The bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX unlocked 3.03 million SOL (worth about $431 million) this morning, once again raising market concerns about the massive selling pressure on SOL, coupled with the pressure of the US trade war, SOL has seen a violent decline in the past 24 hours, completely erasing the gains brought by Trump's call to include SOL in the reserves, and falling even further.
According to Lookonchain monitoring, these SOL have been transferred to multiple wallets, and the flow of funds is widely concerned.
Allocated to previous auction buyers?
These unlocked SOL may be allocated to previous auction buyers, as the cryptocurrency commentator MartyParty holds this view and points out that the entire unlocking scheduled for March 2025 has now been completed.
BlockTempo previously reported that FTX would unlock 11.2 million SOL (worth about $1.6 billion) on March 1 and distribute them to auction buyers, who had bought them at over 40% discounts. The top 3 buyers and their purchase quantities and costs were:
- Galaxy Digital: average price of $64, bought 25.52 million SOL, return rate of 187%
- Pantera and other buyers: average price of $95, bought 13.67 million SOL, return rate of 93%
- Figure and other buyers: average price of $102, bought 1.8 million SOL, return rate of 80%
As institutions have accumulated substantial profits, they may realize profits in batches in the future, which may lead to strong selling pressure on SOL in the short term.
Will FTX hold a new round of auctions?
Another possibility is that these unlocked SOL have not yet been auctioned, and FTX may plan to issue another auction notice to institutional investors. According to BlockTempo's consultation with an anonymous industry expert with 8 years of experience, this auction discount may fall in the range of 70-80% of the market price, indicating that this auction will not be as "profitable" as before.
If the new buyers obtain a price closer to the market price, their long-term holding motivation will be weakened, and any slight market fluctuation may prompt institutions to cash out in the short term, leading to selling pressure on SOL.
The expert reminds that even if the auction has not yet been held, the market may have already started to make anticipatory adjustments, and combined with the overall economic weakness, it is not advisable to rashly open long positions in SOL at the moment.
SOL drops over 19% to explore $130
Due to the potential massive token selling pressure and the overall decline in the cryptocurrency market, SOL plummeted to a low of $132.46 before the deadline, a 19.38% drop in the past 24 hours, a retreat of over 55% from its historical high of $295.
