Why Did SOL Drop to Multi-Year Lows?
Solana’s native token, SOL, fell to its lowest levels since April 2025 over the weekend, briefly trading near $100.30 before stabilizing above $102. The decline capped an 18% drop over the past 30 days and tracked closely with weakness across the broader altcoin market rather than a Solana-specific shock.
The sell-off unfolded alongside a sharp deterioration in global risk sentiment. A 26% collapse in silver prices on Friday added to concerns that leveraged trades across speculative assets were being unwound. At the same time, mounting geopolitical stress in the Middle East and signs of strain in the US technology sector pushed traders toward caution.
Sentiment deteriorated further after Amazon announced 16,000 white-collar job cuts, reinforcing fears that cost pressures and slower growth are spreading through large-cap tech. The move followed fresh concerns about artificial intelligence economics after reports showed heavy revenue concentration in cloud infrastructure tied to a single AI customer.
Investor Takeaway
How Macro Stress Hit Crypto Leverage
The downturn in SOL coincided with a sharp flush of bullish leverage. Roughly $165 million in long positions were liquidated as prices slid, removing short-term speculative support. Demand for leveraged upside trades faded quickly as traders moved toward cash and short-term government debt.
Futures markets reflected that shift. The annualized funding rate on SOL perpetual contracts fell to around -17%, meaning short sellers were paying to keep positions open. Such readings are uncommon and tend to appear during periods when traders show little appetite for directional exposure on the long side.
The retreat from leverage mirrored stress in listed technology stocks. Shares of several high-growth software and design firms fell more than 30% over a 30-day window, reinforcing the view that risk capital was being pulled back across sectors rather than rotating within them.
Onchain Activity Tells a Different Story
Despite price weakness, Solana’s network data moved in the opposite direction. Over the past 30 days, Solana recorded an 81% jump in network fees above trend, according to blockchain analytics data, while active addresses rose by 62%. Total transactions reached roughly 2.29 billion during the same period.
By comparison, the Ethereum ecosystem, including layer-2 networks, processed about 623 million transactions. Base-layer Ethereum fees rose by roughly 11% over the period, leaving Solana well ahead in raw application activity.
Higher usage supports SOL through two channels. Fee revenue feeds directly into staking rewards, while transaction demand creates ongoing need for block space. These factors have helped Solana retain its rank as the second-largest network by fees and Total Value Locked, even as market prices fell.
Investor Takeaway
Strong onchain usage can cushion long-term value, but it has limited effect during periods when macro stress dominates price action.
ETF Flows and Corporate Exposure Add Pressure
Institutional flows offered little relief. Solana-focused spot exchange-traded products recorded about $11 million in net outflows on Friday, adding to selling pressure. While modest in absolute terms, the move reinforced the broader risk-off tone.
Public companies holding SOL on their balance sheets also came under strain. Shares of several listed firms with SOL-based treasury strategies traded at discounts of 20% or more to their reported net asset values, reflecting skepticism about near-term token performance.
These discounts highlight a feedback loop between equity markets and crypto assets. When token prices fall sharply, equity valuations tied to those holdings often adjust faster than the underlying crypto market itself.
What Could Change the Outlook?
A sustained rebound in SOL would likely require improvement beyond crypto-specific factors. Renewed confidence in global growth, easing geopolitical stress, and clarity around technology sector earnings would all help restore appetite for risk assets.
Until then, SOL remains caught between strong network usage and fragile market sentiment. Onchain data points to continued demand for Solana’s infrastructure, but prices are likely to remain sensitive to macro headlines and shifts in leverage across global markets.
In the near term, traders appear focused less on protocol metrics and more on whether broader financial conditions stabilize. Without that shift, SOL’s recovery may remain uneven despite its lead in decentralized application activity.
