Solana (SOL) Whale Resurfaces With $3.6M Buy After Two-Year Hiatus

Solana News

On-chain data shows a Solana (SOL) wallet that banked more than $20 million in realized profits during the previous cycle has ended more than two years of inactivity with a fresh purchase. The address, tagged GvHYQQ by blockchain tracking service Lookonchain, bought 47,535 SOL, valued at roughly $3.6 million at current market prices. The same address built its original position during the August and October 2023 dips, accumulating 291,790 SOL for $6.82 million. That gave the wallet an average entry of $23.37 per token, a cost basis set well before SOL began its late-2023 climb. After the rally took hold, the wallet sold 191,789 SOL for $24.62 million, exiting at an average price of $128.36 per token. The distribution locked in more than $20 million in realized gains. Afterward, activity from the address stopped almost completely, with the remaining SOL left untouched for more than two years. On-chain data from Arkham shows the wallet did not fully exit during that distribution; it retained roughly 100,000 SOL from its original 2023 position. The new acquisition lifts the total balance to about 147,535 SOL, worth close to $11.1 million at current rates. The return of a historically well-timed accumulator comes after Solana, a leading altcoin, has pulled back sharply from its January 2025 high. At the time of the purchase, SOL was trading about 74% below that all-time high. The wallet's previous accumulation tranches also came during steep drawdowns, and the tracker described the latest transaction as the whale again buying the SOL dip. The wallet's previous trade followed a clear pattern: accumulation in multiple tranches during weakness, a hold through the early recovery, and distribution after the rally accelerated. The latest purchase mirrors that first stage. The total size of the new accumulation campaign is not disclosed by on-chain data.

Short-term price action around the whale's return was muted. SOL changed hands near $75, having moved little over the preceding 24 hours and down about 1% over the past month. The medium-term performance is steeper: the token has lost roughly 39% year-to-date, and over 12 months the decline reaches about 59%. Several on-chain indicators shifted into more defensive territory during mid-August. Exchange netflows have flipped positive, a change that often points to coins being deposited on trading venues and can add supply-side pressure. An exchange netflow reading is a snapshot of tokens deposited versus withdrawn from platforms; a positive number is generally interpreted as potential sell pressure. Decentralized-exchange volume, a large portion of which is executed through automated market maker pools, has run close to 80% below its April peak, indicating that speculative turnover has not returned even after the price stabilization. Institutional flows are telling a different story. Spot Solana ETF products recorded $10.26 million in net inflows for the week ending August 14, a figure roughly 70 times the previous week's total. That jump is the most visible sign of new demand, and it separates professional fund flows from the quieter on-chain picture. The contrast between positive ETF flows and weak DEX activity suggests that fresh buying is concentrated in regulated vehicles while native-chain trading remains subdued. The whale's purchase adds a third data point: long-term holders are using the same weak sentiment to rebuild positions. The muted price reaction is itself notable: despite a high-profile whale purchase and strong ETF inflows, SOL has not broken out of its recent range. The weak price trend and on-chain caution place SOL in a broader bear market context, even as pockets of accumulation emerge. Across the signals, the immediate direction of SOL still depends on macro and geopolitical risk sentiment, with no single metric yet pointing to a clear trend reversal.

Taken together, the data points describe a divided market for Solana. On one side stands the on-chain record, the clearest primary-source evidence: it shows a wallet that built near $23 in 2023, sold near $128, and resumed accumulation at roughly $75. That history frames the current trade as a second attempt at the same cycle rather than a short-term flip. On the other side, ETF flow data shows institutional money entering in size, while exchange netflows and weak DEX activity argue for caution. COINOTAG's reading is that the whale is positioning for another recovery, but the thesis is unconfirmed until buying persists and the $10.26 million weekly ETF inflow becomes a trend rather than a spike.