Solana (SOL) Faces Potential 30% Price Drop as Whales Flood Market with Bearish Bets

Solana (SOL-USD) is under pressure from multiple fronts. Large investors are making aggressive bearish bets, expecting further price declines. A $2.07 billion token unlock on March 1 has traders bracing for increased selling pressure.

Solana (SOL-USD) is facing a quadruple whammy that could derail its recent recovery. Large investors are piling on aggressive bearish bets, expecting further declines in the cryptocurrency's price. Meanwhile, the network is set to unlock a massive batch of tokens, and the once-thriving memecoin ecosystem is slowing down. To top it off, concerns about security risks linked to the Bybit hack are weighing on traders' sentiment.

Solana Whales Ramp Up Bearish Options Bets

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Big-money traders are making their moves. Whales have been pouring into put options—derivatives that profit when prices drop—on Deribit, with block trades (large trades) accounting for nearly 25% of total Solana options activity last week, according to Amberdata's data.

But here's the kicker: out of the total block-trade volume, “nearly 80% was concentrated in put contracts,” noted Greg Magadini, director of derivatives at Amberdata, in an email to us.

This is a much higher rate of put contracts compared to Bitcoin or Ethereum during the same period, and it points to a strong pessimism among large traders toward Solana's price direction.

Solana Price Set to Drop as Massive Token Unlock Looms

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The pessimism around Solana isn't just in the realm of speculation. The network is facing a major token unlock on March 1, when 11.2 million SOL tokens, currently worth about $2.07 billion, will be released into the market, according to Deribit's Lin Chen.

A large portion of these tokens belong to the FTX estate, and their sell-off could put pressure on Solana's price.

“Such a large unlock would comprise 59% of SOL's daily spot trading volume, making it a significant market event,” explained Chen in a statement.

Solana Memecoin Ecosystem Slowdown, Security Concerns Weigh

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Solana's once-thriving memecoin ecosystem has hit a snag, and it's not helping the network's price.

Artemis data shows that daily transactions and decentralized exchange volumes on Solana have dropped significantly since the peak during the TRUMP token launch in January.

Moreover, Solana has been linked to some drama in the crypto world. On-chain investigator ZachXBT found that wallets tied to the $1.4 billion Bybit hack were also involved in Solana-based memecoin scams.

This revelation has raised concerns about the network's security risks, which could further dampen traders' sentiment toward Solana.

Solana Price Faces Potential 30% Drop

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Technical indicators aren't offering much comfort either. Solana has fallen 47% from its all-time high of $295.31 and is at risk of further downside.

Analysts warn that its current head-and-s