5-4-2025 – Solana whales have begun offloading their hefty stashes following a monumental token unlock on 4 April 2025. This event saw four major wallets, which had locked away 1.79 million SOL tokens back in April 2021, finally free up their holdings. What was once a modest $37.7 million investment has ballooned into a staggering $206 million windfall—a jaw-dropping 446% leap in value.
Yet, the timing of this cash-out has coincided with choppy waters for Solana’s price. Just days before, on 2 April, SOL was riding high at $131.11, only to tumble 12% to $114.66 within 48 hours. Today, it’s clawed back some ground, rising 6% to trade at $120, with its market cap mirroring that upward tick. Trading volume, however, tells a different story, slumping 40% to $4.2 billion—a sign that the market’s enthusiasm may be waning.
Arkham Intelligence dubbed this the “biggest single-day unlock of staked SOL” in the token’s history, adding that such a spectacle won’t grace the calendar again until 2028. Once the chains were off, the whales wasted no time. Collectively, they shed more than 420,000 SOL tokens, pocketing roughly $50 million. One wallet alone raked in over $30 million by selling nearly 260,000 tokens, while others cashed out to the tune of about $16 million. Even after this spree, their coffers remain flush, holding 1.38 million SOL tokens—worth an estimated $160 million at current rates.
This isn’t the first time Solana’s big players have made waves. Last month, the beleaguered crypto exchange FTX, alongside its trading outfit Alameda Research, unshackled over 3 million SOL tokens, valued at $431 million. Since November 2023, FTX has steadily unwound 7.83 million tokens, amassing nearly $986 million in sales at an average of $125.80 per SOL. The latest whale sell-off only sharpens the spotlight on a market already jittery from these seismic shifts.
