Solana Slips Below Realized Price as FTX Unstakes $22.9M in SOL

Bearish Pressure Mounts Amid Large-Scale Solana Sell-Off

Solana (SOL) is facing mounting bearish pressure as the cryptocurrency tumbles below its realized price for the first time in nearly three years. This key metric, which represents the average price at which all Solana tokens were last moved on the blockchain, has historically served as a crucial indicator of investor sentiment. 

A drop below this level suggests that a significant portion of holders are now sitting on unrealized losses, a scenario that often triggers panic selling. The latest data also shows the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) indicator turning negative, reflecting a stronger outflow of capital compared to inflows. This suggests that selling pressure is outweighing buying interest, potentially limiting Solana’s chances of a swift recovery.

SOL is currently trading at $122.3, struggling to hold above immediate support at $118. A failure to reclaim $126 as support could lead to further declines, with the next key level sitting at $109. On the other hand, if Solana manages to break above $126, it could aim for $133 and potentially push toward $143, a level that would invalidate the current bearish outlook.

Adding to the downward momentum, FTX and Alameda Research have unstaked and transferred 185,345 SOL, worth $22.9 million, to 38 wallets within the past 24 hours. This is part of ongoing bankruptcy proceedings aimed at repaying creditors following the collapse of FTX in November 2022. 

Blockchain analytics firms SpotOnChain and Arkham Intelligence have tracked these movements, revealing that recipient wallets now collectively hold $178.82 million in SOL. These recent transfers follow a much larger unstaking event in March when FTX released 3.03 million SOL, valued at $432.5 million, across multiple wallets. 

Since November 2023, FTX and Alameda have unstaked a staggering 8.019 million SOL, worth nearly $1 billion, with a substantial portion offloaded through Coinbase and Binance at an average price of $125.8 per token. Despite these sales, FTX still retains 5.5 million SOL, valued at approximately $693.8 million, raising concerns about continued selling pressure in the near future.

FTX’s repayment process has been unfolding in stages, with the exchange already reimbursing creditors with claims under $50,000, along with 9% annual interest since the platform’s collapse. The first round of payouts saw $1.2 billion withdrawn from FTX-controlled wallets. The next phase, scheduled for May 30, will focus on creditors with larger claims exceeding $50,000. However, concerns remain over whether creditors in certain regions—including China, Russia, Egypt, Nigeria, and Ukraine—will be included in these repayments.

Despite the ongoing liquidation of FTX’s holdings, Solana’s price has shown some resilience. However, if FTX and Alameda continue to offload their remaining SOL reserves, the bearish outlook may intensify. The combination of technical weakness, significant unstaking events, and lingering uncertainty over FTX’s selling strategy presents a challenging landscape for Solana’s near-term recovery.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.