$SOL traded higher near $142, extending its short-term recovery as activity across the network remained elevated despite fresh security concerns. Trading volume climbed to $3.6 billion, while market cap held close to $80 billion, supported by rising on-chain usage, including a sharp increase in daily active addresses and DeFi value locked above $9 billion. The price continues to stabilize above the $137 support zone, where demand has consistently absorbed sell pressure, while upside friction remains visible near the $160 area.

The key focus this week has been infrastructure risk management. Core developers released an urgent v3.0.14 validator patch to address identified vulnerabilities, highlighting the growing complexity of operating a high-throughput network at scale. While adoption metrics remain strong, the fact that a majority of stake is still running an older client version underscores the importance of timely validator coordination as Solana expands. Institutional signals, including a proposed #Solana trust product and deeper platform integrations, have helped balance sentiment during the upgrade window.

From a positioning perspective, large holders continue to show a constructive bias, with price holding above recent whale entry levels. Momentum indicators point to improving trend strength, though decentralization metrics bear watching as validator counts fluctuate. In the near term, Solana remains range-bound but resilient, with market participants weighing rapid ecosystem growth against the operational discipline required to support it sustainably.