Leading crypto financial services firm Galaxy Digital has reportedly executed a significant portfolio adjustment, exchanging over $100 million worth of its Ethereum (ETH) holdings for Solana (SOL). This strategic move, highlighted by blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain, comes at a time when Ethereum appears to be grappling with price momentum and a declining share of the broader cryptocurrency market.
It seems that Galaxy Digital is selling $ETH and buying $SOL!
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) April 22, 2025
In the past 2 weeks, Galaxy Digital deposited 65,600 $ETH($105.48M) to #Binance and withdrew 752,240 $SOL($98.37M) from #Binance.https://t.co/lD8tgkC4Py pic.twitter.com/olcPWNnGq2
Data from Arkham Intelligence indicates that over the past two weeks, Galaxy Digital deposited 65,600 ETH, valued at approximately $106.5 million, onto the Binance exchange while simultaneously withdrawing 752,240 SOL, worth around $105 million. Further analysis reveals that a substantial portion of the withdrawn Solana has been transferred to currently unidentified wallet addresses. As of today, Arkham reports Galaxy’s remaining holdings to be roughly 55,760 ETH (valued at $90.5 million) and 171,315 SOL (valued at $23.91 million).
Ethereum’s Dominance Under Pressure Amid Price Correction
This apparent shift in Galaxy Digital’s asset allocation could reflect a growing bearish sentiment surrounding Ethereum. The cryptocurrency has experienced a notable price correction, contributing to waning investor confidence. A stark indicator of this trend is the recent drop in Ethereum’s dominance – the ratio of its market capitalization to the total crypto market cap – which briefly dipped below 7%, marking a historic low. Since the beginning of the year, Ethereum’s dominance has shrunk by 43%, coinciding with a 51.5% decline in its market price.
Ethereum’s recent struggles stand in contrast to the relative resilience of Bitcoin amidst broader market downturns. The ETH-to-BTC price ratio has also seen a significant 48% decrease year-to-date, according to data from TradingView. This negative sentiment is further underscored by consistent institutional sell-offs, with U.S. Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recording eight consecutive weeks of net outflows, totaling over $909 million.
Solana Gains Traction as Ethereum Faces Scalability Challenges
Beyond price performance, Ethereum’s position as the leading network for decentralized finance (DeFi) is facing increasing competition. Scalability challenges continue to plague the network, leading to a noticeable migration of decentralized activity to more cost-effective alternatives like Solana and Layer-2 solutions such as Base. Data from DefiLlama reveals a substantial decline in Ethereum’s decentralized exchange (DEX) volume, dropping to $42.5 billion in March 2025 from $64.7 billion in February and $82.2 billion in January.
Also Read: Ethereum Foundation Pivots to User Experience & Layer-1 Scaling After Leadership Shake-Up
Looking ahead, the Ethereum network is slated to undergo its Pectra upgrade on May 7th, the first major update since the Dencun activation in March 2024. Pectra aims to enhance user experience by moving towards account abstraction, raising the staking limit, and improving rollup capabilities.
Additionally, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently proposed exploring the replacement of the Ethereum Virtual Machine’s bytecode with the open-source RISC-V architecture to further boost scalability. Whether these developments will be enough to reverse the current bearish trend and regain market dominance remains a key question for investors and the broader crypto ecosystem.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is for general purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. The author’s views are personal and may not reflect the views of Chain Affairs. Before making any investment decisions, you should always conduct your own research. Chain Affairs is not responsible for any financial losses.
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