Solana (SOL) Under Pressure as Bybit Hacker Launders Stolen Funds Through Pump.Fun Memecoins

Solana (SOL) experienced  another wave of steep losses on Sunday despite early recovery tailwinds within the crypto market.

Solana (SOL) price experienced another wave of steep losses on Sunday despite early recovery tailwinds within the crypto market. Notably, top altcoins like Ethereum, and Tron (TRX) erased considerable portions of losses booked in the aftermath of the Bybit crash on Friday, while Solana price has plunged even further.

The chart below shows how Solana price declined by 4% within the daily timeframe, trading at $167 lower that the $170 bottom recorded during the initial crash on Friday.

The latest SOL price slump has been linked to reports that hackers linked to the $1.4 billion Bybit hack are using the solana’ memecoin launchpad Pump.Fun platform to launder the funds stolen from ByBit.

Citing official data from Solana blockchain explorer Solscan, Blockchain analytics platform WuBlockchain alerted market watchers to a series of transactions linked to the stolen funds.

According to Solana blockchain explorer Solscan, blockchain analytics platform WuBlockchain identified suspicious transactions tied to the stolen assets:

“Bybit exploiter is laundering money by issuing memecoins on Pump.Fun. The Bybit exploiter (5STkQy…95T7Cq) transferred 60 SOL to 9Gu8v6…aAdqWS, who then launched a token called QinShihuang (500,000), which has traded over $26 million.”

This move could effectively nullify the possibility of a rollback, an outcome which has propelled Ethereum price by 8% as it reclaimed the $2,800 territory at the time of writing.

However, it sparked negative sentiment for the Solana network, as key opinion leaders began to berate the blockchain for a second major link to an high-profile exploit, a week after controversy broke out around Argentina President Javier Milei’s involvement with the LIBRA memecoin rug-pull.

“Solana is being used to launder stolen funds from Bybit. No need to beg for rollback, it has always been a wash chain.”

– CardanoHumpback, Feb 22, 2025

$2 Billion FTX Unlock Could Compound Solana’s Short-Term Woes

With SOL now trading below its previous local bottom, concerns are mounting over further downside risk. Adding to the bearish outlook is the ongoing repayment process for victims of the collapsed FTX exchange.

According to Bitget, over $800 million in funds were distributed to 160,000 customer accounts starting February 18. Bitcoin researcher PeddyXBT has pointed out that an additional 11.2 million SOL (approximately $2.03 billion) is due for distribution on March 1, less than a week away.

While he noted that over-the-counter (OTC) sales could mitigate immediate selling pressure, the 4% decline in SOL price on Sunday suggests majority of traders are exercising caution.

In summary, Solana’s Pump.Fun being used to launder Bybit hack funds—mere days before the $2 billion FTX asset unlock—could prompt strategic investors to reduce their SOL exposure. If selling pressure intensifies, further declines may be on the horizon in the coming trading sessions.