Solana: Top On-Chain Trading Hub in 2025, Outshines Ethereum

In 2025, Solana (SOL) has solidified its position as the leading on-chain trading hub, surpassing Ethereum in both decentralized exchange (DEX) volume and network revenue. 

Known for its speed and low transaction costs, Solana has become a preferred destination for traders, developers, and DeFi protocols. 

Its growing dominance reflects a significant shift in market activity, as more liquidity and applications move toward Solana’s ecosystem. Ethereum, while still the most established smart contract platform, now faces serious competition in terms of performance and revenue generation.

Solana’s Revenue Growth Surpasses Ethereum’s Early Stage

Solana generated around $2.85 billion in network revenue between October 2024 and September 2025, according to research from 21Shares. Monthly revenue averaged over $240 million, peaking at $616 million during the memecoin trading boom in early 2025. 

Trading and execution applications, including Photon and Axiom, contributed roughly 39% of total revenue, or about $1.12 billion, demonstrating how Solana has effectively monetized high-frequency on-chain trading.

For comparison, Ethereum’s early-stage network revenue was less than $10 million per month, highlighting Solana’s rapid economic scale. 

Additional data from ARK Invest showed Solana’s real economic value reached $223 million in Q3 2025, placing it at the top of blockchain networks for revenue generation. 

This consistent performance indicates that Solana has moved beyond being a speculative chain and evolved into a profitable ecosystem with sustainable growth potential.

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Read Also: What is SOL and Why is Solana So Popular? A Comprehensive Beginner’s Guide

Solana Overtakes Ethereum in DEX Trading Volume

Trading activity has been a major factor behind Solana’s rise. In early 2025, Solana’s decentralized exchanges recorded $5.84 billion in 24-hour trading volume, overtaking Ethereum’s $5.75 billion. 

Over a 30-day period, Solana DEXs processed nearly $137 billion in total trades, capturing roughly half of global decentralized trading volume.

Leading platforms such as Jupiter, Raydium, and Meteora have attracted a wide base of retail traders through easy user interfaces and near-instant execution. 

Ethereum, however, continues to dominate in institutional trades and larger liquidity pools, especially for high-value transactions above $50,000.

One factor fueling Solana’s liquidity advantage is its expanding stablecoin supply, which reached $17.5 billion in circulation. This provides depth across trading pairs and helps maintain smooth price execution. 

Solana’s ecosystem has thus positioned itself as the primary venue for active retail traders and emerging DeFi projects.

Read Also: Understanding Solana: A Comprehensive Guide to Its Blockchain and Ecosystem

Technical Efficiency and Scalability Drive Adoption

Solana’s technical design offers a clear advantage in scalability and transaction efficiency. The network’s hybrid consensus model—combining Proof-of-History (PoH) with Proof-of-Stake (PoS)—enables high throughput and minimal latency, making it ideal for fast-paced trading environments. 

Upgrades in the Agave validator client have further improved memory management and program caching, allowing faster processing during periods of heavy activity.

By contrast, Ethereum still relies on layer-2 rollups to manage congestion, which can add extra costs and delays. Solana’s native capacity allows seamless transaction flow without needing external scaling solutions.

Despite its technical strengths, Solana faces ongoing security concerns. Studies have identified over 62,000 suspicious liquidity pools on Solana-based DeFi platforms and rising phishing threats such as “SolPhish” attacks. 

These risks underline the importance of stronger auditing and user education. Nevertheless, Solana’s infrastructure remains one of the most efficient and accessible among top blockchains.

Read Also: Why Big Banks Are Moving to the Solana Blockchain

Developer Momentum and Institutional Interest

Solana’s trading dominance is also backed by a strong developer ecosystem and growing institutional involvement. 

The network hosts an expanding range of projects across DeFi, tokenization, and AI-integrated finance. 

Partnerships with financial technology companies and banks, including integrations through R3’s enterprise solutions, have attracted clients such as HSBC and Bank of America to explore tokenization on Solana.

Community-driven initiatives such as hackathons, validator grants, and liquidity incentive programs have helped sustain developer engagement. 

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These programs mirror efforts like Ripple’s XRPL Attackathon, which recently offered $200,000 in rewards for identifying vulnerabilities in XRP Ledger’s upcoming lending protocol. Such initiatives show how active developer communities are essential for blockchain growth and security.

In Solana’s case, this continuous stream of innovation and testing ensures that new DeFi platforms and liquidity protocols remain competitive, secure, and performance-oriented.

Read Also: Solana ETFs Set for Approval in 2025: Is Now the Right Time to Buy SOL Before $300 Surge?

Conclusion

By 2025, Solana has transformed from an experimental blockchain into a major economic engine for on-chain trading. It now leads the industry in decentralized exchange volume, network revenue, and user participation. 

While Ethereum still maintains strong institutional relationships and deeper liquidity for large transactions, Solana has redefined accessibility and scalability for the retail market.

Its combination of low fees, high throughput, and a fast-growing developer community has made it the primary venue for next-generation DeFi and tokenized trading. As market adoption continues to grow, Solana’s trajectory points toward sustained dominance in both volume and innovation.

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FAQ

What makes Solana outperform Ethereum in 2025?

Solana’s faster transaction speeds, lower fees, and rising decentralized exchange activity have positioned it ahead of Ethereum in total network revenue and user engagement.

Is Solana more efficient than Ethereum?

Yes. Solana’s hybrid Proof-of-History and Proof-of-Stake design allows high throughput and near-instant execution without requiring layer-2 scaling.

What are Solana’s main risks?

Solana faces potential risks from phishing scams, unaudited liquidity pools, and rug pulls in smaller DeFi projects. Users should verify contract audits and use trusted platforms.

How does Solana attract developers? 

Through hackathons, grants, and protocol events similar to Ripple’s XRPL Attackathon, Solana offers consistent incentives for innovation and network improvement.

Will Ethereum regain its lead? 

Ethereum remains a powerful ecosystem with institutional support and diverse applications. However, Solana’s technical efficiency and trading adoption give it a distinct advantage in the short term.