Solana is up 0.9% today to $65.29. Bitcoin rose 1.3%, so the SOL price lagged a bit. The move higher came as traders bought back into crypto after weeks of selling
However, Bitcoin has had a wild year. It started near $92,000, went above $100,000, then fell to around $59,000 just months later.
A lot of people are wondering what happens to Solana as the Bitcoin price continues to plunge. If BTC dips to $40,000, the entire crypto market would likely face heavy selling pressure. The coins that move more rapidly than Bitcoin would be hit the hardest.
What you'll learn 👉
What’s Going On With Solana in 2026?
We looked at the SOL chart and the network numbers. The chart shows a clear downtrend over the last several months. The SOL price traded close to $100 earlier, then fell into the low $60s. Every time it tried to bounce, sellers showed up again. So the price is still far below its old highs.
Network activity has also cooled off. Active addresses have dropped a lot from the high levels of late 2024 and early 2025. Activity is now back near levels from 2023. Fewer active addresses means fewer people using the network regularly. That usually lowers demand for the SOL price.
Transfer numbers tell the same story. Transfers peaked during the hype of late 2024 and early 2025. Since then, transaction counts have fallen back to 2022 and 2023 levels. As transfers dropped, the Solana price followed. That points to less DeFi action, weaker NFT demand, and less meme coin trading compared to the last cycle.
Not everything points to a crash, though. Solana’s Total Value Locked, the money people have put into DeFi apps on the network, is still in the billions. The chart shows TVL started 2026 above $8 billion and even touched $9 billion in January.
Since then, it has drifted down to about $4.5 billion. That is a drop of roughly 50% from the yearly high. But here is the thing: billions of dollars are still locked on Solana, even with the whole market down. So yes, money has left. But the network still has a real DeFi presence.
Related Solana News: Solana (SOL) Price Falls Into the Accumulation Zone That Can Make Millionaires
Why Bitcoin May Not Have Found a Bottom Yet
The biggest danger to the SOL price might come from Bitcoin itself. CryptoQuant reported that total Bitcoin demand fell by 652,000 BTC last week. That is the biggest drop since January 2022. Long-term demand has also fallen below trend and hit its weakest point since February 2024.
ETF demand has weakened a lot. CryptoQuant noted that 30-day ETF demand growth is at its lowest level since US spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January 2024. Big investors were one of the main reasons Bitcoin ran up. So slowing demand is another problem for the market.
The report showed realized losses reached 187,000 BTC in the last month. Past market bottoms have witnessed larger panic events, such as 400,000 BTC losses in February 2026 and 1.2 million BTC after the FTX collapse. Unless more people start buying and the selling slows down, Bitcoin will probably fall to $50,000. It could even test the $40,000 to $50,000 range this summer.
What Happens to the SOL Price if Bitcoin Falls to $40K?
Likely Case:
If Bitcoin falls to $40,000, Solana will likely end up between $40 and $50. That would be a drop of about 25% to 40% from where it is now. It would also line up with the weaker network activity we have seen in active addresses and transfers.
Bearish Case:
A deeper sell-off could drive SOL down to $25 to $35. That would probably need Bitcoin to break below key support levels, more money leaving ETFs, and market mood getting even worse. A long stretch where no one wants to take risks would make recovery hard for most altcoins.
Bullish Case
There is still a path where the SOL price holds up better than expected. If Bitcoin reaches $40,000 through a brief capitulation event and buyers quickly return, Solana’s remaining $4.5 billion TVL could help support the SOL price.
That would indicate investors are still willing to keep capital on the network despite weaker market conditions. That outcome would show investors still view Solana as one of the leading Layer 1 networks despite the broader market weakness.
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