In a tumultuous start to 2024, Solana faces challenges as its price plunges below $95 amidst a broader downturn in the cryptocurrency market. Despite the overall positive trend observed in the crypto market over the past two days, driven by optimism surrounding Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), SOL has not been immune to the prevailing negative sentiment.
Solana, the native cryptocurrency of the layer-1 blockchain network supporting smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) known as Solana, witnessed a decline of over 7% in the past 24 hours.
The current price stands at $94.01, reaching as low as $92.08 earlier today, according to data from CoinGecko. This drop in value comes amidst a larger crypto sell-off, with major digital assets experiencing price volatility attributed to erratic whale behavior.
Solana (SOL) Faces Investor Challenges Amidst Whales’ Massive Deposits
Whale Alert, a blockchain tracker, reported that whales deposited millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum into centralized exchanges in the last 24 hours. This move has contributed to the overall market instability, leading to significant price fluctuations.
Solana investors are grappling with extended losses as the altcoin experienced a 7% decline in the last seven days. Despite a remarkable 600% year-to-date surge, Solana remains 64% below its all-time high of $259.96, recorded in November 2021.
The trading volume of SOL over the last 24 hours has witnessed a nearly 17% decline, dropping to $2.8 billion. This decline signals diminishing retail interest in SOL, which currently holds the position of the fifth-largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $40.5 billion over the last 24 hours.
Often referred to as the “Ethereum Killer,” SOL gained popularity for its ability to handle faster and cheaper transactions and its smaller environmental impact than Ethereum’s earlier proof-of-work mechanism. However, SOL faces challenges, including scaling issues and network outages experienced last year, highlighting the need for improvements to ensure seamless transaction processing without network disruptions.