Is SOL’s Price in Danger? $449 Million Worth of Solana Unstaked

Solana Compass has recently provided insights into the latest Solana (SOL) network activity, specifically during its 512 epoch.

According to the website that tracks SOL staking activity, an estimated 19.637 million SOL tokens were unstaked during this period.

In the recent Epoch 512, 19.637 million SOL were unstaked, with a net unstake of 16.516 million SOL (about $372 million). Most belonged to a16z and the previous Alameda (now or ftx estate).

a16z: BZpEFk…oPPBm7 unstaked 5.006 million SOL, a16z-2: GCmFQL…ozXMwY unstaked 2.033…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) October 6, 2023

Millions of Dollars Worth of SOL Unstaked

These tokens hold a value of approximately $449 million at current rates. When considering the addition of staked tokens, the net unstaking volume comes to around 16.516 million SOL, roughly valued at about $380 million.

Notably, prominent entities, such as Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z, significantly contributed to this unparking of assets on the Solana network. Per Solana Compass, a16z unstaked about 7 million SOL at the end of Epoch 512.

Additionally, three accounts suspected to belong to the estate of collapsed crypto exchange FTX and its sister company, Alameda Research, separately unstaked 2 million, 4.5 million, and 3 million SOL in the same epoch.

SOL Price Steady Amid SBF Trial

The SOL unstaking comes as the crypto world is transfixed by the continuing trial of ex-FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), who is accused of wire fraud and money laundering.

Despite Solana’s reported connections to the failed FTX crypto exchange, multiple validator clients, including Jito Labs, with a 31% stake, reportedly drove more than 70% growth in the staking ratio on the platform.

At the same time, the price of SOL rose by more than 13% in the last seven days, per data from CoinGecko. However, in the previous 24 hours, as Bankman-Fried’s trial entered its third day, SOL prices seemed to be affected slightly, losing nearly 2% of their value.

It remains to be seen how much more impact the unstaked SOL might have on the token’s price, with many market observers expecting most of it to be sold.