Solana metrics turn bullish – But is cooling volume a red flag?

Solana [SOL] on-chain metrics signaled strong demand and network usage. Active Addresses surged by 56% in a week, and the weekly transactions climbed to 515 million, AMBCrypto reported.The surge in activity coincided with a breakout from the regression channel. Derivatives positioning further signaled that the market was anticipating additional upside.CryptoQuant data agreed with these findings. The spot taker CVD showed a taker-buy dominant phase, and the futures CVD was also buyer dominant. The metrics measure the cumulative difference between market buy and sell volumes over 90 days.Together, they were potent bullish longer-term signals. In the short-term, Bitcoin [BTC] has fallen below the $94.5k local support, but it was able to bounce back above $93k.Solana had fallen to the $130-$133 local demand zone, which the buyers were defending at the time of writing.Spot Volume cools, what does it mean for SOL trendsSource: CryptoQuantThe spot volume bubble map illustrates both the size of spot trading volumes and their rate of change. Decreased volume, or cooling, is indicated in green, while overheating is red.Since the final week of November, the spot volume has been falling. A cooling phase can mark consolidation and local market bottoms during a strong uptrend. However, market conditions might have shifted.The extended cooling phase in recent weeks was more similar to that of 2022 than to 2024-25. Following the end of the previous cycle, reduced trading volume signaled a continuation of the bearish market.The same scenario is likely repeating now.Source: GlassnodeOn the other hand, bulls will be thrilled to note that the HODLer net position change has been positive since the final week of December. In other words, holders were accumulating SOL. The exchange position change metric agreed with this finding.The red bars on the metric since mid-December showed that SOL was flowing out of exchanges. While it was another signal of accumulation, bulls should be careful.Neither metric guarantees an explosive price rally. Rather, it might be a good time for long-term investors to consider dollar-cost averaging into a position.Final ThoughtsThe uptick in Solana network activity despite the price dip and market-wide volatility was a positive sign.The inability to reclaim $150 revealed a bearish longer-term outlook, even though some metrics showed accumulation.