A significant Solana investor known as the ‘SOL Staking Whale’ has lost nearly all the gains accumulated over five years, with holdings dropping sharply from a $337 million peak back to around $26 million. The whale initially deployed about $26 million into Solana (SOL) tokens, riding a surge driven by decentralized finance projects, NFTs, and Solana-based meme coins. However, recent market pressures and geopolitical uncertainties have reversed much of these profits.
Arkham Intelligence’s on-chain analysis shows that this trader gradually withdrew SOL worth almost $137 million across major exchanges like Kraken and Binance, systematically taking profits instead of liquidating assets at once. Despite the large sell-offs and withdrawals, the whale’s current position still holds roughly 399,000 SOL tokens, valued near $26.5 million at the current price of about $66 per SOL.
The whale’s strategy involved staking while intermittently selling to hedge the initial investment, effectively de-risking despite recent losses. Over the last four months, on-chain data reveals that around $23 million worth of SOL has moved from staking wallets to exchange deposits, often in sizeable chunk transfers ranging from 50,000 to 120,000 SOL. These flows further feed into an increased circulating supply on exchanges, impacting price support.
Meanwhile, a separate anonymous wallet transferred approximately 1.35 million SOL, valued at over $84 million, into Coinbase Institutional accounts. This transfer, timed with Solana’s price struggling to hold the psychological $66 mark, signals continued market supply pressure. However, token inflows and spot purchases by other market participants helped prevent a sharper plunge.
Futures trading activity tells a more complex story. Despite the weak spot price, open interest in Solana futures has risen nearly 8% to $4.5 billion, indicating fresh capital entering speculative positions and expectations of increased volatility ahead.