September 16: The Fed Hikes; SOL Remains Strong
September 17: Positive Close on Quiet Network Upgrade
September 18: Investor Favor Continues; Major Speed Upgrade Activated
The recent improvements to the network and what is ahead
What's happening
SOL touched $95.90, a multi-day low, on Tuesday after the failure of the CLARITY Act, before closing the day at $96.94. It then rallied back to above $113 by Saturday before pulling back on Sunday. Here is this week's recap of Solana.
The Fed's first rate hike since 2023 occurred on Wednesday, and SOL was up 1.73% to $98.62. ETFs continued their positive trend with $800,000 in inflows. Negative news hasn't affected SOL or its ETFs this week the way it has affected Bitcoin or Ether.
SOL continued its upward trend, rising 3.13% to $101.71. ETFs were flat for the day.
The week's strongest rally propelled SOL 10.81% to $112.70. Bitcoin also broke above $80,000 the same day. Solana initiated the third phase of SIMD-0525, reducing the slot time to 250ms from 300ms. This is a speed improvement, not a throughput increase; the compute and data limits per slot were reduced proportionally so the network's overall processing capacity stays about the same.
Daily closing rates of SOL, September 15-20, 2026
September 19-20
SOL closed at $113.11 on September 19, up 0.36% for the day. Prices pulled back on September 20, trading between $108 and $112. The broader market also traded sideways for the day.
US Spot Solana ETF daily flows, September 15-18, 2026
The Solana network announced a reduction to slot time to 250 milliseconds. This is the third of four planned phases this year, part of a staircase from 400 milliseconds down through 350, then 300, and now 250. A final step to 200 milliseconds is planned, though no mainnet date has been set for it yet.
Separately, a bigger upgrade called Alpenglow aims to reduce time to transaction finality to roughly 150 milliseconds. Alpenglow was recently approved by governance and is planned to be implemented prior to the end of this month.
$95.90 is the low for Tuesday and has been the low for the week. $114.30 is the high for Friday and has been the high for the week. There has been no trade above $114.30 this week. There has also been no trade below $95.90 this week.
Beyond the notable levels from this week, Solana ETFs had an inflow for the 12th week in a row this week. The inflow held through the two most negative news events for crypto this week. The first was the news that the CLARITY Act failed to pass in the Senate. The second was the news that the Fed would be increasing interest rates. Bitcoin and Ether ETFs lost money on both of those days. It appears that there is information that the public does not have that is fueling the demand for Solana ETFs.
Data as of 20 September 2026 (Sunday figures reflect trading as of writing). Prices and figures sourced from Investing.com, CoinGecko, Farside Investors, KuCoin, crypto. news, 247wallst, Yahoo Finance, Gokhshtein Media, Bitbase, CoinMarketCap, and SolCard reporting.
India Crypto Research operates independently. The information presented herein is intended solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as financial advice. Before making any financial decisions, it's essential to undertake your own thorough research and analysis. If you're uncertain about any financial matters, we strongly recommend seeking guidance from an impartial financial advisor.
