has faced price pressure recently. Over the past 30 days, SOL has dropped roughly 26% and is currently trading around $140.
A critical price range to watch lies between **$144 and $150**. This zone is heavily packed with short positions, creating resistance and capping upward price attempts. On-chain data reveals a notable gap in demand below $144, indicating low liquidity in that range. If SOL decisively breaks below $144, it could plunge into a less supported, low-volume area, potentially leading to further declines until it reaches a stronger buyer concentration at lower levels.
### Upexi’s $50 Million Buyback Boosts Confidence
In a show of confidence in Solana’s future price recovery, Upexi—a major treasury firm with significant Solana holdings—recently announced a **$50 million share buyback program**. The company had already allocated $300 million into Solana, and the board of directors authorized this repurchase last Thursday.
Allan Marshall, Upexi’s head, stated, “We view the repurchase program as an additional tool to enhance shareholder value.” The buyback will be executed opportunistically at times and prices judged most attractive by management.
By reducing the number of shares in circulation, Upexi’s buyback could increase each remaining share’s exposure to SOL tokens, potentially leading to higher returns if Solana recovers.
### Technical Analysis: Mixed Signals
From a broader perspective, the macro chart shows a bullish rounded-base pattern forming beneath long-standing resistance levels. Price compression in this zone often precedes significant breakouts, and Solana has tested this supply zone multiple times, suggesting potential for upside momentum.
However, short-term technical patterns reveal caution. Corrective wave structures with lower highs are evident, and SOL remains vulnerable in the mid-$130s range. Furthermore, the price continues to struggle to reclaim the $160 to $177 levels, indicating that bears retain some control in the near term.
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**Summary:** Solana’s upcoming Firedancer and Alpenglow upgrades promise faster, more reliable network performance, which could significantly enhance the blockchain’s future prospects. Meanwhile, despite recent price declines, strong institutional support from firms like Upexi signals confidence. Traders should watch the $144 to $150 resistance zone closely, as it will be crucial in determining whether SOL can sustain a recovery or face further downside risks.
https://coincentral.com/solana-sol-price-can-major-network-upgrades-reverse-26-monthly-drop/