The price of Solana (SOL) has been unable to break above the $200 level in recent weeks. One reason for the lack of enthusiasm among Solana investors stems from Cboe Global Markets’ recent decision to remove the 19b-4 forms for spot SOL exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from its website.
However, one prominent crypto analyst believes aggressive staking by whales and technical indicators suggest the SOL price could be primed for a meteoric rally in the near future.
Whale Staking May Trigger SOL Upsurge To $220
Onchain analytics platform Lookonchain observed in an X post that a whale has recently bought and then staked 28,717 SOL tokens, valued at $4.56 million.
Solana token holders stake the token to validate transactions via the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus algorithm. The SOL token is also used to receive rewards and pay transaction fees while allowing users to participate in the blockchain’s governance. Users locking up SOL signal increasing confidence in the market.
Whales purchasing and thereafter staking SOL tokens indicate their confidence in the crypto’s future, effectively decreasing its supply in circulation—potentially spurring an ascendant trajectory.
Widely-followed crypto analyst Ali Martinez suggested that whales typically accumulated at lower prices, striving to create a huge position ahead of an expected price rally. As the SOL accumulation phase ends, the token could be on course to explode higher, potentially retaking the psychologically important $220 level.
More Bullish Signals Prevail
Ali Martinez suggests that Solana may be carving an “Adam & Eve” pattern, hinting at a potential rally toward $164 if SOL succeeds in breaching this resistance region.
In case of a successful breakthrough, an impressive 32% rally toward the $220 price range could be in the offing. Should this projection come to pass, SOL’s price would fall just shy of its previous lifetime high of $259.96 registered during the bull rally in November 2021.
Spot SOL ETF Soon?
Solana’s surge above $185 in late July was primarily buoyed by anticipation surrounding two applications for spot exchange-traded funds in the United States.
However, excitement subsided following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) concerns about SOL’s potential classification as a security. This ultimately forced Cboe not to proceed with the 19b-4 forms, though this doesn’t completely close the door on SOL ETF prospects.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas is skeptical that a spot Solana ETF will see the light of day under the Joe Biden US administration, recently predicting that the ETFs now have a “snowball’s chance in hell of approval.” As such, a key potential fundamental catalyst for SOL’s price has been delayed.
