Deribit has reported an increase in options trading activity for Solana's SOL token as whales make bearish bets amid a significant price decline and an upcoming token unlock event. Last week, SOL block trades accounted for nearly 25% of all Solana options activity on Deribit, totaling $32.39 million in notional value. Most trades involved put options that protect against price drops, with 80% of the block-trade volume in puts, significantly higher than Bitcoin and Ethereum during the same period. SOL's price has fallen by 46% to $160 in just over five weeks, compounded by a slowdown in on-chain activity following increased trading from memecoins. The impending release of 11.2 million SOL tokens worth approximately $2.07 billion on March 1 is expected to add volatility, representing 2.29% of the total supply and impacting nearly 59% of SOL's daily trading volume. This situation has led to increased hedging in the form of put options.

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