Solana surges to seven-month high following SEC ruling and network upgrade

Solana (SOL) experienced a significant price rally, climbing over 12% in a 24-hour period to reach a seven-month high above $110. The surge was driven by a combination of regulatory developments, technical upgrades, and increased institutional interest.

On September 17, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an Innovation Exemption. This five-year regulatory relief allows approved platforms to trade tokenized National Market System stocks through permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools. Solana currently holds approximately $465 million in tokenized stock supply, the largest amount of any blockchain.

Simultaneously, the network activated the third stage of its SIMD-0525 upgrade, which reduces target slot time from 300ms to 250ms. This technical improvement increases block production frequency by nearly 17%, enhancing network speed for wallets and decentralized applications.

Market data indicates rising institutional demand, highlighted by the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF surpassing $1.1 billion in net assets. Derivatives activity also accelerated, with reports indicating an 18% jump in SOL open interest during the rally.