Solana News Today: Solana's Lightning-Speed Blockchain Powers $2.8B Revenue Surge

Solana's annualized revenue reached $2.85 billion in the 12 months ending September 2025, driven by trading platforms, DeFi protocols, and AI applications, according to a 21Shares report. This performance far outpaces Ethereum's revenue at a comparable stage in its lifecycle. When Ethereum was approximately five years old (2019–2020), its monthly revenue averaged less than $10 million, whereas Solana's current monthly revenue averages $240 million, with peaks exceeding $616 million during the memecoin boom. The report highlights Solana's ability to scale efficiently, with daily active addresses averaging 1.2–1.5 million, tripling Ethereum's equivalent figure of 400,000–500,000 at the same developmental stage.

Trading platforms remain the largest revenue driver for Solana, contributing $1.12 billion (39%) of total revenue, led by apps like Photon and Axiom. The network's low transaction fees and high throughput-handling thousands of transactions per second-have attracted diverse activity, including DePIN, launchpads, and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). In contrast, Ethereum's early growth was constrained by congestion and higher gas fees, despite its role as the first major smart contract platform.

Institutional adoption is accelerating Solana's monetization. Over $3 billion in SOL is now held on public company balance sheets, with entities like Forward Industries and Brera Holdings leading the charge. Forward Industries alone holds 6.822 million SOL, while 18 tracked entities collectively hold 17.8 million tokens. This trend underscores growing confidence in Solana's infrastructure as a scalable blockchain for institutional-grade applications.

Regulatory developments could further catalyze adoption. Multiple spot Solana ETF applications are pending SEC approval, with a 99% probability of approval by year-end according to Polymarket data. Firms like 21Shares, Bitwise, and Grayscale are among the applicants, with decisions expected as the U.S. government reopens. If approved, these ETFs would provide retail and institutional investors with regulated access to Solana, mirroring the success of Bitcoin ETFs. The SEC's recent approval of generic listing standards for crypto ETFs also signals a potential acceleration in the approval timeline.

Solana's revenue growth reflects broader market dynamics. Total value locked (TVL) in Solana DeFi approached $13 billion, while stablecoin volume grew sixfold year-over-year. These metrics highlight the network's capacity to capture activity from both crypto-native and traditional finance participants. Technical upgrades, including the Firedancer validator client targeting 1 million transactions per second and Alpenglow reducing finality to under 200 milliseconds, are further positioning Solana for long-term scalability.

The comparison with Ethereum underscores Solana's rapid commercialization. While Ethereum laid the groundwork for decentralized finance, Solana's efficiency and cost advantages have enabled it to monetize usage at a much faster rate. This divergence highlights the evolving competitive landscape in blockchain infrastructure, where throughput and affordability are becoming critical differentiators.