The cryptocurrency market continues to respond to broader economic factors as Solana demonstrates resilience amid global trade uncertainties. SOL’s price action formed a clear uptrend with higher lows and higher highs, breaking through key resistance levels with institutional-grade volume suggesting accumulation despite a brief 1.35% correction in recent hours. Meanwhile, analysts point to the $166.82 level as a crucial short-term pivot, with potential for significant upward movement if SOL can maintain momentum above $177 resistance.

Technical Analysis Highlights

• SOL climbed from a low of $159.69 to a high of $173.03, representing a significant range of $13.34 (8.35%).
• Price action formed a clear uptrend with higher lows and higher highs, breaking through key resistance at $166.87.
• Above-average volume was observed around the $167-$170 zone, indicating strong buyer interest.
• Notable support established at $160.34, where buyers stepped in with conviction during early hours.
• Final four hours showed accelerated momentum with volume spikes exceeding the 24-hour average, suggesting institutional accumulation.
• A brief downward correction occurred in the last 60 minutes, falling from $172.19 to $169.87 (1.35% decline).
• The $170.00 psychological level briefly acted as support before failing.
• Final 30 minutes showed decreasing volatility and volume, potentially indicating exhaustion of selling pressure.

External References

• «Solana Price Holds $166 Support After Rejection From $183 – What Comes Next?«, NewsBTC, published May 19, 2025.
• «Here’s What Can Trigger a Solana (SOL) Bull Run«, CryptoPotato, published May 19, 2025.
• «Solana Price Prediction: Rising Network Adoption May Push SOL Price Beyond $200 By May«, CoinPedia, published May 19, 2025.

Stablecoin issuer Circle, which filed for an initial public offering (IPO) last month, has explored the alternative of a sale to crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) or payments company Ripple, according to a Monday report by Fortune.

The New York-based issuer of USDC, the second-largest stablecoin, took part in informal talks over a potential sale from which it was seeking at least $5 billion, Fortune reported, citing people who asked not to be identified.

This figure would be line with the company’s valuation by investment banks JPMorgan and Citi, which Circle had hired to help with the IPO.

Coinbase holds a minority share in Circle, and the two companies share revenue from USDC’s reserve interest income. Ripple recently debuted its own stablecoin, RLUSD. An offer by Ripple to buy Circle was rejected, Bloomberg reported last month.

Circle said in an emailed statement that it «is not for sale,» and remains committed to going public, Fortune said. The company aborted a previous attempt at going public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger in 2021.

Read More: Coinbase Shares Could See $16B of Buying Pressure From S&P 500 Index Inclusion: Bernstein

TokenFi, a sister project to Floki that focuses on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, is set to tokenize the Floki Minibot M1 — an AI-powered robot built by Rice Robotics — marking what the team says is the first tokenization of a consumer AI robot.

The move coincides with the launch of TokenFi’s RWA tokenization module on May 23. A presale for the Minibot M1’s token will go live the same day, initially for users on a whitelist compiled by Rice AI and select Floki ecosystem participants.

The presale ties into broader plans to launch Rice AI’s RICE token and conduct an airdrop for Floki (FLOKI) and TokenFi (TOKEN) holders, according to the announcement. Further details are expected post-sale, the team told CoinDesk.

The Floki Minibot is a branded version of Rice Robotics’ compact delivery and companion robot, which operates autonomously and is built on the RICE AI system. Rice Robotics counts Nvidia, Softbank, Mitsui Fudosan and 7-Eleven Japan among its partners and clients.

«This is the first time in history that an AI robot will be tokenized,” TokenFi said in a statement to CoinDesk. “It’s a phenomenal moment for TokenFi, the RWA industry, and the AI robotics space.”

TokenFi aims to be a leading RWA infrastructure provider, allowing companies to tokenize real-world items — from assets to equity and now robotics — using blockchain rails.

Floki developers said earlier this year that they believe Rice Robotics is “well-positioned for growth” in the AI robotics sector, citing industry projections that peg the market at over $100 billion by 2030.

TOKEN has gained 19% in the past 24 hours, data from CoinGecko show, alongside a jump in major tokens. The CoinDesk 20 Index, a measure of the broader crypto market, has added 3%.