The cryptocurrency market has had its fair share of ups and downs. The 2021 bull market was one of the biggest rallies in crypto history, with Bitcoin (BTC) rising to a peak of around $68,000. Most other assets followed BTC’s trajectory and hit new highs. Solana (SOL) also saw a massive breakout, rising to nearly $260 in November 2021. However, the collapse of FTX in 2022 shook the virtual currency market. According to data from CoinGecko, large-scale liquidations occurred in the second half of 2022, with Bitcoin (BTC) falling to the $15,000 level and Solana (SOL) falling to the $9 level. While many thought this was the end of the road for SOL, the asset made one of the most significant comebacks in financial history. Let’s discuss how it happened.
Why did Solana crash to $9 in 2022?
Solana (SOL) was hit hard after the collapse of FTX due to the exchange’s large SOL holdings. FTX is quite bullish on SOL, holding approximately 55.8 million SOL tokens (worth approximately $1.16 billion) at the time of bankruptcy. This figure represented approximately 10% of SOL’s total circulating supply and accounted for the majority of FTX’s holdings. FTX began selling most of its shares to pay off creditors, resulting in SOL’s price plummeting.
Not only did the price of Solana (SOL) drop significantly, but we also saw an exodus of developers from the network. Investor sentiment towards the project plummeted, and the future of the project was thrown into doubt.
How did the project recover?
Despite the massive crash, Solana (SOL) has emerged as the top blockchain among users. The SOL network attracted users and developers because of its ability to process large volumes of transactions. Additional developments such as high-performance Layer 1 have created further confidence among investors.
Solana (SOL) has also become a popular blockchain for launching meme coins. Pepe (PEPE), Bonk (BONK) and others have generated a lot of interest within the cryptocurrency community. The US Cryptocurrency Defense Act also contributed to the rise in SOL’s price.
Solana (SOL) hit a new all-time high of $293 in January 2025. The project’s incredible resurgence has earned Solana the title of “one of the most resilient cryptocurrencies” on the market.
