Forward Industries offloads $32 mln Solana – Is SOL’s 9% decline just the start?

Solana [SOL] was down more than 9% in the past 24 hours, extending its downtrend by more than 21% in the past week. It still commands a significant trading volume of about $5 billion, though it is down by 3%.

Most of this volume was seller-dominated, that is, institutions, whales, and retailers. The drop is consistent across all major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin [BTC], Ethereum [ETH], and Ripple [XRP].

Institution sells Spot SOL as whale leverages on shorts

The most notable driver of this decline in the past 24 hours was a major sale by a Solana treasury, Forward Industries, and a big player in the crypto space.

As per Lookonchain, Forward Industries, whose position of $1.59 billion is down by about $1.13 billion, deposited SOL into Coinbase Prime. About 455,784 SOL worth around $32 million was ready for selling after a month of inactivity.

Their 6.83 million SOL position is now worth about $459 million, indicating they bought high at an average price of $232.

When such big institutions sell, it translates to massive selling pressure in the market and withdraws confidence in SOL from retailers.

Additionally, whales like Ansem were shorting SOL, BTC, and ETH. As per on-chain data, Ansem shorted SOL with 20x leverage for a position worth more than $205K. The order was sitting at an unrealized profit of 253%, equivalent to $26K.

Moreover, Solana was going after its massive downside liquidity, which was resting between $43 and $65. For instance, at the $59.75 level alone, there was a liquidation leverage of more than $3.50 billion, and it was not the largest order.

That suggests more downside was expected.

This synchronization in selling among institutions and whales, who often drive prices, indicated a weak market. Such behavior could suggest that Solana’s price may drop lower, but is the chart speaking the same language?

SOL price crashes to lowest level since February

The charts showed that the altcoin lost the neckline of a head-and-shoulders pattern, which is a bearish reversal pattern. The pattern formed after SOL rallied to a four-month peak of $97.

A retest of the breakdown of the level at $82 confirmed a shift in the market structure in the short term. Now, SOL is trading at the lowest level since February after hitting $65.

The MACD is also showing that bears are in control, though the momentum is mild.

Additionally, the social sentiment is falling, indicating traders are moving away from the altcoin at this time. For instance, interactions have declined from 10.577 million to around 836.7K. These figures represented a 92% decline in two weeks.

With whales and institutions selling amid a short-term bearish market structure, SOL may drop once more. The next bullish structure is around $20 on the daily chart, which suggests SOL may be just starting its drop.

Final Summary

• Solana plunges 9% amid massive Spot selling by Forward Industries and leveraged shorts by a whale. 
• SOL price breaks below a four-month low with seller momentum increasing.