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Solana (SOL) dipped below the $100 mark on February 2, 2026, amid a broader crypto market downturn and fallout from a $30 million treasury hack at Step Finance, a prominent Solana-based DeFi portfolio management and analytics platform.
The breach, disclosed late January 31 into February 1, 2026, involved attackers compromising multiple treasury and fee wallets, leading to the unstaking and transfer of approximately 261,854 SOL tokens (valued at roughly $27–$30 million at the time, per on-chain data from CertiK and reports across CoinDesk, Yahoo Finance, and CryptoNews). Step Finance confirmed the incident, noting it affected only treasury funds—not user assets—and launched an investigation with cybersecurity partners. The stolen SOL was quickly moved to unknown addresses, complicating recovery efforts (with estimates suggesting minimal funds retrieved so far). The platform’s native STEP token crashed 80–90% in response, exacerbating ecosystem jitters.
SOL traded around $96–$103 during the day (with lows near $96.35–$96.44 and closes/recoveries toward $100.80–$102.90, according to Yahoo Finance, Investing.com, and YCharts data), reflecting an 8–15%+ decline over recent sessions amid heightened selling. This aligned with macro-driven risk aversion—tightening U.S. liquidity, Fed policy uncertainty under Kevin Warsh’s nomination, and correlated weakness in Bitcoin (near $76K–$77K) and Ethereum.
The hack highlighted persistent DeFi security vulnerabilities on Solana, though the core network remained fully operational with no widespread exploits reported. Analysts noted the price drop amplified by broader sentiment rather than a network-level failure, with $100 now a pivotal psychological and technical support. A sustained break could target $95–$97 or lower, while holding might signal stabilization.
Long-term, observers remain constructive on Solana’s scalability upgrades, developer activity, and ecosystem growth, suggesting the event as short-term noise. Traders are watching for protocol responses, potential recoveries, and macro cues to gauge if SOL rebounds or faces extended pressure in the volatile environment.
