Solana attempted a bullish move two days ago but was rejected at $144, triggering a retracement and breakout of the $130 support.
At press time, Solana (SOL) was trading at $131, down 5.51% on the day. The drop to $129 provided an accumulation window that whales and institutions quickly used.
Whale Solana intervenes during withdrawal
According to Onchain Lens, a long-term Solana whale withdrew 101,365 SOL, worth $13.89 million, from Kraken.
Source:
After the latest transactions, the whale’s total Solana holdings increased to 628,564 SOL, worth approximately $84.13 million.
Of these assets, 519,217 SOL are in the private portfolio and 109,348 SOL are staked to obtain a return.
Such a decision by the whale to expand its positions during a market downturn demonstrates strong confidence in the market. This suggests that the whale is anticipating a market recovery, a clear bullish signal.
Institutions continued to buy Solana ETFs
In addition to the accumulation of Solana whales, institutions went on a buying spree in December. Data from SoSoValue showed that Solana Spot ETFs saw net inflows for five consecutive days.
Since these ETFs launched in late October, they have only seen net outflows three times, reflecting strong demand.
Source: SoSoValue
As a result, total NET assets jumped to $949.1 million, putting the group near the $1 billion mark. Sustained capital inflows suggest that institutions remained engaged even as price action weakened.
Retail continues to sell into weakness
Surprisingly, while Solana whales and institutions showed sustained demand, retail traders continued to close their positions.
In fact, Spot Taker CVD came back positive for the first time in almost two weeks. When this metric is red, it indicates seller dominance, meaning more sell orders than buys in the spot market.
Source: CryptoQuant
Data from Coinalyze supported the trend. Solana printed 1.31 million sell volume versus 1.15 million buy volume on December 11, leaving a buy-sell delta of –158.77k.
Strong retail sales added downward pressure as whales and institutions absorbed supply.
Source: Coinalyse
Momentum indicators remained bearish
AMBCrypto’s analysis showed that accumulation by large holders had not offset growing retail sales pressure.
Source: TradingView
The ergodic indicator SMI formed a bearish cross, sliding to -0.103, which corresponds to weakening momentum.
At the same time, the EMA & MA crossover tightened the bearish conditions. The MA fell to $135, while the EMA increased to $136, showing continued near-term selling pressure.
Together, these signals indicate continued weakness. If the selling persists, SOL could return to levels below $130, with $123 being the next notable support.
For buyers to regain control, SOL needed a reversal of the $136 EMA and a close above $146, a level tied to its last failed breakout attempt.
Final Thoughts
- Whales and institutions have absorbed supply at lower levels, but Solana momentum indicators are still bearish.
- Traders could keep a close eye on the $130 area as sentiment decides its next direction.
