Solana's derivatives market is diverging from its price, with leveraged coin exposure rising even as dollar-denominated open interest falls. A whale has now added a 20x long position worth roughly $15.2 million, while two proposed protocol changes could tighten SOL's future supply.
Solana's derivatives market is pulling away from its price action. SOL trades near $76, far below its peak, yet traders are holding more leveraged SOL exposure than a year ago even as the dollar value of open interest declines.
Coin-denominated open interest keeps climbing
USD-denominated open interest sits at about $4.04 billion, down from roughly $7.70 billion a year ago — a drop of about $3.66 billion, or roughly 47.5%. Measured in coins, however, open interest has risen about 21.6% over the same period, climbing by 9.38 million to reach 52.87 million SOL. That gap shows traders hold more SOL exposure despite the lower dollar valuation, and that derivatives have not seen the broad deleveraging the dollar figures imply.
As a result, speculative positions remain high, since traders are keeping large amounts of leverage relative to their holdings. Without significant spot buying pressure, price moves could become more volatile as leverage increases sensitivity to swings. Solana therefore still carries substantial open interest as liquidation fuel, though the figure alone cannot show which side faces the next squeeze.
A whale opens a $15.2 million 20x long
One trader is adding directly to that leverage. A new wallet deposited $8.43 million in USD Coin before targeting a 500,000 SOL long position using 20x leverage. So far, the TWAP order has filled 199,838 SOL, worth roughly $15.2 million, near a $75.985 average entry, while SOL traded around $75.94 at the time — leaving the filled position underwater by roughly $8,888.
Because the order executes over time, it limits the whale's immediate market impact while steadily building long exposure; continued accumulation could add further support for longs. Still, the 20x leverage means margin calls become likely if SOL drops quickly.
Two proposals could tighten future SOL supply
Solana is weighing two changes that would reduce SOL circulation through different mechanisms. SIMD-0550 would speed up inflation cuts, potentially removing 18.9 million SOL from future issuance. Separately, SIMD-0553 would tie transaction fees to computing power used and burn them entirely, potentially raising daily burns from 650 to between 7,500 and 9,000 SOL. Together, slower issuance and higher burns could tighten supply and strengthen leveraged bullish positions if spot demand holds.
Source: AMBCrypto
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
