Solana whale returns to $26M as market downturn eats into 5-year, $337M position

A Solana staking whale, monitored by Arkham Intelligence under the entity name ‘SOL Staking Whale’, has lost most of the profits it made in a span of 5 years in the recent market crash.

At the start, the whale invested about $26 million in assets. The total amount spiked to $337 million over 5 years. However, the whale profit and accumulation have tanked to about $26 million in the current market geopolitical drama.

Throughout the trade journey, the whale has withdrawn SOL worth $137.67M from market gains.

SOL whale loses millions amid market downturns

As reported by Arkham Intelligence, the whale currently holds a total of 399,327 SOL worth around $26.46 million at present.

According to Arkham’s breakdown shared on Monday, the whale took its first position when the price of the token was at a very different level compared to today.

With the surge of the SOL token, driven by massive adoption of Solana in decentralized finance, NFTs, and meme coins, the position jumped 12X.

Instead of taking out all their positions in one go, the whale sold the shares from time to time, earning almost $137 million via gradual trading on Kraken and Binance.

The trader’s present-day position stands at 399,327 SOL worth nearly $26.45 million, given the current exchange rate of around $66 per SOL. Small stakes in lesser tokens such as AISM, OZA, and other tokens bring only minimal value to the total.

The approach used by the whale in staking the tokens while extracting some gains helped them de-risk the initial $26 million investment.

The on-chain data tells a steady flow-out tale: about $23 million worth of SOL has been sent to exchange deposit addresses within the last four months. This is along with bulk transfers ranging from 50,000 to 120,000 SOL, shifting from staking to exchanges.

$84M SOL whale transfer to Coinbase affects markets

Another anonymous wallet moved 1,350,000 SOL, worth roughly $84,06 million, to Coinbase Institutional. The action, detected through on-chain tracking, comes at a time when Solana is experiencing weak prices. 

At the time of writing, the price of Solana was $66.09, struggling to maintain the psychologically important support level of $66. 

The exchange flow numbers further support the increased supply narrative. According to CoinGlass, the spot flows were $48.32 million and $38.76 million for inflows and outflows, respectively, resulting in a net flow of $9.56 million. 

However, even with this additional supply, some purchases were made by tokens that were being delivered into the network, thereby averting any sudden crash.

Futures traders have also added their positions despite weak prices. The open interest on futures was up 7.87% to $4.50 billion, indicating new money flowing into futures markets and volatility expectations ahead.

ETF outflows and the lingering bearish sentiment

Institutional demand is displaying weakness. The fund saw net redemptions of $6.52 million last week, ending a four-week rally, a trend flagged by SoSoValue, which raised fears that continued outflows could add to downward pressure on the asset.

Funding rate data supported the bearish outlook. The funding rate for Solana dipped into negative territory, reaching its lowest point since late February. The funding rate is -0.0192% (shorts pay longs) at the time of writing. The long/short ratio is noted at 0.95.

As reported by Cryptopolitan, analysts still hold positive views of Solana following the recent drop. In 2026, they believe that the coin will cost no less than $55.65 on average, $139.73, and as high as $217.03. 

In 2029, its price can increase further, reaching an average of $419.60, up from $307.31. Finally, in 2032, its price may be from $351.97 on average to $580.21 and up to $808.45.

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