Solana Reacts as Binance Dumps Over $23M SOL Via Wintermute

Solana, the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has been one of the worst performers in recent times. For context, the asset is down a staggering 33% in the past month.

Meanwhile, pressure on the Solana ecosystem has intensified following a recent on-chain development. Analysis from market intelligence platform Arkham Intelligence shows that Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has shifted a substantial amount of Solana to AMM Wintermute, sparking speculation of possible sales.

Binance Unloads $23.13M SOL to Wintermute

Arkham data shows that the leading exchange wired 138,155 SOL ($23.13 million) to Wintermute on Monday. The data indicates that Binance shifted the funds over 13 different transactions.

Meanwhile, the transferred funds constitute a significant part of Binance’s Solana holdings. Arkham shows that the exchange moved 7.73% of its SOL stash with the recent shift.

Notably, Wintermute is not the only recipient in Binance’s Solana transfer; other trading platforms, including OKX, Coinbase, and Kraken, also received substantial amounts of the “Ethereum killer.”

For context, Binance transferred $1.6 million, $1.63 million, and $1.09 million worth of SOL to OKX, Coinbase, and Kraken, respectively. In total, Binance has moved 165,194 SOL ($27.45 million) in the past day.

Solana (SOL) Price Nosedives Amid Uncertainties

Meanwhile, the substantial Solana transfer has sparked speculation that Binance may be selling, further raising skepticism among market participants. Consequently, Solana’s price has nosedived over 8% in the past 24 hours.

Notably, other factors have contributed to Solana’s underperformance today. Events such as ties between the Solana memecoin deployer Pump.fun and the Bybit hack have fueled the downtrend.

Moreover, the skepticism around the ecosystem emanated long before now, following the growing investor rugpull. High-caliber meme coins like LIBRA and MELANIA dumped significantly after their launch, with on-chain activities showing a clear act of inside trading.

Furthermore, skepticism about the upcoming unlock on March 1 has not helped Solana’s course either. For context, FTX’s bankruptcy estate will unlock 11.2 million SOL on that date, further neutralizing demand.

At press time, SOL trades at $152 with a market cap of $75 billion.