FTX Unstakes $23.75 Million in Solana Tokens: What Will Happen to SOL Price?

TLDR:

• FTX/Alameda-affiliated wallet redeemed 177,693 SOL ($23.75 million) from Solana’s PoS network
• FTX wallet still holds 7.057 million SOL ($943 million) in staking
• Solana (SOL) price remains stable at around $135, up 35% YTD
• Caroline Ellison’s sentencing hearing scheduled for September 24
• FTX ordered to repay up to $16 billion in credits, plans to use stablecoins

An FTX/Alameda-affiliated wallet redeemed 177,693 Solana (SOL) tokens, worth approximately $23.75 million, from the Solana Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network.

This move has sparked discussion about the potential impact on Solana’s price and the broader implications for the cryptocurrency market.

The wallet in question, identified as H4y…gFZ, still holds a substantial amount of Solana tokens. Even after this redemption, the wallet retains 7.057 million SOL, valued at around $943 million, in staking.

FTX/Alameda associated wallet H4y…gFZ redeemed 177,693 SOL (US$23.75 million) from Solana PoS staking today, and may transfer SOL to CEX in the future. H4y…gFZ address currently still has up to 7.057 million SOL (US$943 million) in staking. Most of the SOL held by FTX may…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) September 12, 2024

This holding continues to make FTX one of the largest holders of SOL coins, despite its bankruptcy in November 2022.

The recent unstaking event is part of a larger trend of FTX gradually offloading its Solana holdings. In November 2023, the same wallet unstaked $67 million worth of SOL and transferred it to Coinbase.

Later, in December 2023, another FTX-linked address unstaked approximately $90 million worth of SOL, which was also sent to Coinbase.

These actions are likely related to FTX’s efforts to repay its creditors. The court has ordered FTX to repay up to $16 billion in credits, which the company plans to facilitate using stablecoins.

To raise the necessary funds, FTX is expected to expedite its Solana sales, potentially through over-the-counter (OTC) transactions to minimize market impact.

Despite these large-scale movements, the Solana price has shown resilience. As of the latest data, SOL is trading at around $135, representing a 35% increase since the beginning of 2024.

This stability suggests that the market has largely priced in the potential sell-off from FTX and that there is still strong demand for Solana among both retail and institutional investors.

Before its collapse, FTX was closely tied to Solana, and the exchange’s demise in November 2022 initially sent SOL prices plummeting to as low as $8. However, Solana has since recovered significantly, demonstrating its ability to withstand the negative impact of the FTX bankruptcy.

Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on September 24. Ellison had previously accepted all criminal charges against her as part of a plea deal during Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial. Her cooperation and testimony may influence the severity of her sentence.

Institutional interest in Solana remains strong, as evidenced by the recent approval of spot Solana ETFs in Brazil. This development marks a significant step in SOL’s institutional adoption and may help offset any negative pressure from FTX’s ongoing liquidation process.

The resilience of Solana’s price in the face of these large token movements suggests that the market remains optimistic about the blockchain’s long-term prospects,