Solana News Today: Solana Maintains Growth Amid 44% Drop in Q2 Trading Revenue

Solana’s network has shown underlying strength despite a significant decline in trading activity during the second quarter of 2025. According to data from Messari, total application revenue on the Solana blockchain fell by 44% quarter-over-quarter, dropping to $576.4 million from a previous high of $1 billion earlier in the year [1]. This decline was largely driven by a sharp drop in memecoin trading, which led to a near 50% reduction in decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes to $2.5 billion daily and a 28.5% decrease in perpetual trading volumes to $879.9 million [1].

Despite the drop in speculative trading, Solana’s broader ecosystem has demonstrated resilience and continued growth in non-trading-related areas. The network’s total value locked (TVL) rose by 30% to $8.6 billion, maintaining its position as the second-largest DeFi ecosystem behind only Tron [1]. Additionally, the proportion of liquid staking on Solana increased to 12.2% of the total supply, while the overall staked value climbed 25% to $60 billion [1]. These figures indicate growing institutional and long-term interest in the network, even as retail-driven trading activity has cooled.

Decentralization also continued to improve, with Solana’s Nakamoto coefficient rising to 21, reflecting a more distributed network of validators. Developers are also working on significant performance upgrades, including Anza’s upcoming “Alpenglow” consensus mechanism, which aims to reduce confirmation times from 12.8 seconds to under 150 milliseconds and remove vote transaction fees [1]. These changes could further enhance the network’s appeal for both developers and users.

Institutional adoption is another area of strength for Solana. In late June, the Rex Osprey Solana Staking ETF (SSK) became the first U.S.-approved staking-based crypto fund, offering investors exposure to Solana through derivatives [1]. Currently, nine additional firms are seeking approval to launch spot-based Solana ETFs, with a final decision expected by October 2025. This regulatory progress signals growing legitimacy and access for institutional capital, which could further stabilize and boost the network’s value proposition.

Although trading activity has dipped, the network remains highly active, processing nearly 100 million daily transactions. The number of active fee payers has slightly decreased to 3.9 million, but the overall market capitalization of Solana has risen nearly 30% to $82.8 billion, securing its position as the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap [1]. This suggests that while speculative flows have receded, core usage and long-term utility are still expanding.

In summary, the second quarter of 2025 has highlighted Solana’s ability to maintain strong fundamentals and institutional interest even amid a decline in speculative trading. The network’s progress in TVL, staking, decentralization, and performance upgrades, combined with growing institutional adoption, positions it well for future growth. As the ecosystem continues to mature and new developments like the Alpenglow upgrade come online, Solana remains a key player in the broader crypto landscape.

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[1] https://coinmarketcap.com/community/articles/68a08fe80be0247aa9a98b1e/