Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko has publicly addressed growing fears about SOL's future, invoking a "Game of Thrones" line—"what is dead cannot die"—in a social media post on February 5, 2026. This statement is a direct response to flashbacks of SOL's price collapse to $8 in 2023 and its current bear market performance. Since October 2025, SOL's price has fallen over 63%, hovering around $86 at the time of reporting, with the token trading within a well-defined descending channel on daily charts.
Yakovenko's defiant rhetoric references Solana's historical resilience, noting that after the FTX collapse in late 2022, the project was reportedly left with only seven developers. Despite this, SOL rebounded to set new all-time highs before its recent correction, remaining approximately 10 times higher than its 2023 lows. Yakovenko emphasized Solana's evolved role as a hub for diverse crypto trends, from meme coins and gambling to cloud computing, suggesting a fundamental strength that makes a repeat collapse unlikely.
Concurrently, on-chain data reveals significant bearish pressure from a large trader. A newly created wallet deposited $4 million in USDC into the Hyperliquid derivatives platform and opened a 3x leveraged short position on SOL. This move signals strong downside conviction from fresh capital, timed as SOL traded below key structural support levels near $90. The trader used moderate leverage, indicating confidence without excessive liquidation risk.
This whale's action starkly contrasts with broader market positioning. Data from Binance shows top traders are heavily skewed long, with long accounts near 82% and a long-to-short ratio above 4.5. This creates a crowded bullish exposure that increases vulnerability to forced liquidations if the price declines further. Meanwhile, Solana's daily RSI has slipped toward 23, reflecting sustained selling pressure without signs of a bullish divergence.
Derivatives metrics show Open Interest has declined by roughly 4.37% to about $6.19 billion, indicating leverage reduction and long position exits. Recent liquidation data confirms downside stress on bulls, with total long liquidations reaching roughly $3.59 million compared to about $733,000 for shorts across major exchanges including Binance, Bybit, and OKX.
Technically, SOL faces critical junctures. The recent rejection near the $120 region—aligning with horizontal resistance and the channel midpoint—accelerated downside pressure. The key invalidation zone remains at $147.85. If the current support around $90 fails decisively, analysts suggest SOL could extend its decline toward the $80 support level.
