Since the start of the year, Solana (SOL) has faced several challenges as a result of lengthy power outages. Despite a series of outages, NFT activity has remained pivotal to Solana’s ongoing success.

Network Outages Weigh Heavily on Solana

At the start of the year, news hit the wires of a 3rd distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack in less than 6-months. This followed an attack at the end of 2021 that had impacted network performance for hours. On 4th January, Solana reportedly went offline for 4-hours. Adding to network angst was a 48-hour outage caused by excessive duplicate transactions. The 48-hour outage left DeFi users on the Solano platform with heavy losses.

Despite the outages, Solana has maintained its position in the crypto top 10. At the time of writing, Solana ranked 8th on CoinMarketCap, with a market capitalization of $27.77bn.

Frequent outages have contributed to a fall well below its November ATH of $259.95. In January, Solana fell to a current year low of $80.79.

NFT Activity Remains Key Support

While outages have tested support for Solana, NFT activity has continued to deliver price support. Solana’s rise to prominence came from the Degenerate Ape Academy NFT launch on the Solana blockchain.

Since then, reports of NFT marketplace OpenSea integrating Solana-based NFTs was also positive. Some of the most popular NFT collections are on the Solana blockchain. It would only be a positive for both OpenSea and Solana for their inclusion.

With NFT market activity a key Solana price driver, recent NFT news is also Solana price positive.

New York City ATM Sells Solana NFTs

This week, news hit the wires of a new way for NFT enthusiasts to purchase NFTs. In New Your City, Solana-based NFT marketplace NEON allows users to buy NFTs at a 24-hour vending machine. Collectors can buy NFTs with credit or debit cards or Samsung Pay or Apple Pay.

Upon purchase, buyers need to scan the QR code of the item and claim the NFT online. While currently targeting the U.S fiat market, NEON will soon reportedly support purchases with crypto.

Solana Price Action

At the time of writing, SOL was up by 0.87 to $87.19.

Technical Indicators

Solana would need to avoid the $85.0 pivot to run on the First Major Resistance Level at $89.0. Support would be needed for a breakout from Tuesday’s high $87.6.

In the event of an extended rally, Solana could test resistance at $95. The Second Major Resistance Level sits at $91.6.

A fall through the pivot would bring the First Major Support Level at $82.5 into play. In an extended sell-off, Solana could test support at $80. The Second Major Support Level sits at $78.5.