Key Takeaways:
Solana (SOL) has declined roughly 12 percent over the past week to trade around $86, making it the steepest loser among the top 10 cryptocurrencies as significant selling from whale accounts pressures the market.
On-chain analytics platform Lookonchain reported that major holders have been unwinding large positions. One whale who had staked 991,079 SOL over five years ago recently sold another 30,000 SOL, worth approximately $2.56 million. This wallet has been systematically selling for the past year, cashing out 965,274 SOL valued at nearly $137.7 million in total.
The selling pressure has been compounded by renewed activity from meme coin launchpad Pump.fun, which deposited 174,408 SOL, worth $14.76 million, to the Kraken exchange after a nine-month hiatus in sales. Lookonchain data suggests 117,877 SOL ($9.96 million) of that amount was likely sold, further contributing to the negative price action that has pushed Solana below the key $90 support level.
This wave of selling from long-term holders and ecosystem participants raises questions about confidence in Solana's near-term trajectory, especially as it contrasts with other large-cap assets like Ripple's XRP. While Solana's ETF products show greater price sensitivity to inflows, XRP-linked funds have attracted a larger cumulative volume of $1.39 billion, compared to Solana's $1.12 billion, suggesting a more stable institutional allocation profile for XRP.
The on-chain data paints a clear picture of the recent selling pressure. The first whale, who began taking profits a year ago, still holds 381,140 SOL (around $32.4 million) in staking positions, indicating they have not fully exited. Another whale, identified as "GyBRmk," also cashed out a large portion of a two-year-old position.
The more immediate pressure, however, came from Pump.fun. After months of silence, the platform's wallets moved a significant volume of SOL to Kraken. A newly created wallet then withdrew the same amount of SOL from the exchange, sold it for 9.96 million USDC at an average price of $84.52, and deposited the stablecoins back onto Kraken, confirming the sale.
For investors, the current dynamic places Solana at a critical juncture. The loss of the $90 support level opens the door to a potential decline toward the $65-$70 range in a bear-case scenario, which would turn a $1,000 investment today into roughly $756 to $814. However, the bull case for Solana remains tied to the successful execution of its upcoming Alpenglow upgrade. A smooth launch could help the token reclaim the $100 and $150 resistance levels, potentially leading to a rally toward the $165-$250 range by the end of Q4 2026.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
