Solana Woes Deepen as FTX Set to Unlock 11.2M SOL on March 1

Market sentiments around the Solana ecosystem have further soured, with FTX set to unlock over 11 million SOL, worth nearly $2 billion, next month.

The Solana ecosystem has been under intense pressure recently as the meme coin fiasco in the network escalates. Reports of insider trading and collaborations to defraud investors have been trending, heightening negative bias.

For perspective, tongues started wagging after the LIBRA token saga involving Argentina President Javier Milei. To add to the skepticism, the decentralized exchange aggregator Jupiter admitted to the foreknowledge of the token’s launch, confirming a perfectly staged rug pull.

While the rumble negatively impacts social sentiments and prices, another possible setback has emerged for Solana. Notably, the bankruptcy estate of the defunct exchange FTX has disclosed plans to unlock 11.2 million SOL, increasing the coin’s circulating supply.

Solana Faces Unlock Worth 8% of Circulating Supply

With FTX repayment resuming yesterday, creditors with under $50,000 in the exchange before its collapse have received up to $1.2 billion. Meanwhile, the bankruptcy exchange will unlock 11.2 billion SOL on March 1, which it sold at auction to repay customers.

FTX 破产拍卖的 1120 万枚 $SOL 将在 03/01 解锁，价值 20.6 亿美金🚨

FTX 曾在三次拍卖中出售 4100 万枚 SOL，TOP3 买家和拍卖价格如下

1️⃣Galaxy：$64 买入 2552 万枚，回报率 187%
2️⃣Pantera 及其他买家：$95 买入 1367 万枚，回报率 93%
3️⃣Figure 及其他买家：$102 买入 180 万枚，回报率 80% https://t.co/iPhqiR715C pic.twitter.com/sNvxXspz0S

— Ai 姨 (@ai_9684xtpa) February 17, 2025

The unlock follows the FTX estate’s 41 billion SOL sales after the famous November 2022 collapse. The exchange sold these tokens at a discounted price to top companies like Galaxy, Pantera, and Figure.

For context, Galaxy bought 25 million SOL at $64 each, Pantera 13.67 million SOL at $95, and Figure 1.8 million at $102. This means they have 165%, 79%, and 66% profits on their Solana holdings, respectively.

Impact on Price?

Meanwhile, there is growing speculation that Galaxy and these other firms will liquidate these assets upon unlock, neutralizing demand with fresh supply.

An analyst suggests that buying Solana is dangerous amid the burgeoning skepticism around the ecosystem. Also, the likelihood of price downsides means these firms have nothing stopping them from selling the 41 million SOL.

If these sentiments persist, Solana could see lower prices, with technicals aligning with the bearish outlook. The asset has already broken down from a multi-month ascending triangle, invalidating bullish outlooks.

Further, Ali Martinez’s analysis shows Solana’s next target is the 0.382 Fibonacci level at $165. At the time of writing, the asset trades at $168.58, down 10% in the past week.