A Solana whale who invested in 2021 is now sitting on more than $153 million in profit.
A Solana whale who invested in 2021 is now sitting on more than $153 million in profit. According to Lookonchain, the wallet initially staked 991,079 SOL when the token was priced at around $27, costing nearly $27 million in total. Over the years, the wallet’s balance grew to 1.29 million SOL. With Solana now trading around $140, the holdings are valued at approximately $180 million. On April 22, the whale unstaked 100,000 SOL, worth about $14 million, and sent the tokens to Binance, indicating a possible intention to sell. The address still holds 1.19 million SOL, worth roughly $166 million.
The large unstaking came shortly after another major SOL unlock earlier in April. On April 4, Arkham Intelligence reported that four wallets that staked $37 million worth of SOL in 2021 had their tokens unlocked in what it called the largest single-day unlock of staked SOL. At the time of unlocking, the value of those tokens had risen to over $206 million. Around $50 million of those were sold shortly after.
Solana’s recent activity pushed it ahead of Ethereum in staking market cap for a short time. On April 20, Solana reached over $53 billion in staked value, briefly flipping Ethereum. Although Ethereum later reclaimed the top position, the event drew attention. Some in the crypto community saw the flip as a positive sign for Solana’s growth, while others raised concerns about network centralization and token distribution.
Other high-value wallet activity also points to growing interest in Solana. Whale Alert tracked a 374,161 SOL transfer, worth roughly $52.7 million, from Binance to a private wallet. Large withdrawals from exchanges often signal accumulation by investors, which can precede price moves.
In addition, Galaxy Digital, a firm led by Mike Novogratz, has made large transfers from Ethereum to Solana. Lookonchain reported that over the last two weeks, Galaxy deposited 65,600 ETH (worth more than $106 million) to Binance and withdrew approximately 752,240 SOL (valued at $105 million). These tokens were then moved to unidentified wallets.
Ethereum, meanwhile, has seen a decline in several indicators. Decentralized exchange volume on Ethereum dropped from $82.2 billion in January to $42.5 billion in March. Its share of the total crypto market cap has also fallen below 7%, and the token has lost 51.5% of its value year-to-date.
As Solana continues to gain traction with lower transaction costs and faster speeds, large holders are moving funds and taking profits, while Ethereum struggles to maintain market dominance.
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