Yigit Taha OZTURK 
Solana (SOL) has lost 45% of its value since the launch of the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin, struggling under the pressure of the growing memecoin market.
Since January, Solana has dropped from $261 to $143, with analysts pointing to memecoins as a major factor limiting its price performance.
Memecoin Effect and Liquidity Drain
Dan Hughes, founder of Radix, explained that memecoins rarely bring new external capital into the ecosystem. Instead, capital rotates from one meme to another. “Most of the liquidity into TRUMP came from people selling other crypto assets in extreme FOMO,” Hughes told.
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This effect was so pronounced that Solana and TRUMP were the only assets in the green while the rest of the market suffered, earning TRUMP the label of a ‘liquidity vampire’.
Despite Circle minting over $8.75 billion USDC since January 1, Solana still fell 24%, indicating that new liquidity has been funneled into memecoins instead.
On March 1, Solana saw its largest-ever token unlock, releasing 11.2 million SOL into circulation. These tokens, originally purchased at $64 per SOL by Galaxy Digital, Pantera Capital, and Figure, posed a risk of a sell-off, yet Solana managed to hold above $140.
Macroeconomic Factors and Cybersecurity Concerns
Hughes also pointed to macroeconomic uncertainties and cybersecurity risks dampening institutional investment. The $1.4 billion Bybit hack on February 21, the largest in crypto history, further shook investor confidence.
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