Solana Whales Accumulate 3.5M SOL Amid 80% Fee Boost

Solana’s market activity has intensified following a significant transfer of 3.5 million SOL, valued at $487 million, between unknown wallets. This transfer has sparked speculation about strategic repositioning within the Solana ecosystem. Unlike many other tokens that experience large flows, this particular transfer stood out due to its non-exchange route, suggesting it may reflect accumulation rather than a sell-off.

Around the same time, short liquidations surged to $339.5K, significantly outweighing long liquidations of $70.9K. These coordinated triggers could be early signs of institutional accumulation, especially as short-sellers appear increasingly vulnerable.

Solana’s ecosystem continues to demonstrate robust health, with 16 months of uninterrupted uptime, even during January’s record-breaking surge in activity. The network processed over 200 million daily transactions and achieved a DEX volume of $39B/day. Key infrastructure upgrades, such as the release of Frankendancer and Pinocchio, along with a new Jito-based scheduler that boosted fee throughput by 80%, have enhanced both scalability and efficiency. With validator participation hitting all-time highs and 100% of priority fees going to stakers, Solana’s economic and technical fundamentals are among the strongest in the crypto space.

Whale behavior suggests active deployment of capital into assets like SOL. Between mid-May and early June, the percentage of stablecoin supply held by whales with over $5 million rose sharply, peaking above 56%. The recent decline to 53.278% reflects capital rotation back into risk assets, including Solana. This pattern aligns with the large whale transfer and short squeeze, hinting that whales may be accumulating while retail participants remain sidelined. Therefore, accumulation appears to outweigh sell pressure, supported by on-chain redeployment signals rather than panic exits.

Despite bullish signals from whales and spot movements, Funding Rates remained flat. At press time, the OI-Weighted Funding Rate sat at –0.0003%, reflecting hesitation among leverage traders. This suggested that traders were not fully aligned with the accumulating behavior observed among whales. While this disconnect does not invalidate accumulation, it highlights a cautious sentiment that could limit immediate upward momentum. Therefore, unless funding turns significantly positive, price rallies may face friction from a reluctant derivatives market, at least in the short term.

Solana’s social dominance recently climbed to 4.34%, marking a sharp rebound from its earlier mid-June dip. This surge suggests renewed attention from retail participants and the broader crypto community. Discussions around whale movements, network health, and technical patterns appear to have driven the increased buzz. Although social sentiment alone cannot fuel rallies, it plays a critical role in amplifying price moves when aligned with technical or fundamental catalysts. Therefore, this rising social traction may act as a tailwind if Solana holds key support and reclaims investor confidence.

Solana appears to be in an early accumulation phase, driven by whale redeployment and renewed network confidence. While retail and leveraged traders remain hesitant, strong fundamentals and rising social interest suggest growing upside potential. A move above $150 or a solid hold at $136 could confirm this shift in the coming days.