In the past couple of years, Solana ($SOL) , one of the top-performing cryptocurrencies, suddenly found itself under pressure from two major market players: FTX/Alameda and a substantial entity that has been dubbed the “pump”. This pressure comes from these two players selling off lots of SOL. As they have sold off that considerable quantity of SOL, the price has gone down, of course, but it has also made the price much more unstable—volatile, if you will. It has been very hard to trade in the short term, and it’s been very hard to hold in the long term. Between FTX/Alameda and the pump, these two entities have thrown a bunch of SOL into the market for sale, and the market really has not needed that. Over a year and a half, the cumulative effect on the price has been really bad. FTX/Alameda: A Consistent Source of Selling Pressure For the past 18 months, FTX and its associated trading firm Alameda Research have been among the most prominent sellers of Solana. They have sold, in total, 8.031 million SOL since November 2022. That sum equals about $1.03 billion at current prices. And this is not where the story ends. The price declines that Solana has experienced over the same time frame cannot be disassociated from the sales FTX/Alameda have been making. Every month, around the 10th, FTX/Alameda sells or transfers and approximately 180,000 SOL. This selling has become a market event so predictable that it evokes concern about SOL’s price prospects. A further consistent downward impetus seems to be being engineered by this event risk. A cryptocurrency such as Solana, which has been known for its rapid growth and technical innovations, can have a consistent and bearish presence in the market when a major player, like FTX/Alameda, exerts selling pressure that never seems to stop. The activity of these two supposed “market makers” has taken on a life of its own that the “Solana community” (as it’s called) must now contend with. FTX/Alameda got Solana as part of its crypto buffet back in 2020 when it was serving up all sorts of deals and token investments to get interns busy with crypto stuff and talking to GitHub. “Pump”: A More Frequent Seller of SOL A different key player that contributes to the selling pressure on Solana is an entity known as “pump.” This seller has been active in the market since the beginning of 2024, unloading a total of 3.403 million SOL—worth approximately $629 million—over the past year. Unlike FTX/Alameda, which has a predictable monthly cadence of sales, “pump” has a more erratic selling pattern, typically occurring once every 1 to 2 weeks. Each time, roughly 100,000 SOL is sold. SOL 的两大持续抛压大王： 一是 FTX/Alameda，自 2023 年 11 月以来一年半时间卖了 803.1 万枚 SOL($10.3 亿)。 转出/卖出频率基本上一个月一次 (每个月的十来号)，每次大约 18 万枚 SOL。 二是 pump，自 2024 年初以来一年多时间卖了 340.3 万枚 SOL ($6.29 亿)。 转出/卖出频率基本上 1~2… https://t.co/hanDuZKRZu — 余烬 (@EmberCN) April 11, 2025 These sales being done at such a high frequency have made Solana’s price very unstable. Every time we see a sale, we feel pressure on Solana’s price, which is pushing our price lower than it currently is. Who this seller is and why they are selling are two big unknowns. And that makes Solana an “asset under observation” as far as I’m concerned, with no clear indication of where it is headed except for “lower than it is right now.” And remember, this is happening while Solana has, for all intents and purposes, adopted a strategy of just trying to stay above water. What makes this situation more interesting is the enormous amount of SOL being sold off by an unknown player. It is not entirely clear who the “pump” is, and that adds a nice element of intrigue to the whole situation. But there is no doubt that Solana’s price has been heavily affected by the frequent large sales. Transaction size seems to be at the heart of the matter. It is certainly a reminder that for all the attention Solana has garnered lately for unpumped-up reasons, it is also a network that has to cope with the substantial pressure on its price from large market participants who seem very willing to sell. Implications for Solana’s Price and Future Outlook Serious questions are raised concerning Solana’s price trajectory when one considers the combined selling from FTX/Alameda and the “pump”. Even with these assets offloaded, it is hard to see how Solana, viewed through this lens, could be anything other than a prime candidate for long-term price devaluation. The continued selling from FTX/Alameda is especially significant because it has been taking place since the collapse of FTX in late 2022. We don’t know how long it will last or when it will stop. Because FTX/Alameda is a large seller of crypto, its incessant selling is a natural weight on Solana’s price that we want to see relieved before we can be too optimistic about Solana’s future price development. At the same time, “pump” seems a far more variable influence on the market. Its actions might still keep causing short-term fluctuations, and those could keep the market from establishing a clear near-term bullish or bearish tendency. And the unpredictability of “pump’s” selling behavior adds yet another layer of complexity to an already complex situation. Even with these challenges, Solana shows that it has a sturdy backbone and good community support. With its low fees, its high transaction capacity, and its potential for future scalability, Solana remains what its name suggests—a project for the long run. The increasing number of partnerships and the growing adoption of its blockchain technologies could very well lead to Solana experiencing a “pump” that could also be seen as “DeFi revival.” In the end, how Solana moves in price won’t just be influenced by these key selling pressures. It’ll also depend on what the market as a whole is doing, how investors feel about Solana (and everything else), the tech being built (or not being built), and the rules that regulators decide to impose (or not impose). As the blockchain ecosystem evolves, these activities will be super important for investors to watch. Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services. 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