Recent Whale Activity: A Closer Look
The whale recently withdrew 200,000 SOL, valued at approximately $29.8 million, and deposited the funds into Binance. These funds were accumulated over the past three days. The whale’s account was created in August 2023 and remained mostly inactive until a series of transactions took place in June, July, and again at the end of September.
This whale typically withdraws around 100,000 SOL (minus fees) before transferring the funds to Binance. The wallet serves solely as a relay address for storing unstaked tokens, and there are only 217 SOL wallets of this size engaged in Solana staking, which collectively hold about 13% of staked SOL.
Previous Unstaking and Market Impact
Previously, this same whale unstaked $178 million worth of SOL in July, contributing to the price drop from $170 to $129. The whale currently retains a stake of 299,994.07 SOL, which is delegated to Block Logic, MEV, and Triton—some of the leading validators.
This whale is one of only 4,826 users holding more than 10,000 SOL. Notably, nearly 70% of SOL is staked, with free tokens often exerting a significant influence on the ecosystem. The presence of validators consolidates most SOL in large wallets.
Unstaking: A Bearish Indicator?
Unstaking in Solana is often perceived as a bearish signal, particularly when it occurs in large volumes. During the 2022 market crash, mass unstaking was a contributing factor to the decline in SOL prices. Staking dynamics can shift dramatically within one epoch, but recently, Solana staking has shown resilience, moving past the turbulence of 2022 as confidence in the network grows.
Block Logic and Validator Dynamics
The validator Block Logic, based in Amsterdam, offers a 7.1% APY minus a 2% commission. The total SOL staked with Block Logic is 1,449,366, valued at around $217 million. The recent withdrawal by the whale significantly impacted the validator’s stake, potentially affecting both its security and rewards structure.
A larger whale, holding over 1.2 million SOL, constitutes the core of Block Logic’s reserves and has not yet divested. The largest single-user stake on Solana is recorded at 4,039,996 SOL, while the median small-scale staker has deposited less than 2 SOL.
Current Staking Trends and Market Stability
Despite the recent whale activity, SOL staking is showing net inflows that often surpass outflows from each staking epoch. This trend supports the market price, as both classic and liquid staking help mitigate SOL inflation, which averages around 5%.
Currently, SOL is trading at $149.70, with trading volumes remaining near peak levels, exceeding $2 billion in 24 hours. Open interest trends are flat, with a dominance of long positions at 70% compared to 30% short positions. Approximately $1 billion in open interest is concentrated within the Binance derivative markets.
Meme Tokens and Solana Activity
Meme tokens continue to drive activity on the Solana network, which saw a resurgence in September. A significant portion of Solana’s transactions derives from Pump.fun activities.
Active daily users on Solana peaked at 3.9 million in mid-September but have since declined to approximately 3.2 million. Research by Artemis estimates that daily active users have dropped to 3.4 million from an earlier high of 5.5 million.
Despite these fluctuations, Solana aims to compete with Ethereum in terms of activity, aspiring for SOL to evolve into a utility token with four-digit valuations, ultimately targeting 50% of Ethereum’s market capitalization.
Currently, Solana hosts two meme tokens valued above $1 billion: DogWifHat (WIF) and Bonk (BONK). Additionally, Popcat (POPCAT) is on the verge of achieving a similar valuation.
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