Solana (SOL) enters the second week of October after gaining more than 14% in September and completing an upgrade that reduces its target slot time by half. The network is producing blocks more frequently, but recent withdrawals from Solana exchange-traded funds have raised questions about whether the token can repeat last month’s gains. The price test comes amid a wider pullback across major US cryptocurrency funds.
Solana September Price Gains Coincide with Increased Activity
SOL rose from about USD 103 at the start of September to USD 118 at month-end, a gain of roughly 14.6%. During the month, the token also traded above USD 120. Its September performance coincided with higher activity across Solana’s blockchain, including transactions and trading in tokenized shares.
A Token Terminal monthly series placed September transaction activity at about 10.7 billion, its highest reading since May 2025. Separately, the Solana Foundation recorded 3.18 billion completed transactions excluding validator votes, up 8.3% from August.
The totals measure different types of activity and should not be treated as interchangeable. Moreover, the foundation reported USD 17.51 billion in stablecoin supply during the same month.
Tokenized Stocks Expand Solana’s Network Activity
Tokenized equities also gained ground. According to the Solana Foundation’s September review, the network handled approximately USD 4.4 billion in tokenized-stock trading volume.
Tokenized equity supply stood at USD 684 million, while the number of wallets holding tokenized stocks reached one million. The supply figure represents the reported value of stock-linked tokens, not purchases of SOL itself.
Meanwhile, Solana recorded USD 78.33 billion in decentralized exchange trading volume during September, a 20% increase from August, according to the foundation.
October Upgrade Shortens Solana Block Times
On October 9, Solana completed a staged upgrade that lowered its target slot time from 400 milliseconds to 200 milliseconds. Slot time refers to the interval allocated for producing a block. The change allows the network to schedule block production more frequently, although it does not guarantee that every transaction finishes in 200 milliseconds. The network still relies on validators and other system conditions to complete transactions.
The first full period under the new setting averaged 218.3 milliseconds per slot, based on network measurements for October 9–10. Earlier stages reduced the target to 350, 300 and 250 milliseconds. The foundation explained that the change also shortens the time a block producer controls its assigned slot.
Solana ETF Outflows Complicate October Price Outlook
Despite the technical change, US spot Solana exchange-traded funds recorded USD 24.8 million in net withdrawals during October 5–9. The decline ended 14 consecutive weeks of inflows. Total net assets fell from USD 1.90 billion to USD 1.73 billion, according to fund-flow data.
Solana also announced additional payment and settlement services. Samsung plans to introduce USDC transfers through its Wallet app for eligible US users later in October.
Separately, the Solana Foundation released a settlement tool developed with input from J.P. Morgan to exchange tokenized assets and payments together.
SOL traded around USD 110.50 on October 10, below its September peak. Some forecasts suggest the token 'could break USD 125' during the fourth quarter. That remains uncertain: faster block production and new services do not establish future demand or sustained price direction. October trading and fund flows will determine whether September’s rally continues.
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