Solana Whales Build $9.1M Long Bets as Major Network Upgrade Nears

Solana traded near $103 on September 8 as investors prepared for a network upgrade designed to significantly increase the amount of data allowed in a single transaction. Despite SOL’s recent price weakness, five large Hyperliquid accounts reportedly opened about $9.11 million in long positions between September 7 and September 8. The positioning comes as Solana prepares to increase its maximum transaction size from 1,232 bytes to 4,096 bytes, although the feature remains officially listed as pending activation.

Solana Expands Transaction Capacity

According to the Solana Foundation, the upgrade will raise the maximum serialized transaction size from 1,232 bytes to 4,096 bytes, giving developers about 3.3 times more space within an individual transaction. The change combines SIMD-0296, which defines the larger limit, with SIMD-0385, which introduces the Transaction v1 format.

The upgrade should not be described as tripling Solana’s overall transaction speed or network throughput. Instead, it increases how much data can fit inside one transaction. This is particularly useful for applications involving zero-knowledge proofs, large multisignature operations and complex on-chain signature schemes, which can struggle with the existing size limit.

Legacy and v0 transactions will continue to work, so applications will not be forced to immediately adopt Transaction v1. Solana’s official upgrade tracker currently describes larger transactions as pending feature activation, making September 9 a targeted activation point rather than a guaranteed launch date.

Whale Longs Meet Weaker Futures Activity

Large traders appear to be positioning for potential upside. Five Hyperliquid whale accounts reportedly accumulated approximately $9.11 million in SOL long exposure, suggesting those specific traders expect higher prices around the network upgrade.

The wider derivatives market is less decisive. CoinGlass data shows SOL futures open interest around $6.5 billion, while 24-hour futures volume is also near $6.5 billion. Both measures have recently weakened. A long-to-short account ratio below 1 also indicates that short accounts slightly outnumber long accounts, although this does not measure the size of individual positions.

Institutional flows provide a more constructive longer-term signal. U.S. Solana ETFs have recorded 10 consecutive weeks of net inflows, with cumulative inflows around $1.35 billion. However, the latest weekly inflow slowed sharply to roughly $6.18 million from about $153.9 million the previous week, showing that institutional buying remains positive but has lost momentum.

SOL Price Holds Near $100

SOL is consolidating around the psychologically important $100 level after a strong August advance. On the four-hour chart, price is trading inside a symmetrical triangle, with nearby resistance around $107-$108.

A confirmed breakout above the triangle could strengthen bullish momentum, while losing $100 and the lower trend line would weaken the structure. Based on the pattern’s approximate 16% height, technical projections place possible measured moves near $124 on the upside and $84 on the downside. These are scenario-based technical levels, not guaranteed price targets.

The four-hour RSI near 45 indicates weaker momentum but does not signal oversold conditions.

Conclusion

Solana’s larger-transaction upgrade is a meaningful technical change because it raises the maximum transaction size to 4,096 bytes, making complex blockchain operations easier to execute. Market positioning, however, remains mixed. Whales have reportedly built $9.11 million in longs and ETF inflows remain positive, while futures activity has softened. For SOL, $100 support and $107-$108 resistance are the immediate levels that could determine the next directional move.