Solana's SOL Dips Below $100, Slips Back Behind BNB in Crypto Ranking

Solana [SOL] buckled Thursday almost 6% over the past 24 hours to $98 as the previous weeks' ecosystem frenzy and Solana-based meme coin rally showed signs of losing steam.

With the latest decline, SOL extended its pullback to over 20% from $125 on Monday, its highest price since April 2022, CoinDesk data shows. At press time, SOL pared some of its losses and was changing hands at slightly above $100.

Over the past three days, some $32 million worth of leveraged long positions – bets on higher prices – got liquidated as trading platforms forcibly closed trades due to insufficient margin, accelerating the pullback, CoinGlass data shows.

Solana-based meme tokens such as BONK and WIF, which saw meteoric rises earlier this month, are down over 50% from their all-time highs recorded in December, pointing to profit taking and cooling interest in participating in the frenzy.

Amid SOL's pullback, the BNB Smart Chain's native token [BNB] rallied 9% in the past 24 hours and took back the fourth spot in the cryptocurrency ranking by market capitalization from solana.

Why Solana's SOL is down

Solana is one of the best-performing crypto assets of 2023 rallying 900% from around $10 in early January, rejuvenating its ecosystem after being one of the most beaten-down assets during the bear market.

Read more: Solana's Scorching Rally Shows Ethereum Has a Serious Competitor

However, the token was due for a short term pullback as the rally showed signs of overheating based on elevated fund rates for derivatives positions, David Shuttleworth, research partner at Anagram, said in an interview via X direct messages.

Hope you captured profit, "anon." Forever and always my domain 😈 https://t.co/GNryyiI67K pic.twitter.com/d8g50eFKq4

— David Alexander II (@Mega_Fund) December 28, 2023

Trading data suggests traders were increasingly moving capital out of SOL to stablecoins, locking in profits or reducing their exposure to the token, Shuttleworth added.

"There was a quick rebalancing against long positions, many of which were caught out of position and overleveraged," Shuttleworth told CoinDesk.