Raydium (RAY) emerged as one of the day’s biggest movers on February 17, 2026, jumping about 15% in early trading as renewed activity lit up the Solana-based DEX. The token retraced to roughly $0.75 before midday, and bulls are now eyeing a push back toward the psychologically and technically important $1 mark. What’s driving the move? There’s no single headline catalyst — instead the rally looks driven by a mix of Solana ecosystem momentum and a surge in on-chain activity on Raydium itself. Although SOL has been range-bound near $80, demand on Raydium’s automated market maker has spiked: liquidity provision and swap volumes have climbed sharply, and perpetuals trading on the platform has exploded. On-chain figures referenced by market watchers show perpetuals volume surging past $6 billion alongside notable user growth. Market microstructure has likely amplified the move. Raydium recently added perpetual listings for TSLA, NVDA, XAG, NAS100, XAU, SPX500 and GOOGL with up to 20x leverage — a push the project flagged on Twitter on Feb. 16 — which appears to have helped turbocharge trading volumes and retail interest. Volume and price action RAY’s 24-hour trading volume shot up roughly 580%, topping $118 million as bulls pushed the token back above the $0.75 retest level. The token is up about 22% from weekly lows and has recovered from intramonth lows near $0.54, though it remains well below the August 2025 highs around $4.10. Technical setup and levels to watch Technically, RAY is trading under a long-term descending trendline that began after the August highs. Short-term momentum indicators are turning more constructive: the RSI has been climbing toward the mid-40s and the MACD shows bullish divergence, suggesting scope for further upside if buyers remain aggressive. Key levels: - Immediate resistance: $0.83–$0.91. A decisive flip of this zone into support would increase the odds of a breakout. - Near-term bullish target: $1.00, with a more extended target around $1.27 if momentum continues. - Downside risk: rejection between $0.75–$0.83 could expose RAY to a pullback toward $0.55–$0.50. Wider market context The rally comes amid broader weakness for many altcoins that are echoing Bitcoin’s bearish pressure — Ethereum, XRP and Solana have all been under strain — which means RAY’s gains are notable for occurring in an otherwise cautious market. Speculation around potential macro shifts is also fuelling trader optimism, especially in leverage-friendly venues. Bottom line Raydium’s latest pop looks driven more by elevated trading activity and new perpetual listings than a single fundamental event. If on-chain momentum and volume persist and the $0.83–$0.91 resistance range breaks, bulls could target a return to $1 and beyond. Conversely, failure to hold the $0.75 area risks a steeper pullback toward the $0.50s. This is a fast-moving setup — traders should watch volume and how the token reacts at those key levels. (This is for informational purposes only and not financial advice.) Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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