Solana’s native token, SOL, has experienced an extraordinary surge in value this month. Not only did SOL surpass XRP and briefly overtake BNB, but it also secured its position as the fifth-largest cryptocurrency. With a staggering 23% increase in just one week, SOL’s recent success can be attributed to the excitement surrounding airdrops. These airdrops played a significant role in the complete sell-out of Solana’s Saga phone and its subsequent trading at a premium on secondary markets.
Recent data has unveiled a concerning trend – SOL now constitutes the largest holding of both FTX and Alameda, surpassing even Bitcoin and Ether. While this revelation may initially seem positive for SOL, it also raises concerns given FTX’s connection to Sam Bankman-Fried’s empire and its previous near-total loss of value. Currently, only 27% of FTX’s total Solana holdings have been unlocked, amounting to 15.3 million SOL. Speculations suggest that out of this unlocked portion, approximately 13.22 million SOL (equivalent to $666 million) may have already been sold.
Spot On Chain’s analysis indicates that FTX and Alameda have supposedly moved 6.99 million SOL, valued at $280 million, from two public SOL addresses to exchanges between October 24 and November 14, 2023. Additionally, another address linked to FTX, known as “4Axqyo,” unstaked and transferred 6.23 million SOL, worth approximately $386 million, to the wallet “3vxheE” (likely Coinbase) in the past month. These transactions suggest that there might be 2.08 million SOL ($206 million) remaining available for immediate trading.
The remaining 73% of FTX’s total SOL holdings, which is equal to 40.5 million tokens, are still under lockup and will be released according to a vesting schedule. As of now, these holdings account for a value of $3.99 billion. The vesting schedule includes monthly unlocking of approximately 609,000 SOL ($60 million), constituting about 1% of FTX’s total SOL holdings. On March 1, 2025, a considerable amount of 7.5 million SOL will be unlocked, representing 13.5% of FTX’s total stash. This will be followed by an additional 61,800 SOL unlocked on May 17, 2025.
Since FTX’s bankruptcy in November, SOL has experienced an impressive 460% increase in value, rising from $17.66 to the current price of $94. This suggests that FTX debtors could potentially gain an additional $3 billion or more from their SOL holdings. However, considering the vesting schedule, it is unlikely that any significant market impact will result from FTX and Alameda’s potential SOL sell-off in the immediate future, as stated by Spot On Chain.
According to DefiLlama, the total value locked (TVL) in Solana has witnessed an astonishing surge of over 516% this year. Starting with $210 million at the beginning of the year, it has now reached an impressive $1.295 billion as of December 22. Moreover, in the past week, the transaction volume on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) operating on Solana’s blockchain exceeded that of its Ethereum counterparts. The DEX volume on Solana reached an impressive $10.12 billion in the last seven days, surpassing Ethereum’s $8.82 billion DEX transactions during the same period. This achievement holds particular significance since historical trading has predominantly occurred on Ethereum.
A significant factor contributing to Solana’s surge in DEX activity is the network’s lower gas fees compared to Ethereum. This cost advantage has attracted more users to Solana-based DEXs, enabling the network to foster increased trading volume. Furthermore, Solana-based memecoin BONK gained substantial traction in the crypto community, maintaining a billion-dollar market capitalization for weeks after rapidly rising from humble beginnings.
Solana’s native token, SOL, has experienced extraordinary growth in recent times. While it has garnered attention and become a significant holding for FTX and Alameda, concerns arise due to their association with the fallout from Sam Bankman-Fried’s empire. The unlocking of FTX’s remaining SOL holdings, as per a vesting schedule, will be a crucial turning point that may impact the market. However, Solana’s rise in popularity, dominance in DEX volume, and lower gas fees contribute to its strengthening position in the crypto world.
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