Solana’s leverage-driven tug of war puts $120 support at risk – How?

Right now, “time” is becoming a key commodity in the market.The logic is simple – The longer the market chops sideways, the bigger the speculative bubble gets, pushing top-caps deeper into a volatility loop. Consequently, any move in either direction could end up costing millions.Notably, Solana [SOL] is playing this perfectly. After failing to break the $150-resistance three times in November, it’s now showing a clear bearish structure, with $120 now acting as a major inflection zone.Source: TradingView (SOL/USDT)Meanwhile, Circle [USDC] is taking full advantage of the volatility.According to Onchain Lens, they just minted another $500 million USDC on Solana. More broadly, so far in 2025, Circle has minted a staggering $55 billion on the L1, providing the market with ample capital to work with.However, despite the influx, SOL continues to struggle below key levels. Consequently, the question arises – Is this added liquidity actually stabilizing the market, or is it fueling further volatility in the altcoin?Solana whales clash – Bulls bleed, bears cash inAt the time of writing, Solana whales seemed split as SOL traded around $120.On one side, a whale loaded up on 20x longs, with the same now deep in the red with an unrealized loss of $5.88 million, crashing total profits from $18 million to just $3 million. Episodes like these directly puts pressure on key SOL levels.On the other side, a bear whale is quietly shorting too, racking up over $27.7 million in gains while slowly taking profits. This is classic market polarity, reinforcing AMBCrypto’s thesis highlighting Solana’s brutal volatility loop.Source: HyperbotSimply put, liquidity is clearly building on Solana’s speculative side.However, here’s the catch – Whales are the ones making the bets, trying to profit off the volatility. And, judging by the current dynamics, shorting SOL might be racking up more gains, effectively putting whales against the token.All in all, with Solana’s bearish market structure, long-heavy whales, and volatility still running hot, it’s shaping up as the perfect setup for bears to trap overexposed longs. This would put the $120-SOL support at risk of breaking.Final ThoughtsWhales are split, with leveraged longs bleeding losses and shorts racking up gains, highlighting Solana’s brutal volatility loop. Circle’s $55 billion USDC minting added to market liquidity, but SOL’s bearish structure created a setup for bears to trap overexposed longs.