Pantera Capital Continues Solana Acquisition Spree at FTX Auction

Investment giant Pantera Capital continues to acquire Solana (SOL) tokens through the FTX cryptocurrency exchange's bankruptcy auction. As part of the liquidation process, approximately 2,000 SOLs were reportedly sold this week, with Pantera participating as a buyer. The sale price was significantly higher than in April, signaling a potential market recovery for SOL despite recent technical issues faced by the Solana network.

Investment Giant Pantera Capital Continues Acquiring Solana Tokens at FTX Bankruptcy Auction

New York, May 19, 2023 - Investment behemoth Pantera Capital has expanded its Solana (SOL) holdings through the ongoing bankruptcy auction of the defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange. This recent purchase follows a significant acquisition in early April, reinforcing Pantera's belief in the token's long-term potential.

Solana Sale at FTX Auction

The FTX cryptocurrency exchange, which collapsed in 2022, initiated a liquidation process to divest its assets, including substantial holdings of SOL tokens. In this ongoing auction, an estimated 2,000 SOLs were reportedly sold this week. Sources close to Bloomberg have indicated that Pantera Capital participated in the acquisition, bolstering its position as a key player in the Solana ecosystem.

In early April, FTX liquidators executed a deal involving the sale of SOL at a significant discount of 60%, transacting at approximately $64 per SOL. The total value of the transaction reached $1.8 billion, with major firms such as Galaxy Digital and Pantera Capital participating. However, it is worth noting that around 40 million SOL tokens remain blocked for four years, restricting their availability for immediate trading. Nonetheless, the blocked tokens can be gradually released into circulation.

In the latest auction, the price of SOL surpassed the levels observed in early April, according to Bloomberg sources. The continuation of these auctions is anticipated in the near future.

Current SOL Price Dynamics

At the time of writing, Solana is trading at approximately $134, as reported by CoinMarketCap. Over the past 24 hours, the token has experienced a modest decline of around 5%. In the past month, SOL has witnessed a 26% decrease in value.

The recent downward trajectory of Solana stems primarily from technical difficulties encountered by the Solana network. Frequent operational failures have plagued the blockchain, primarily attributed to the surge in popularity of memecoins.

In response to these challenges, the Solana development team has scheduled a major update, slated for release at the end of May. This update aims to address network congestion and enhance stability.

Major Network Upgrade

The upcoming v1.18 update for the Solana network is designed to significantly strengthen its infrastructure. Among its objectives is to mitigate blockchain congestion, which has been a persistent cause of operational disruptions.

The development team is actively pursuing upgrades to improve Solana's performance. Notably, on April 10, a proposal to expedite transaction processing was put forward by Zantetsu, a validator representative at Shinobi Systems. The proposal gained overwhelming support, with 98% of validators endorsing it.