A Solana whale, who initiated a strategic staking play in 2021, is now sitting on a substantial $153 million unrealized profit. The whale’s grand total of staked Solana holdings came to 1.29 million, which it originally purchased for $27 million. As Solana's value surged to approximately $140, the whale's holdings appreciated to an estimated $180 million.
On April 4, Arkham Intelligence announced groundbreaking news. Four wallets, which had collectively staked $37 million worth of tokens back in 2021, just had their tokens unlocked! After this unlock, the whale started dumping some of their tokens starting on April 22.
Whale's Staking Strategy
In 2021, the Solana whale made a deep strategic investment of $27 million to stake those 1.29 million Solana tokens. At the time, Solana tokens were worth around $27 each. After all, this long-term staking play (4 years!) ended up being incredibly rewarding as the price of Solana soared to new heights.
In 2021, the blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain raised red flags over these tokens. Since the original staking they have been following the whale’s moves very carefully. The whale saw great promise in Solana and moved fast. By doing so and committing to a long-term staking strategy, it has realized $4.4 billion in financial benefits.
Token Unlocking and Offloading
The April 4th unlocking event was one of the most consequential moments in history for the Solana whale. At the time of the unlock, the tokens were worth more than $206 million. Arkham Intelligence described the event as:
"the largest single-day unlock of staked SOL" - Arkham Intelligence
Soon after the unlock, the whale immediately unstaked 100,000 SOL tokens, or roughly $14 million worth. Then, they quickly funneled those tokens to Binance.
Current Holdings and Sales
While the Solana whale has sold some, they still hold an eye-popping 1.19 million Solana tokens. This reserve is now valued at approximately $166 million. According to reports, about $50 million of those tokens have been sold since the unlock event. The whale’s willingness to cash in on some of the profits shows they know how to play the investment game.
Nguyen Thi Hanh
Cryptocurrency Writer
Nguyen Thi Hanh channels progressive, pragmatic views into high-energy, approachable crypto journalism, delivering confident, animated articles with regional and global relevance. Her optimistic, party-going spirit helps translate complex blockchain ideas into viral, visually engaging stories. Outside of writing, she enjoys urban food adventures and organizing community hackathons.
