Solana Faces Critical Resistance at $175 Amid Surging DEX Activity
Solana price nears $175 resistance amid record DEX activity. Can Glyde’s zero-fee model fix liquidity leaks and reshape DeFi on the Solana blockchain?
Solana is currently testing a key resistance level near $175, following an explosive surge in decentralized exchange (DEX) activity across its network. Over the past week, daily DEX volumes on Solana exceeded $2.8 billion, reflecting heightened on-chain engagement. Despite this momentum, concerns are emerging about the sustainability of this growth, as capital continues to leak from the ecosystem, raising red flags for long-term value retention.
Solana Struggles to Break $175 Resistance Level
As of writing, Solana (SOL) is trading at $173.92, hovering just below a major resistance zone that has historically capped previous bullish rallies. The $175 mark has proven to be a crucial pivot point, serving both as a ceiling and support in past cycles. To confirm a breakout, Solana will require strong, sustained buying pressure and trading volume to push decisively above this level.
#Solana $SOL has reached a critical resistance area at $175! pic.twitter.com/hP66opUPKD — Ali (@ali_charts) May 12, 2025
Recent price action has been driven by increased momentum on Solana-based DEX platforms, which helped fuel the current uptrend. However, technical indicators show mounting pressure at the resistance zone. If bulls fail to defend this level, a short-term price correction is likely, especially as traders begin to take profits.
Market analysts note that multiple rejections at the $175 range in previous rallies make this area a psychological and technical barrier. While Solana briefly touched on this resistance earlier, it failed to break through with conviction. Now, all eyes are on whether upcoming volume surges can absorb sell-side liquidity and push SOL to new highs.
Solana’s Record-Breaking DEX Volume Raises Red Flags
Solana’s decentralized trading activity has exploded in 2025, with year-to-date DEX volume exceeding $806.8 billion a staggering 400% increase compared to the same time last year. While this surge signals growing on-chain engagement, analysts have warned that much of the volume appears inflated, driven by MEV bots, wash trading, and front-running strategies.
Solana is breaking records and breaking itself.
Daily DEX volume: $2.8B+
TVL: ~$9.4B
SOL price: ~$172.88
Over 29% of TVL turns over daily. No other chain comes close.
But here’s the problem:
This velocity isn’t healthy. It’s hemorrhaging value.
Solana’s 2025 DEX volume has… — Sweep (@0xSweep) May 12, 2025
Emerging platforms like BullX, Photon, and Pump.fun have played a major role in driving this artificial volume. These platforms are estimated to have siphoned off over $10 billion in hidden fees from liquidity providers since the beginning of the year. As a result, real liquidity is draining from the network, raising concerns about the long-term health of Solana’s DeFi ecosystem.
While Solana continues to dominate in terms of raw activity, critics argue that its DEX infrastructure lacks safeguards to retain value on-chain. Predatory trading practices and extractive fee models do not reinvest back into the ecosystem or benefit protocol users, weakening user trust and network sustainability.
Glyde: A New Protocol Aiming to Reinvent Solana’s Value Economy
To address these structural flaws, a new protocol called Glyde is entering the Solana ecosystem with a bold mission: to keep value on-chain. Unlike traditional DEX platforms that rely on trading fees and token incentives, Glyde introduces a zero-fee trading model that replaces fees with a licensing system. Protocol-generated value is then redistributed to users through epoch-based redemption mechanisms.
This approach effectively locks value as total value locked (TVL) rather than letting it escape as revenue. Glyde also claims to eschew token emissions, positioning itself as true equity for users rather than a rewards-based platform.
With innovative features like a simulated order book, slippage-free trades, and AI-powered trading alerts, Glyde seeks to eliminate front-running and build a more transparent, fair trading environment on Solana. By focusing on user ownership and protocol sustainability, Glyde may offer a blueprint for value-aligned DeFi innovation.
Its arrival signals a growing demand for long-term, user-owned trading solutions not just on Solana but potentially across other blockchain networks. Whether Glyde can shift the broader dynamics of value flow on Solana remains to be seen, but its vision could set the tone for the next generation of DeFi platforms.
