In June 2025, Solana passed Ethereum by a wide margin in DEX volume, marking an important step towards the network’s overall goal of surpassing Ethereum. Solana most notably surpassed $64 billion in DEX volume. This rush was exacerbated by the craze of meme coins, extreme network throughput, minimal transaction expenses, and cutting-edge technology. This surge reflects Solana's growing prominence in the DeFi space and its potential to challenge Ethereum's dominance. Follow calloutcoin.com to keep in touch with the developing landscape of blockchain and cryptocurrency providing expert analysis on the newest DeFi trends.
Factors Behind Solana's DEX Volume Surge
What were the drivers behind Solana’s incredible DEX volume growth? These include meme coin dominance, high throughput and low transaction costs, innovative Proof of History (PoH) technology, and a growing ecosystem and adoption.
Meme Coin Mania
Meme coins contributed heavily to Solana’s DEX volume. In January 2025, such meme coins as TRUMP and BONK represented close to 90%-92% of Solana’s DEX trading volume. The latest meme coin frenzy has lured an influx of new traders to the Solana network. In return, trading volumes and general activity exploded.
High Throughput and Low Transaction Costs
Solana’s network of decentralized, permissionless validators is adored for its high throughput and extremely low transaction fees. Roughly 162 million transactions a day. The network was running on an average slot time of about 390 milliseconds. This level of speed and efficiency allows DEXs to absorb higher volumes while ensuring execution speed and reliability. At an average of .00025¢ per transaction, Solana’s low fees are attractive either for those building on DeFi applications on Solana or those who use them.
Innovative Proof of History (PoH) Technology
In addition to PoS, Solana’s novel Proof of History (PoH) consensus mechanism improves speed of transactions and the overall robustness of the network. PoH offers an immutable historical record of all transactions which allows the network to process transactions significantly faster and more cost effective. This innovative technology allows Solana to be a compelling option for traders who want efficient and scalable trading experiences. Solana’s unique sharding architecture gives it the ability to scale in a horizontal manner. With its “Tower BFT” consensus algorithm, it now processes an impressive 65,000 transactions per second!
Growing Ecosystem and Adoption
It’s no surprise that the Solana ecosystem has seen record growth and adoption. In 18 months, the stablecoin float on Solana soared from $1.5 billion to $11.7 billion. In May alone, Circle minted $1.75 billion in USDC on Solana, reflecting the increasing adoption of Solana's network for various financial applications. Key platforms and protocols including Raydium, Pump.fun, and Orca emerged as important influencers and facilitators of DEX volume. In June 2025, Solana hit a record-shattering $64.1 billion in volume.
Solana vs. Ethereum: A Comparative Analysis
Solana’s DEX volume has skyrocketed. Next, let’s see how it stacks up in performance to Ethereum, currently the leading blockchain for DeFi applications. Solana’s 30 day cumulative DEX volume is $94.8 billion, compared to Ethereum’s $64.8 billion. Solana has reasserted the second spot on the podium for decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes. SOL/ETH trading volume ratio increased from 0.206 on average in 2024 to an average 0.236 throughout 2025. This is a significant jump of 14.3%. Jupiter leads the decentralized exchange (DEX) volume on the Solana network, making up 50% of all DEX volumes.
Solana's Strengths
Solana’s biggest value propositions are its high throughput, low transaction costs, and innovative technology. Combined, these factors make it an increasingly appealing option for DeFi users and applications alike. Solana DeFi is tops, with more than $9 billion in exposure volume. This remarkable figure further illustrates its undeniable competitive advantage against BNB DeFi in the DeFi ecosystem. The Solana ecosystem is pushing ahead with this killer trend of professionalizing market making. This change is necessary if we want to continue attracting liquidity and improving trading conditions for all.
Ethereum's Strengths
What makes Ethereum unique is it’s larger, well-developed ecosystem. It has the biggest developer ecosystem and has the most DeFi apps to choose from. Ethereum arguably is the most scalable layer one, and the Ethereum ecosystem’s excellent infrastructure and powerful smart contract capabilities have made it the default home for DeFi projects.
Implications for DeFi's Future
This rise in Solana’s DEX volume has far-reaching implications for the future of DeFi. One, it shows how alternative blockchains can forge their own ecosystem of DeFi projects to compete with the likes of Ethereum. If Solana succeeds, we’ll see more competitive pressure among blockchains, promoting innovation and delivering better experiences across the entire DeFi economy.
Potential Risks and Opportunities for Investors
Solana’s rapid rise to prominence in the DEX world, while asset class agnostic, comes with risks and opportunities for investors to consider.
Opportunities
- Growing Adoption: Solana's high throughput and low transaction cost provide a solid foundation for promoting the uptake of DeFi within the Solana ecosystem, potentially leading to increased adoption.
- High-Performance Blockchain: Solana's high-performance blockchain technology enables fast and low-cost transactions, making it an attractive option for traders and investors.
- Diversification: Investing in Solana provides an opportunity to diversify a portfolio across different cryptocurrencies and asset classes.
- Partnerships and Collaborations: Solana's partnerships with major financial institutions, such as Visa, and its growing ecosystem of dApps, NFT platforms, and Web3 games, present opportunities for further growth and adoption.
Risks
- Volatility: Cryptocurrencies, including Solana, are known for their volatility, which can result in significant price fluctuations.
- Centralization Concerns: Solana has faced some centralization concerns due to its validator set and consensus mechanism.
- Smart Contract Risks: As with any DeFi platform, there are risks associated with smart contract vulnerabilities and hacks.
Investors need to do their due diligence and weigh these risks against the opportunities before making any investments in Solana or any other crypto asset. It’s as important as ever to do your homework, know the tech, and evaluate the risks and benefits.
