$20M in Solana Shorts Wiped Out: SOL Price Surge to $152 Triggers Massive Liquidations

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Hassan Shittu

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Hassan Shittu

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Hassan, a Cryptonews.com journalist with 6+ years of experience in Web3 journalism, brings deep knowledge across Crypto, Web3 Gaming, NFTs, and Play-to-Earn sectors. His work has appeared in...

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April 22, 2025

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The recent Solana price rise of over 14% to $152 in the past week triggered over $20 million in short liquidations as traders who bet against the token found themselves on the wrong side of a bullish tide.

In a dramatic turn of events, the crypto market roared back to life this week as Bitcoin crossed the $93,000 threshold for the first time in seven weeks, triggering massive liquidations that wiped out more than $600 million in leveraged positions.

The sudden rally has been attributed to a confluence of factors, including improving macroeconomic signals from Washington, D.C., dovish comments on tariffs, and a sharp reversal in investor sentiment toward risk assets.

On April 22, President Trump surprised markets by softening his stance on the ongoing trade war with China, hinting that tariffs on Chinese goods may be substantially reduced, though not fully removed.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reinforced this view, calling the current tariffs unsustainable.

These policy shifts were perceived as a green light by investors, with both traditional and crypto markets responding with vigor.

Bitcoin’s 5% jump to $93,069 was matched by Ethereum’s 12% leap to $1,768 and Solana’s 7% rise to $149, which later extended to $152. The total crypto market capitalization grew by 4% to surpass $3 trillion.

According to Coinglass, liquidations surged by 130%, and open interest climbed to $121.6 billion, signaling renewed confidence and a wave of leveraged bets across the ecosystem.

However, the Altcoin Season Index remained at 16, confirming we’re still deep in “Bitcoin Season.”

Meanwhile, U.S.-based Bitcoin ETFs recorded their third consecutive day of inflows, peaking at $936 million on April 22, the highest daily total since Trump assumed office earlier this year.

Traditional indices joined the party, with the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones rising by more than 2.5% each.

Even gold briefly spiked to $3,500. All signs pointed to a risk-on environment, and crypto, true to form, responded swiftly.

Solana Defies Gravity Despite FTX Token Unlocks

While the entire crypto market soared, the Solana price surge has been particularly perplexing and impressive.

On the surface, it should have been weighed down by the recent unlocking of 11 million SOL from the bankrupt FTX estate, worth approximately $1.6 billion.

This represented the largest release of tokens from FTX’s holdings since January 2021. Historically, such token releases depress prices due to the sudden increase in circulating supply. Not this time.

Market analysts believe the unlock had been fully priced in. According to Matthew Nay, a research analyst at Messari, Solana had been oversold, and the market was bracing for this event for months.

Instead of collapsing, SOL became the subject of renewed institutional interest, partly due to upcoming protocol improvements.

On-chain movements further bolstered Solana’s case. One notable crypto whale, who began staking when SOL was valued at just $27 in 2021, recently unstaked 100,000 tokens worth $13.9 million and deposited them into Binance.

The same wallet, which initially staked nearly a million SOL, now holds about 1.19 million SOL worth over $166 million.

This long-term strategy has yielded a staggering $153 million in profits. Such moves reveal strong conviction among early adopters and whales.

Earlier this month, four wallets unlocked $37 million worth of staked SOL that had appreciated to $206 million in value.

Some $50 million worth was quickly sold, and for a brief window, Solana’s staked value overtook Ethereum’s, rising to $53 billion.

While ETH quickly reclaimed the top spot, the flip was a symbolic milestone in the ongoing competition between the two networks.

Solana Price Action vs Ethereum Price Action: A Technical and Sentimental Shift

Veteran trader Peter Brandt threw fuel on the Solana fire with a tweet highlighting a bullish “cup and handle” pattern forming on the SOLETH trading pair.

According to Brandt, this classical chart formation signals an impending breakout that could see Solana outperform Ethereum significantly.

His price targets suggest that SOL could gain over 100% against ETH, a bold claim backed by technical indicators such as rising trading volume and weighted moving averages..

The broader market appears to agree. On April 21, Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest disclosed its first direct purchase of SOL, marking a significant shift from its prior allocations, which had focused on Ethereum and Bitcoin.

Similarly, Galaxy Digital has reportedly begun rotating out of Ethereum and into Solana.

According to on-chain data from Lookonchain, the firm recently deposited 65,600 ETH, worth over $106 million, into Binance and withdrew around 752,240 SOL valued at $105 million.

These funds were later distributed across multiple wallets, indicating a strategic repositioning of the assets.

While Ethereum maintains a clear lead in total value locked (TVL) and developer activity, Solana’s recent strides have given it a notable shake-up.

With technical momentum, whale conviction, institutional rotation, and bullish sentiment all converging, Solana’s surge past $152 may be near.