Solana hits the brakes – can $239 resistance be smashed?

Although things are slowly starting to look up for the major part of the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) has halted its rally right before a major roadblock – the resistance level at $239, which represents a heavy zone of realized price distribution.

Indeed, the currently sixth-largest asset in the crypto industry by market capitalization must conquer this critical resistance to keep its bullish momentum alive, according to the observations by popular crypto trading expert Ali Martinez shared in an X post on September 17.

Specifically, Martinez has reached this conclusion by analysing on-chain data that shows Solana’s UTXO realized price distribution (URPD), which maps out where most SOL last changed hands and reveals the ‘cost basis’ of large groups of holders. Peaks in the chart tend to act like walls of supply, where traders who bought in at those levels are eager to sell once they break even.

Why $239 matters for Solana

As it happens, the $239 mark is flashing red because it sits right in a cluster of significant realized price activity. Roughly 23 million SOL (nearly 4% of supply) has its cost basis around this level. In other words, a large portion of investors may be tempted to cash out at this point, creating sell pressure that could stall the rally.

For Solana bulls, clearing this zone is crucial. A decisive break above $239 could trigger a cascade of buying momentum, flipping the resistance into support and paving the way toward $260 and beyond. Failure to do so, however, risks a pullback as profit-taking intensifies, potentially sending SOL back toward the $200-$210 support area.

At the moment, Solana is changing hands at the price of $235.48, which indicates a 0.11% increase in the last 24 hours, a 5.44% advance across the previous seven days, and an accumulated growth of 28.43% on its monthly chart, according to the latest data.

All things considered, this resistance zone is currently in the focus of most Solana traders. Whether the token breaks through or rejects at this crucial point will likely dictate the next big move in its price trajectory.