Solana Leads in Crypto Value and DEX Volumes in H1 2025

Solana has emerged as a dominant force in the cryptocurrency landscape, leading in real economic value (REV) and decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes during the first half of 2025. According to the "Solana Ecosystem Report H1 2025" by Helius, Solana has maintained its position at the top of the REV rankings since October 2024, reaching a peak of $551 million in January 2025. REV is a critical metric that measures the monetary demand for using a blockchain’s network for transactions, including base transaction fees and out-of-protocol tips.

On January 19, the daily REV for Solana hit $56.8 million, surpassing the combined value of Ethereum and Bitcoin. This achievement underscores the growing demand for Solana's network, which has been driven by various factors, including the significant contribution of Jito tips. Jito tips accounted for between 42% and 66% of the monthly REV, indicating that users are willing to pay premiums for priority execution. This trend confirms a mature market for maximum extractable value (MEV), which channels revenue to validators without increasing median fees.

Solana's network processed approximately 162 million transactions daily, with an average slot time of around 390 milliseconds. The network has not halted since February 2024, demonstrating its reliability and efficiency. The upcoming Alpenglow consensus code, currently in the testing phase, aims to achieve a finality of 100 to 150 milliseconds and reduce validator breakeven capital to approximately $75,000. This upgrade is expected to further enhance the network's performance and accessibility.

The total value locked (TVL) on Solana averaged between $8 billion and $9 billion during the first half of 2025, with an 18% quarter-on-quarter increase. This places Solana second only to Ethereum in terms of TVL. Jupiter’s platform for perpetual swaps handled approximately $1 billion in daily volume and accounted for 79% of the on-chain perps market. Trading bots executed roughly half of all swaps, highlighting the platform's efficiency and liquidity. Liquid staking token JitoSOL kept about 39% of the staking share, while the network settled 81% of all DEX trades in 2024 and cleared $890 billion in DEX trading volume during the first five months of 2025.

Solana's real-world traction has also expanded significantly. The stablecoin float on Solana increased from $1.5 billion to $11.7 billion in 18 months, with Circle minting $1.75 billion in USDC in May alone. This growth in stablecoin usage reflects the increasing adoption of Solana's network for various financial applications. Additionally, the telecom app Helium Mobile added approximately 300,000 subscribers in the first quarter, further expanding Solana's off-chain reach. The crowdsourced-mapping project Hivemapper covered 30% of the global roads, and the tokenized-asset marketplace Baxus logged an 11,500% increase in crypto payments, alongside a 50-fold rise in overseas buyers. These developments highlight Solana's growing influence in both on-chain and off-chain applications, positioning it as a leading player in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.