In a significant development for the Solana ecosystem, major whale addresses have begun offloading their SOL tokens after a massive staking period that lasted four years. On April 4, 2021, four significant wallets staked an impressive 1.79 million SOL tokens, valued at approximately $37.7 million at the time. Following the unlock on April 4 of this year, these tokens soared in value to around $206 million, marking an incredible 446% return on investment for the whale holders.
Whales Offload Nearly $50 Million
Following the substantial unlock, these whales wasted no time in selling a portion of their holdings. As of the latest reports, over 420,000 SOL tokens worth about $50 million had been unstaked from their initial wallets. Notable transactions included one wallet that sold nearly 260,000 SOL tokens for over $30 million, while three other wallets collectively liquidated approximately $16 million worth of SOL.
As per Arkham Intelligence, the four wallets currently retain around 1.38 million SOL tokens, valued at roughly $160 million. This selling spree comes after a notable decline in SOL prices since April 2, where the token peaked at $131.11, only to trade at $114.66 just two days later—indicating a 12% drop in value.
FTX and Alameda’s Influence on SOL
This unloading of SOL tokens by prominent whale wallets is reminiscent of an earlier massive unlock by the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and its trading entity, Alameda Research. In March 4 of this year, FTX and Alameda unstacked over 3 million SOL tokens, equivalent to about $431 million at the time. This marked the largest SOL unlock for FTX since it started liquidating its holdings back in November 2023.
Data from Spot On Chain reveals that since November, FTX has unstaked a staggering 7.83 million SOL tokens, fetching nearly $986 million at an average sale price of approximately $125.80 per SOL. Such high-volume sell-offs have substantial implications for the market, influencing both token valuation and investor sentiment.
Looking ahead, the next major staking unlock for Solana is not anticipated until 2028, leaving investors and market analysts to contemplate the future dynamics of SOL token prices and supply. The actions of these influential wallet holders serve as a bellwether for market movements and provide critical insights into the evolving landscape of decentralized finance and digital assets.
