Solana has experienced significant growth in December, fueled by the popularity of meme coins, which has allowed it to capture market share from Ethereum and other competing blockchains.
Recent data reveals that Solana’s decentralized exchange (DEX) protocols led the industry in activity this December, with trading volume surpassing $97 billion—an impressive increase from the $22.6 billion recorded in the same month last year.
This marks the third consecutive month in which Solana outperformed Ethereum, a long-standing industry leader. During the same period, Ethereum’s DEX volume was over $74 billion, while competing networks Base and Arbitrum recorded volumes of $42 billion and $37 billion, respectively.
Solana maintained strong performance in November as well, recording a DEX volume of $129 billion compared to Ethereum’s $70.6 billion. The previous month, Solana achieved $52 billion in volume, while Ethereum processed $41 billion.
A significant portion of Solana’s DEX activity can be attributed to Raydium, which reported handling transactions worth $65 billion in the last month alone. Additional contributors included Orca with $24 billion and other networks like Lifinity, Pump, and Phoenix, which collectively exceeded $5.93 billion in volume.
The surge in Solana’s DEX volume can largely be traced to the booming meme coin sector, which has thrived throughout the year. Solana has attracted numerous meme coin projects this year, bolstered by innovations such as Pump, the largest token generator. Currently, the total market cap of meme coins on Solana exceeds $14.1 billion, with notable tokens including Bonk, Dogwifhat, Popcat, and Peanut the Squirrel.
This rapid growth has translated into profitability for Solana and its native applications, which generated a record $365 million in revenue in November. In 2024, Solana’s blockchain achieved a record $725 million in fees, ranking it as the third-most profitable blockchain behind Ethereum and Tron.
Solana’s appeal to developers and users lies in its significantly lower transaction fees and higher throughput capabilities.
Additionally, Base, the layer-2 network, has emerged as a standout performer in 2024, generating fees exceeding $82 million. It has positioned itself as the largest layer-2 network within the blockchain industry, with its own DEX protocols managing assets over $181 billion and a total value locked of $2 billion.
