Solana (SOL) has slid under the key $100 mark following a significant security breach at Step Finance, raising technical and sentiment concerns as traders ponder whether the market can stabilize and stage a recovery.
Solana (SOL) is trading near $97 after a sharp sell-off pushed the token below the key psychological level of $100, erasing much of its recovery from late 2025. The decline has outpaced broader crypto weakness, driven in part by renewed fear and forced selling rather than a direct failure of the underlying blockchain technology.
The main catalyst for the drop was a security breach at Step Finance, a major DeFi platform in the Solana ecosystem. Roughly 261,854 SOL — about $30 million worth — was withdrawn from treasury and fee wallets after vulnerabilities in authorization controls were exploited. While Step Finance said user funds were unaffected, the breach rattled the community and triggered rapid selling pressure across SOL and related DeFi tokens.
This incident occurred amid a broader trend of significant losses from exploits and scams in January 2026, which saw hundreds of millions of dollars drained from various protocols, adding to overall market risk sentiment in crypto.
Security scare pressures key support levels
On the positive side, ecosystem developments like Jupiter’s launch of a unified data explorer (explore.ag) highlight ongoing efforts to improve transparency and insights for developers, traders, and analysts — a long-term positive amidst short-term headwinds.
From a technical perspective, SOL’s price is moving within a downward channel that began in late 2025, reflecting persistent bearish momentum. After breaking below key moving averages near the $140 zone, the token has continued downward through intermediate support levels, suggesting forced sellers dominated recent moves.
Important levels to watch include the $105–$111 resistance zone, where previous support may now act as a barrier, and the $90–$81 support range, aligned with demand zones and Fibonacci extensions. A break below these levels could open the door for deeper losses toward $70 if selling pressure accelerates.
Indicators like the RSI in oversold territory (mid-20s) could allow for a short-term bounce, but this does not guarantee a sustained reversal without stronger demand.
For a more bullish outlook, SOL must hold above $100, record a higher low, and close above $111 on the daily chart, which might pave the way toward $120–$130. Without these confirmations, the recovery remains uncertain, and the market could stay under pressure until confidence and technical structure improve.
