Solana (SOL) fell 10% on February 2, 2025, after Binance decided to liquidate $32 million in SOL. That was market manipulation, explained a report, in order to drive prices lower and trigger liquidations among over-leveraged traders. And the freshest move amidst all the volatility was Coinbase preparing to unveil Solana futures contracts on February 18, 2025, expanding its derivatives lineup.

Binance’s $32M Impact on Solana
According to on-chain data, Binance moved $32 million in SOL to the market maker Wintermute on January 30, 2025. This happened during a low-volume weekend when the market was most vulnerable to manipulation. The idea was to drive prices for SOL lower so as to force traders holding long positions into forced liquidations.

Consequently, Solana’s market capitalization heavily plunged to around $207 before slightly rebounding. Wintermute took advantage of the move by shorting SOL at the bottoms and re-buying at discounted prices. Crypto analyst MartyParty noted that in this case, both Binance and Wintermute got away with profits while the leveraged traders experienced huge losses.
Coinbase Futures Contracts Launch
In a strategic move responding to market conditions, Coinbase has announced that it will introduce futures contracts for Solana on its subsidiary platform Coinbase Derivatives, starting from February 18, 2025. The contracts come in two sizes, according to a filing with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC.
The standard contract will be 100 SOL, valued at approximately $23,700, while the smaller nano contracts will be 5 SOL each. Both of them will cash-settle monthly, therefore affording traders immense flexibility when dealing with price movements of Solana.
The 30% positioning limits for these futures, set by Coinbase at well below those it has established for Bitcoin futures, reflects the current rate of volatility in Solana, which is higher at 3.9%, compared to Bitcoin‘s 2.3% and Ethereum’s 3.1%. Benchmark rates for Solana futures will be provided by MarketVector Indexes GmbH under the oversight of Germany’s top financial regulator, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).
Market Reactions and Future Considerations
The Solana futures were launched at a very important time, considering the recent technical issues at Coinbase that have been weighing down Solana transactions. The disruptions have seen the CEO, Brian Armstrong, apologize to the public. They happened against a background of highly heightened trading activities. With the launching of futures now, traders find new openings to hedge their investments in continuing market volatility.
This might help stabilize the market for Solana and perhaps even attract more investors after the recent price drop. As the greater cryptocurrency landscape continues to change, bigger exchanges like Binance and Coinbase are going to help define market dynamics for Solana and other altcoins. Investors should keep a close eye on these developments for indications of future trends.