Solana (SOL) experienced a remarkable surge in December, with a price increase of over 100%, followed by an apparent correction. This decline in SOL’s price seems to be driven by investors taking profits and capital shifting towards Ethereum tokens. On December 28, SOL’s price plummeted from a high of $126.50 to $101.50 within three days, indicating profit-taking by traders, as suggested by the Relative Strength Index (RSI) signaling overbought conditions earlier in the month.
Recently, some of Solana’s wealthiest investors, including Arthur Hayes, appeared to be selling off their SOL holdings. A significant transaction on December 28 saw an investor transferring 303,756 SOL, worth $32.8 million, to Binance, increasing the selling pressure on the cryptocurrency.
The downturn in Solana’s price coincided with gains in Ethereum, with the latter seeing a sharp 12.35% increase to $2,450, while SOL/ETH trading pairs dropped by 23.75% this week. This suggests a cash flow from SOL to ETH.
The price drop in SOL on December 28 also mirrored a decline in the Total Value Locked (TVL) within the Solana dapp ecosystem. According to DeFi Llama, Solana’s TVL decreased by approximately 2 million SOL (around $200 million) since December 20, potentially increasing supply in the market and triggering selling pressure.
An analyst’s price analysis of Solana suggests that even long-term charts show overbuying of SOL/USD, raising the likelihood of a correction or consolidation period in January. If bears push the price below the 0.382 Fibonacci support line near $100, SOL could face a 35% drop to the 0.236 Fibonacci line at $68.5. Conversely, bulls could aim for a decisive weekly (and annual) close above the 0.5 Fibonacci line around $130, potentially raising SOL’s price to $150 by February.
Further analysis projects that Solana (SOL) could trade between $90 and $180 in 2024, though this is subject to change in the volatile crypto market. Positive developments such as halving and ETF approvals could push prices much higher, while events similar to the past FTX incident could lead to lower price levels.