Solana tests $77 support as risk-off pressure hits Layer 1 tokens

Solana fell 4.2% to $77.15 on Friday, testing a support level that has held since late June as risk-off pressure spread across Layer 1 blockchain tokens.

"The sell-off is broad-based and macro-driven rather than chain-specific," said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com. "Layer 1 tokens are being hit by a combination of geopolitical uncertainty and cooling risk appetite that is pushing capital out of speculative assets."

The decline pushed Solana toward the $77 mark, a level that has acted as support since June 28. BNB fell 2.8% to $565, extending its slide inside a falling wedge pattern that points toward $535, according to CoinGecko data. Ethereum dropped 3.5% to around $1,850 after briefly breaking above $1,930 earlier in the week, with analysts flagging $1,750 as the next critical floor.

A decisive break below $77 could trigger cascading liquidations and accelerate selling pressure across the Layer 1 sector, while a hold could set up a relief rally. The risk-off narrative, fueled by renewed US-Iran tensions and higher crude oil prices that revived inflation concerns, may continue to dampen sentiment for altcoins broadly in the near term.

The broader crypto market has been under pressure since mid-week as macro risks resurfaced. Bitcoin slipped 1.7% to around $63,020 on Friday, failing to hold $65,000 after a cluster of put options expired. More than 65% of coins flowing into exchanges are long-term holders realizing losses, according to Glassnode, a pattern the analytics firm likened to past bear-market phases.

The Layer 1 sell-off mirrors a broader retreat from risk assets across global markets. Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI's launch of the Kimi K3 model — a 2.8-trillion-parameter open-weight model that performs near Anthropic's frontier Fable model — triggered concerns about stretched AI valuations, pushing weakness from technology stocks into cryptocurrencies.

Solana's On-Chain Picture

Solana's on-chain activity has held relatively steady during the sell-off. Total value locked on Solana DeFi protocols stood at $4.2 billion as of Friday, down 3% from the prior week but still above the $3.8 billion level seen in early July, according to DefiLlama. Active addresses on the network averaged 1.1 million per day over the past week, data from Solscan shows.

The $77 support level is the last line of defense before Solana enters price discovery to the downside. A break below that mark would expose the $72 area, a level last tested in late June. On the upside, reclaiming $82 would signal a potential reversal, with the next resistance zone at $88.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.