Solana is off to a bumpy start in 2024. While the crypto market has displayed a positive trend over the past 2 days—largely on the back of optimism around Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs)—Solana price has taken a hit, falling below $95 over the last 24 hours.

Solana is the native cryptocurrency of the layer-1 blockchain network Solana that supports smart contracts and allows Web3 builders and users to create decentralized applications (dApps). 

Whale Movements Around BTC, ETH Cause Turbulence

The decline in Solana prices comes amid a broader crypto sell-off. Whales deposited millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum into centralized exchanges over the last 24 hours, according to blockchain tracker Whale Alert. This erratic whale behavior has led to price volatility, with major digital assets slipping.

In the past 24 hours, Solana’s (SOL) Price plummeted over 7%, dropping to a current price of $94.01. It fell to as low as $92.08 earlier today, according to data from CoinGecko. Solana is underperforming the wider crypto market which is down nearly 1.5% as of writing.

Investors Lose Millions Amid SOL Price Plunge

Solana investors extended their losses with today’s dip, with the altcoin having slipped over 7% in the last seven days. SOL has zoomed 600% year-to-date — but it’s still 64% off its all-time high price of $259.96 set in November 2021.

Solana’s trading volume over the last 24 hours dropped nearly 17% to $2.8 billion, signaling diminishing retail interest in Solana. Currently the fifth-largest crypto, Solana’s market cap fell to $40.5 billion over the last 24 hours.

Stability Issues

Often dubbed the “Ethereum Killer”, Solana rose to popularity because it can manage faster and cheaper transactions. It also gained favor due to a much smaller environmental impact before Ethereum moved to a proof-of-stake mechanism.

However, it still faces scaling issues, borne out by major outages suffered by Solana’s network last year. The network’s inability to process transactions without completely going offline is another sore point.