The Bybit hack, where $1.4 billion worth of Ethereum was stolen, has been talked about in the cryptocurrency market in recent days. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou stated that the ETH gap has been completely filled. While the impact of the hacking incident on the cryptocurrency market, especially ETH, continues to be discussed, bears have become active on the Solana (SOL) front. According to Coindesk, the options market for Solana has become active on crypto derivatives exchange Deribit. Data shows whales have increased their bearish bets on SOL. As the SOL price continues to fall ahead of the upcoming multi-billion dollar unlock, the vast majority of whales have turned to put options that provide downside protection. Greg Magadini, director of derivatives at Amberdata, said there has been a big surge in SOL options trading over the past week, with investors looking to hedge against or profit from a potential price drop in Solana. “Investors are expecting further declines in Solana, as around 80% of options trading volume for SOL was concentrated in put contracts. However, there were only 40% puts for BTC and 37.5% puts for ETH during the same time frame. The slowdown in on-chain activity and the impending unlock are affecting the token's price and are causing investors to turn to puts.” What's Next for Solana (SOL)? Deribit Asia Business Development Head Lin Chen said that the token unlock, which will take place on March 1, poses a significant obstacle to the SOL price. “Solana (SOL) will unlock 11.2 million SOL tokens worth approximately $2.07 billion on March 1. This represents 2.29% of the total supply. A significant portion of the Solana to be unlocked comes from the FTX legacy and a foundation sale.” Chen noted that this unlocking accounted for approximately 59% of SOL’s daily spot trading volume and could lead to market volatility. “In anticipation of a potentially prolonged SOL price decline due to the unlock, it is natural that whales are seeking protection against a possible price decline by turning to put options. In addition, many investors will take advantage of this opportunity to open long positions in the high volatility of the SOL price in order to get good returns.” Solana, which has fallen 6.3% in the last 24 hours, continues to trade at $160 at the time of writing. *This is not investment advice. Continue Reading: Attention These Altcoin Investors! Options Whales Are Preparing for a Fall!
