Solana Price Prediction: SOL Falls Below $100 After $30M DeFi Hack

This article was first published on Deythere.

Solana’s native token, SOL, recently dropped below the $100 level due to several factors, one of which is a major security breach that occurred at one of the premier decentralized finance platforms. 

The drop occurred even as the crypto market weakened, and as a result, speeding up losses, eroding investor confidence and driving prices sharply lower. 

$SOL was spotted trading below $100 for the first time since early in 2024. The slide, in turn, wiped out recent gains from late 2025 and brought into question Solana’s short-term course. 

Step Finance Hack Sends Shock Through Solana

Step Finance, the analytics platform for the Solana ecosystem, announced that it came under attack on Jan. 31, 2026 as an attacker exploited a number of treasury and fee wallets, effectively unstaking approximately 261,854 SOL tokens (worth about $29-$30 million at the time) and transferring them to addresses not known.

The team announced it was looking into the matter and in contact with cybersecurity firms, but news of the purported hack created market fear that spread to both $SOL and Step Finance’s native token, STEP, leading to a long drop for $STEP,  down over 80% in mere hours. 

Based on blockchain data, the attacker transferred these SOL tokens after breaking into internal wallets.  This has further put traders’ confidence in security mechanisms in question and how they can secure their assets. 

The attack wasn’t directly related to user funds, the platform stated, but rapid unstaking and sell-off intensified bearish emotions. 

Solana’s DeFi ecosystem has been hit by numerous attacks in the recent months and its number of validators dropped significantly, placing further discussion around network stability and operational risks. 

Market Indications and Short-Term Technical Perspective

The hack contributed only in part to the decline of Solana’s price; however, as risk assets and crypto overall have also been under pressure. Macro pressures across equities and risk-off sentiment have spilled over into altcoins, including $SOL. 

Volumes on-chain have been down over the last week, and futures positioning has turned cautious, suggesting mounting bearish pressure on high-beta assets such as $SOL. 

On a technical level, new supporting levels are critical around $90-$100 now. The market might stabilize in the short term if prices remain above these levels. 

Resistance is observed around $105-$111, where sellers previously sold. If support fails to hold, traders could see prices as low as the $80-$90 range if broader trends worsen. 

If the broader market remains in check, it is believed that $SOL could climb its way past $105 once again within the week.

Bull, Base, and Bear Scenarios for Solana Price Prediction 

In the bull case, Solana could find support near current lows and rebound as DeFi action normalizes. A renewed sense of confidence following treasury security upgrades are the adoption of new tools might help $SOL break above resistance. 

Here, it is possible to see a return to the $135-$160 range and maybe even push higher if momentum returns. This is assuming that technical developments and ecosystem expansion outweigh recent negativity.

Solana base case is consolidation with SOL trading between $100-$130 for the majority of 2026. That line of action suggests $SOL might experience intermittent rallies when the broad market is strong but lack a decisive breakout until confidence returns in DeFi’s security and network reliability.

In the bear scenario, continuous market weakness or further safety issues may drive the price down below its current support level to test $80-$90 or worse. A prolonged slump below these crucial grounds would strengthen the bearish bias and could postpone Solana’s recovery.

Expert Solana Price Predictions for 2026

Here is a table containing expert price predictions of Solana will be worth in 2026.

These predictions range from conservative near term stabilization around $100-$120 to much stronger upside if adoption growth were to accelerate meaningfully and the macro factors improve.

Issues and Ecosystem Momentum

Security is the issue of the day, but there are still plenty of things happening in Solana at a technical level. Institutional efforts and new yield products are coming to the fore, while layers of data infrastructure are improving visibility and analytics for users and builders. 

If the economy continues to exhibit signs of improvement, these trends can lead to growth over the long run. 

It is important to track validator participation and security measures as decreases can significantly affect the network trust at large. 

Recent reports reveal that there has been drastic reductions in the number of validators, and this has led to last-minute discussions regarding the network health. 

Conclusion

Solana price prediction shows a bleeding market. The $30M Step Finance hack was a hard catalyst, worsening an already existing downtrend that sent $SOL below $100 and shook the psychological side as well. 

A wider risk assets’ fall selloff and technical selling added to the pressure. However, Solana still appears to have development and ecosystem activities, indicating this pullback may be more of a reset as supposed to a complete breakdown. 

Most expert forecasts are predicting at least modest near-term gains, with stronger upside likely if adoption and confidence return later this year. Over the short-term, price could go either way depending on support holding above critical levels and fundamentals catching up to the recent shock in treasury security and network stability.

Glossary

DeFi (Decentralized Finance): Financial products and services created on blockchain without any involvement of centralized intermediaries.

The Treasury Wallet: a wallet to hold protocol funds for development, marketing and ecosystem support.

Resistance: A level at which the selling interest is sufficient to overcome buying interest.

Support Level: A price that buyers are commonly found to start coming in and holding the price from moving lower.

Frequently Asked Questions About Solana Price Prediction 

Why did the price of Solana (SOL) fall in February 2026?

A confirmed hack in the treasury of Step Finance, coupled with the widespread crypto market meltdown, caused panic selling that drove $SOL below $100.

Is Solana building an ecosystem despite the fall?

Yes, new tools and institutional yields are popping up, signaling continued expansion.

Can Solana recover in 2026?

Some analysts have forecast that prices could return to higher levels later in 2026 if market fundamentals strengthen.

How does the hack affect user funds?

Reports claim user wallets are safe but treasury funds were lost.

References

Cryptonews

MEXC

Blockonomi

CryptoRank