Despite a significant decline in user activity and transaction volumes, Solana has emerged as the leading blockchain in revenue generation, surpassing Ethereum and other competitors.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, Solana’s cumulative application revenue soared by 213% quarter-over-quarter, reaching $840 million. This surge was primarily driven by speculative trading in memecoins and AI-related tokens, with platforms like Pump.fun contributing significantly to the revenue increase .
However, the momentum did not sustain into 2025. By March, Solana’s weekly network revenue had plummeted by 93% from its January peak, dropping from $55.3 million to approximately $4 million. This decline coincided with the bursting of the memecoin bubble, leading to reduced transaction volumes and fees.
The downturn was further evidenced by a 22% decrease in daily transactions and a 24% drop in NFT sales during August 2024. Solana’s decentralized exchange (DEX) volume also hit a six-month low of $7.7 billion .
Despite these challenges, Solana’s applications have demonstrated remarkable efficiency. On February 9, 2025, Solana generated $8.4 million in daily revenue, significantly outpacing Ethereum’s $875,571, even though Ethereum maintained a higher total value locked (TVL) of $56.8 billion compared to Solana’s $9.5 billion .
Analysts suggest that Solana ability to extract greater value from its user base, despite lower activity levels, highlights the network’s efficiency and the strong performance of its decentralized applications. As the blockchain ecosystem continues to evolve, Solana focus on high-yield applications may position it favorably for future growth.
