The markets are in complete turmoil, stocks are deep in the red, crypto is taking a beating, and investor confidence is barely holding on. Bitcoin, the heavyweight of the crypto world, has suffered a major blow, dragging the entire market down with it.
Solana (SOL) is taking a beating. After soaring to $293 in January, the altcoin has plunged over 50%, hitting a five-month low of $132 before clawing back to $144. In just the past month, it’s down over 42%, with a shocking 22% dive in the last week alone. Right now, its market cap stands at about $68.84 billion, and the mood in the Solana camp is anything but upbeat.
One of the biggest reasons for this crash? The complete train wreck that was the Libra ($LIBRA) memecoin. Built on Solana, it shot up to an insane $5 billion market cap, only to come crashing down, losing 90% of its value within hours.
The collapse was so massive that it sparked fraud allegations and even demands to impeach Argentine President Javier Milei, who had publicly backed the coin. That scandal sent shockwaves through Solana’s ecosystem, and traders didn’t waste a second dumping their SOL holdings.
But that’s not all. The broader crypto scene isn’t helping either. The massive ByBit hack last week spooked investors, and Trump’s fresh round of tariff talk isn’t making things any easier. While Bitcoin has taken a 12% hit in the past week, Solana’s 22% drop is even worse, showing just how shaky things have gotten for the altcoin.
Another big problem? The memecoin hype train is officially running out of steam. Solana became the go-to blockchain for meme tokens thanks to its cheap and fast transactions, especially with the rise of Pump.fun, a platform that made launching meme coins ridiculously easy.
At its peak, over 71,000 memecoins were launching daily. That number has plummeted to just 26,000. With the memecoin party winding down, Solana’s network activity is taking a hit, and its price is feeling the heat.
With sentiment at rock bottom, all eyes are on Solana’s next move. Can it hold key support levels, or is there more pain ahead?
