Solana (SOL) is not quite having an ideal 2026, down 44.7 percent on a year-to-date (YTD) basis as of Tuesday. That said, chart patterns suggest that things may go from bad to worse for the smart contract platform’s native SOL token.
SOL chart shows double top pattern in the making
As it trades slightly under $69, SOL is down a significant 76.5 percent from its all-time high (ATH) value of $293 recorded in January 2025. As of Tuesday, the digital asset carries a market cap of slightly more than $39 billion.
Sharing his thoughts on SOL’s recent price action, crypto technical analyst Ardi remarked that SOL is printing a bearish double top pattern on the 4-hour chart. Critical support for SOL lies around the $67 area, failure to defend this level could result in another major leg down for it.
For the uninitiated, a double top is a bearish chart pattern that forms when an asset reaches a resistance level twice and fails to break higher, creating two peaks at roughly the same price.
The pattern is confirmed when the price falls below the neckline – support level between the peaks – typically signaling a trend reversal and further downside. In the chart shared above, the neckline area lies between $67 to $68.
Fellow crypto analyst, zayed.eth forecasted that Solana is likely going to fall below $40. The analyst shared the following weekly chart, saying that the overall trend has been downward with no real changes in direction.
The analyst added that any “recovery” shown by the digital asset is actually just a relief bounce into a larger downtrend. He further suggested that the area between $20 to $40 would probably be a decent price to start buying in.
It’s not surprising to see so many bearish takes on SOL. Blockchain analytics account Lookonchain posted how a Solana whale has opened a massive 20x short position on 554,680 SOL, worth $38.15 million.
Solana awaits Alpenglow upgrade
While the current SOL price action is less than encouraging, the protocol is working toward its highly-anticipated Alpenglow upgrade, scheduled to go live in Q2 2026. The upgrade is expected to bring rapid transaction finality to the blockchain.
That said, institutional interest in SOL appears to be waning. On May 18, Goldman Sachs completely exited its position in SOL ETFs amid market uncertainty.
