SOL drops to $95 as Bitcoin, AI stocks and gold sell off: Will traders buy the dip?

Key takeaways:

• SOL fell to 2026 lows as tech sector layoffs and artificial intelligence revenue concerns hit markets.

• Despite the bleak environment, Solana outpaced competitors with network fees jumping 81%, securing its vice-leadership.

Solana’s native token, SOL (SOL), traded down to $100.30 on Saturday, reaching its lowest levels since April 2025. While the 18% price correction over 30 days took traders by surprise, the movement largely mirrored broader altcoin market capitalization trends. A 26% crash in silver prices on Friday further prompted cryptocurrency traders to brace for additional downside.

SOL/USD (orange) vs. altcoin market capitalization (blue). Source: TradingView

SOL was able to reclaim the $102 level on Saturday, but sentiment remained weak after $165 million in leveraged bullish positions were forcefully liquidated. Sentiment worsened following escalating tensions in Iran and fears of an economic downturn after Amazon (AMZN US) announced 16,000 white-collar job cuts on Wednesday.

Investors grew more risk-averse upon learning that OpenAI accounted for 45% of Microsoft’s (MSFT US) Azure cloud computing backlog. Additional tension stemmed from a Wall Street Journal report stating Nvidia (NVDA US) would no longer invest $100 billion in OpenAI. The ChatGPT maker is reportedly expected to face $14 billion in net losses in 2026, according to The Information.

Despite the bleak socio-political environment, Solana onchain activity has outpaced its competitors, consolidating its position as the runner-up in network fees and Total Value Locked (TVL). Healthy onchain metrics provide a dual benefit to the native token: they increase staking returns to incentivize long-term holding while creating constant demand for data processing fees.

Blockchains ranked by 30-day fees vs. recent average. Source: Nansen

Solana network fees jumped 81% above the trend over the past 30 days, according to Nansen data. Additionally, active addresses grew by 62%, and transactions soared to 2.29 billion. In comparison, the Ethereum ecosystem—including layer-2 solutions—totaled 623 million transactions, while Ethereum base layer fees grew by only 11%. Solana remained the clear leader in decentralized application (DApp) activity.

Related: Active Solana addresses spike 115%, four in 10 merchants take Bitcoin–Month in Charts

Demand for leveraged bullish positions on SOL vanished as traders sought safety in cash and short-term government bonds. Multi-billion dollar tech companies, including Unity (U US), AppLovin (APP US), Figma, and HubSpot (HUB US), faced price declines of 30% or more within 30 days. Gold, usually perceived as a safe haven, traded down 13% from its $5,600 all-time high reached on Thursday.

SOL perpetual futures annualized funding rate. Source: laevitas.ch

The annualized funding rate on SOL perpetual futures plunged to -17%, meaning shorts (sellers) are paying to keep their positions open. This condition is unusual, rarely lasts long, and indicates an extreme lack of leverage appetite from bulls. The move coincided with political disputes regarding United States government funding.

The US Senate approved a funding package on Friday, alongside a two-week stopgap measure to allow more time for government funding disputes over Department of Homeland Security funding following Democratic criticism of immigration enforcement. The US House of Representatives must vote on the final version on Monday.

Public companies ranked by total SOL cost, USD. Source: CoinGecko

Solana spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw $11 million in net outflows on Friday, according to CoinGlass. Meanwhile, listed companies using SOL as a corporate reserve strategy are under pressure. Forward Industries (FWDI US), Upexi (UPXI US), and Sharps Technology (STSS US) stocks traded 20% or more below their respective net asset values.

SOL’s path to reclaiming bullish momentum depends largely on renewed confidence in global economic growth and reduced socio-political risks, which may not materialize in the short term.