Solana Whale Rakes in $153M from 4-Year Staking Gamble—Proof That Patience (And a Pile of Crypto) Pays Off

A single Solana whale just cashed out a staggering $153 million profit after staking their holdings for four long years—turns out ’HODL’ isn’t just a meme after all. While retail traders chase pumps, this anonymous whale quietly outmaneuvered the market with a classic play: buy, stake, and forget (if you can afford to). The ultimate flex? Earning generational wealth while the rest of us refresh price charts. Just don’t ask about the tax bill.

Solana Whales Shift Market Narrative, Outpace Ethereum

Earlier this month, on April 4, blockchain intel firm Arkham Intelligence recorded what it dubbed the “largest single-day unlock of staked SOL.”

Four wallets, collectively holding $37 million worth of staked tokens since 2021, had their SOL holdings released.

$200M OF SOL UNLOCKING TOMORROW

Tomorrow (4th April) marks the largest single-day unlock of staked SOL until 2028.

These 4 accounts staked a total of $37.7M of SOL in April 2021, and are up 5.5x at current prices. pic.twitter.com/qvKFWxygh9

By the time of the unlock, those tokens had appreciated to over $206 million. Around $50 million of those were sold shortly thereafter, indicating not just paper gains but realized profit.

This sudden and substantial movement of capital caused Solana to temporarily overtake Ethereum in staking market capitalization on April 20.

For a brief moment, Solana claimed over $53 billion in staked value, eclipsing Ethereum.

SOL just flipped ETH in "staking market cap". pic.twitter.com/bhbrPFsoFB

While Ethereum quickly regained its lead, the event was symbolic; Solana’s proof-of-stake mechanism and yield incentives are now serious competition.

Reactions to Solana’s temporary flip were mixed. Some viewed it as a bullish sign of the network’s maturation, while others raised concerns about centralization and token distribution.

Regardless, it’s clear that high-stakes actors are increasingly betting on Solana.

Big Players Bet on Solana as Ethereum Loses Momentum

Adding to this shift in sentiment, Galaxy Digital, the crypto-focused firm helmed by Mike Novogratz, has been executing large swaps from ETH to SOL.

According to Lookonchain, Galaxy deposited 65,600 ETH (worth over $106 million) to Binance over the past two weeks and withdrew approximately 752,240 SOL (valued at $105 million). These SOL tokens were then distributed to various unidentified wallets.

It seems that Galaxy Digital is selling $ETH and buying $SOL!

In the past 2 weeks, Galaxy Digital deposited 65,600 $ETH($105.48M) to #Binance and withdrew 752,240 $SOL($98.37M) from #Binance.https://t.co/lD8tgkC4Py pic.twitter.com/olcPWNnGq2

Galaxy’s moves reflect a broader institutional trend. Ethereum has been struggling. Its price is down 51.5% year-to-date, and its dominance has slipped to under 7% of the total crypto market cap, a historic low.

DeFi activity is shifting away as well, with Ethereum DEX volume falling sharply to $42.5 billion in March, down from $82.2 billion in January.

Meanwhile, Solana is gaining traction as a more affordable, faster alternative. It now hosts a wide range of active protocols, has become a hub for memecoins, and offers low transaction fees.

Another whale-related development is likely to bode well for its near-term future. Whale Alert flagged a 374,161 SOL ($52.7 million) withdrawal from Binance to a private wallet.

374,161 #SOL (52,768,341 USD) transferred from #Binance to unknown wallethttps://t.co/vH87s8Uh1a

Exchange outflows of this magnitude typically indicate accumulation, and when executed by high-net-worth investors, often precede price rallies.

With Solana now trading around $134, up nearly 4% over the past week, the momentum is holding.

The narrative is being rewritten, not just by price action, but by high-stakes players making moves in real-time.

As the Ethereum network prepares to deploy its Pectra upgrade on May 7 to enhance scalability and user experience, the network might see a renewed interest.