Solana’s price has faced significant volatility over the past week due to recent market troubles. This has led to a sharp decline in its futures market sentiment as leveraged traders appear reluctant to take bullish positions.
This lack of confidence increases the risk of a further price drop, with SOL eyeing a dip below the $130 level in the near term.
Solana Struggles as Traders Exit
SOL’s negative funding rate is an indicator of the waning bullish bias among its futures traders.
According to Coinglass data, SOL perpetual futures have maintained a negative funding rate for the past three days, indicating that short sellers are paying to hold their positions. At press time, this stands at -0.0060%.
The funding rate is a periodic fee exchanged between long and short traders in perpetual futures contracts to keep the contract price aligned with the spot market.
As with SOL, when this rate is negative, it means that short sellers (those betting on a price decline) are paying fees to long traders, indicating a bearish sentiment in the market.
Therefore, more traders are positioned for a price drop, reinforcing the downward pressure on the coin’s price.
Moreover, the lack of confidence among SOL futures traders is reflected by its plummeting open interest. At press time, this is at $3.94 billion, falling 19% since the beginning of March.
An asset’s open interest tracks the total number of active futures contracts that have not been settled.
When this falls, especially during a period of price decline, it suggests that traders are closing positions without opening new ones. This confirms the reduced conviction in a short-term SOL price recovery among its futures traders.
Solana Bulls Weaken—Can They Prevent a Drop Below $130?
At press time, SOL trades at $137.70, resting just above the support floor of $136.62. As bullish sentiment tapers, this level risks being flipped into a resistance zone.
Should this happen, SOL’s price could slip below $130 to exchange hands at $120.72.
On the other hand, if bullish momentum returns to the SOL market, this bearish projection will be invalidated. In that scenario, new demand could drive the coin’s price to $182.31.
“This was due to an entity(s) on the Binance perpetuals market. That’s what triggered the entire cascade. The initial drop below $5 was triggered by a ~1 million USD short position being market-sold. This caused over 5% of slippage in literal microseconds. That was the trigger. This seems intentional to me. They knew what they were doing,” the analyst stated.
Pi Network: From Chainlink Buzz to Transparency Fears
Pi Network recorded strong optimism this week as its native Pi Coin surged by double digits. BeInCrypto attributed the surge to the announcement of a key integration with Chainlink.
They pitched this strategic collaboration as a gateway to real-world utility. Specifically, it positioned Pi closer to the broader DeFi and smart contract ecosystem. However, the euphoria proved short-lived.
Allegations suggest that, like the OM token, Pi coin lacks full clarity around circulating supply, wallet distribution, and centralized control. To some, these are potential red flags in an increasingly regulation-sensitive industry.
“The OM incident is a wake-up call for the entire crypto industry, proof that stricter regulations are urgently needed. It also serves as a huge lesson for the Pi Core Team as we transition from the Open Network to the Open Mainnet,” wrote Dr Altcoin.
Pi coin reversed gains within days, falling 18% from its weekly high. At the time of writing, PI was trading at $0.6112, up by a modest 0.7% in the past 24 hours, per CoinGecko.
Grayscale’s Altcoin Shake-Up: 40 Tokens Under Review
This week in crypto also showed that institutional investor interest in altcoins is heating up again, with Grayscale leading the charge.
The digital asset manager unveiled its updated list of assets under consideration for the second quarter (Q2) 2025. BeInCrypto reported that the list featured zero altcoins across sectors such as DePIN, AI, modular blockchains, and restaking. Among the notable tokens being eyed are SUI, STRK, TIA, JUP, and MANTA.
The update reflects Grayscale’s growing thesis around emerging crypto trends, particularly as the firm seeks to expand beyond its core Bitcoin and Ethereum products.
This announcement follows a broader strategic overhaul from three weeks ago when Grayscale reshuffled its top 20 list of altcoins by market exposure. Several older names were dropped at the time, while newer narratives like Solana-based DePIN and Ethereum restaking plays were pushed to the forefront.
The expansion into 40 coins signals Grayscale’s recognition of renewed retail and institutional appetite for differentiated assets. However, inclusion in the list does not guarantee a fund launch. It only indicates Grayscale’s active research.
XRP and SWIFT Partnership: Breaking Down the Rumors
There was speculation this week about a possible partnership between Ripple’s XRP and banking giant SWIFT in crypto.
This narrative was based on a misinterpreted document. A series of cryptic social posts exacerbated the speculation, which some took as confirmation of collaboration between the global payments network and the XRP ledger.
However, BeInCrypto’s in-depth reporting sank the rumors. While Ripple has long pursued banking institutions and SWIFT has shown openness to blockchain innovations, there is no verified partnership between the two.
SWIFT’s public-facing projects around tokenization and digital asset settlement do not include XRP.
Despite the debunking, the rumors sparked an important conversation about XRP’s long-term positioning. The token remains a top-10 asset and a favorite among retail investors banking on utility-driven price appreciation.
With Ripple’s legal battles with the SEC nearing resolution and international CBDC partnerships in the works, the project is far from irrelevant.
US Dollar Dives: What the DXY Crash Means for Bitcoin
The US Dollar Index (DXY) hit a three-year low this week, sending ripples through the crypto markets. Historically, a falling DXY has been bullish for Bitcoin, and this week was no different, with BTC reclaiming above the $84,000 range.
The greenback’s weakness reflects growing fears of fiscal deterioration in the US, as rate cuts loom and Treasury debt soars.
Japan’s 10-year bond yields hit multi-decade highs, forcing the Bank of Japan (BoJ) into increasingly precarious interventions. As Japanese liquidity spills outward, crypto and risk assets have become inadvertent beneficiaries.
This macroenvironment is ideal for Bitcoin. Weakening fiat, rising global liquidity, and crumbling bond market confidence create a perfect storm.
RWA altcoins are drawing renewed attention this week, with Sky (SKY), Plume (PLUME), and Centrifuge (CFG) showing sharply contrasting trends. SKY leads the pack with a 19% weekly gain, fueled by strong adoption of its upgraded Maker-based ecosystem.
PLUME has dropped 21% following the death of its co-founder. This comes despite the project’s recent mainnet launch and strong backing from major investors.
Meanwhile, CFG has surged over 14% in the past 24 hours. The jump follows its $1 billion milestone announcement and its expansion of real-world asset access on Solana.
Sky (SKY)
Sky Protocol is a decentralized financial system built as an evolution of the Maker Protocol. It introduces upgraded tokens—USDS and SKY—as direct successors to DAI and MKR.
Over the past seven days, SKY has surged more than 19%, making it the top-performing token among the ten largest real-world asset (RWA) altcoins.
With its market cap now nearing $1.9 billion, bullish sentiment has grown around the token. If this upward momentum continues, SKY could test resistance at $0.094 and potentially push toward $0.10.
However, if the market turns and support at $0.075 is broken, downside targets include $0.069 and $0.0635.
Plume (PLUME)
Plume Network is a Layer 1 blockchain focused on bringing real-world assets (RWAs) into DeFi through tokenization.
The project has received backing from major firms like YZi Labs and Apollo Global, and recently launched its long-awaited Genesis mainnet to support yield-bearing RWAfi assets.
Despite Plume’s established investor base and progress in onboarding over 200 projects, public trust took a hit as trading volume surged and rumors swirled about the circumstances surrounding Shen’s death.
In the past seven days, PLUME has dropped 21%, dragging its market cap down to $200 million.
The ongoing correction puts the token at risk of falling below the $0.90 mark if bearish sentiment persists.
On the upside, a reversal could see PLUME testing resistance at $0.115, with potential targets at $0.128 and $0.142 if momentum strengthens.
Centrifuge (CFG)
Centrifuge is a real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform. It lets asset managers bring financial products onchain and gives investors access to a diverse tokenized asset portfolio with real-time, transparent data.
The protocol recently expanded to Solana by launching deRWA tokens—freely transferable RWAs.
These can be traded, lent, or used as collateral across major Solana DeFi platforms like Raydium, Kamino, and Lulo.
Two days ago, Centrifuge announced it has surpassed $1 billion in total real-world assets financed—an important milestone for the RWA sector.
BitMEX, one of the safest crypto exchanges, today announced the findings of its comprehensive study on XBTUSD, the longest-running Bitcoin perpetual swap, to shed light on the evolution of the funding rate market. The research, spanning from May 2016 to May 2025, reveals a significant shift in funding rate patterns, marking a transition from high volatility to unprecedented market stability.
Since BitMEX pioneered perpetual swaps in 2016, they’ve become one of the most traded financial products worldwide. A key component of these products are funding rates, which are periodic payments made between long and short position holders of a perpetual swap contract to maintain a token’s futures price with its spot price. Funding rates are crucial for identifying market arbitrage opportunities and to gauge market sentiment.
The study, which delved into the extensive history of BitMEX’s XBTUSD perpetual swap, uncovered several key insights:
Extreme Funding Rates Plummet by 90%: Since 2016, the occurrence of extreme funding rates has dropped by a staggering 90%. Notably, data from 2024-2025 shows remarkable stability, even as Bitcoin surged past $100,000. This trend indicates a clear maturation of the crypto market, transforming Bitcoin from a highly speculative asset into a more stable financial instrument.
Mainstream Integration Drives Stability: The launch of Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 and the emergence of decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols like Ethena have
been instrumental in facilitating large-scale arbitrage, further anchoring futures prices to spot prices and contributing to market efficiency.
Era of Stable Funding Rates: The current environment of stable funding rates suggests significantly reduced market volatility. This stability could position Bitcoin as a more reliable asset for institutional portfolios, with potential wider implications for traditional financial markets.
“Our study highlights a profound transformation in the Bitcoin perpetual swap market,” said Stephan Lutz, CEO of BitMEX. “The dramatic reduction in extreme funding rates on XBTUSD underscores the growing maturity and institutional acceptance of crypto. As one of the oldest crypto exchanges, we’re excited to be able to share such market insights for our traders and reinforce the industry’s integration into the global financial landscape.”
BitMEX is the OG crypto derivatives exchange, providing professional crypto traders with a platform that caters to their needs through low latency, deep crypto native liquidity and unmatched reliability.
Since its founding, no cryptocurrency has been lost through intrusion or hacking, allowing BitMEX users to trade safely in the knowledge that their funds are secure. So too that they have access to the products and tools they require to be profitable.
BitMEX was also one of the first exchanges to publish their on-chain Proof of Reserves and Proof of Liabilities data. The exchange continues to publish this data twice a week – proving assurance that they safely store and segregate the funds they are entrusted with.