Market Overview: Solana/Tether (SOLUSDT) — Strong 24-Hour Rally on Growing Momentum

• SOLUSDT rose from $233.7 to $248.99 in 24 hours, with volume surging to 1.57M contracts at peak.
• A bullish engulfing pattern formed near $233–234, followed by a sharp rally above key resistance.
• Volatility expanded significantly, with Bollinger Bands widening as price broke above the 20-period moving average.
• RSI reached 65 by midday, suggesting moderate momentum, while volume spiked with price.
• A potential Fibonacci 61.8% retest at $242.5–244.15 appears to have failed, opening the path higher.

SOLUSDT opened at $233.7 on 2025-09-17 at 12:00 ET and closed at $248.24 24 hours later. The pair surged to a high of $248.99, with a low of $232.23 during the session. Trading volume totaled 15,767,551.44 contracts, and notional turnover reached $3,930,878,378.15. The price action shows a strong bullish reversal and rising participation.

The 15-minute chart revealed a key bullish engulfing pattern as price retested the $233–234 range, followed by a breakout and rapid ascent. This breakout appears to have triggered a strong trend reversal, supported by rising volume and a positive divergence in price and turnover. The 20-period moving average crossed above the 50-period line, confirming an uptrend at the intra-day level. On the daily chart, the 50-period SMA is now acting as a dynamic support, with the 200-period SMA falling behind.

Price volatility surged in the late hours of September 17, with Bollinger Bands expanding significantly after the 18:00–19:00 ET breakout. The price closed the session above the upper band at multiple intervals, indicating high volatility and strong bullish momentum. The RSI hit 65 by 13:00 ET and remained elevated, suggesting momentum is still strong but not yet overbought. Volume and turnover aligned well during the rally, showing price confirmation rather than divergence.

Fibonacci retracement levels showed $242.5–244.15 (61.8% of the 233.7–248.99 move) as a potential key level, but it failed to hold. A retest of the 38.2% level at $246.6–247.6 could offer next support/resistance. The daily chart suggests that the 200-period SMA at ~$234.50 is now a key area for potential pullbacks.

Backtest Hypothesis

Given the strong breakout above the 20-period moving average and confirmation via volume and RSI, a potential backtesting strategy could involve entering long positions on a confirmed breakout above the 20-period MA with RSI > 55 and volume above the 20-period average. A stop-loss could be placed below the 50-period MA or key Fibonacci levels, with a target based on the 38.2–61.8% retracement range. While this strategy appears promising, it would benefit from testing over historical data to refine the exact parameters and filter out false signals. In this 24-hour period, such a signal would have been triggered around 18:15–19:00 ET, with favorable exit levels forming during the 23:00–04:00 ET consolidation phase.