Solana News Today: Solana Surpasses Ethereum in DEX Volume, Cements DeFi Leadership

Solana's decentralized exchange (DEX) volume reached $326 billion in Q3 2025, marking a 21% increase compared to the previous quarter, according to data from multiple industry sources. This growth underscores the blockchain's expanding role in decentralized finance (DeFi), driven by institutional adoption, stablecoin innovation, and a robust ecosystem of liquidity protocols. The quarter's performance further solidified Solana's position as a leading blockchain for on-chain trading activity, outpacing Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain (BSC) in daily DEX volume during the period.

The surge in Q3 activity contributed to Solana's total DEX volume for 2025, which hit $806.8 billion as of May 7, 2025, a near 400% increase from the same period in 2024. January 2025 alone accounted for $408 billion in DEX volume, fueled by a broader crypto market rally that began in November 2024. While dollar-denominated metrics saw a post-rally correction by March, the network's native token (SOL) volume spiked around January 20 before stabilizing.

Jupiter remained the dominant DEX aggregator on Solana in Q3, processing $334.6 billion in volume-55% of the network's total DEX activity. Raydium led the execution layer with $352.8 billion in volume, followed by Meteora ($113.7 billion) and Orca ($103.9 billion). The growth in DEX activity coincided with Solana's 23% share of cross-chain DEX volume in Q1 2025, second only to Ethereum's 30%.

Institutional adoption and stablecoin development also played a pivotal role. DeFi Development Corp., a major institutional investor, increased its Solana holdings to 400,000 SOL ($58.5 million) and acquired a validator business to stake SOL directlySolana Records Growth in DEX Volume and Major …^[4]. Meanwhile, Solana's stablecoin market cap grew 67.48% year-to-date, reaching $9.8 billion as of January 21, 2025Solana vs. Ethereum: Which is the top blockchain of …^[6]. These factors, combined with Solana's high throughput of 65,000 transactions per second, positioned it as a scalable alternative to Ethereum's proof-of-stake protocolSolana vs. Ethereum: Which is the top blockchain of …^[6].

The quarter's success also highlighted Solana's competitive edge in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and liquid staking. Total Value Locked (TVL) in Solana's DeFi ecosystem rose 30.4% quarter-on-quarter to $8.6 billion, with platforms like Raydium and Kamino leading the charge. Additionally, Solana's liquid staking rate reached 12.2% of circulating SOL, with jupSOL and jitoSOL pools expanding their market shares.

Analysts attribute Solana's growth to its technical advantages and ecosystem maturity. The network's "proof of history" consensus mechanism, along with upgrades like Firedancer, enhanced scalability and securitySolana vs. Ethereum: Which is the top blockchain of …^[6]. These developments, coupled with a 13.13% volume-to-market cap ratio-higher than Ethereum's 10%-further validated Solana's appeal to traders and institutional investorsSolana vs. Ethereum: Which is the top blockchain of …^[6].

As of May 2025, Solana's DEX volume outpaced Ethereum's daily figures, with $2.834 billion in 24-hour trading activity compared to Ethereum's $2.079 billion. The network's ability to sustain high-volume periods, despite challenges like transaction congestion, demonstrated its resilience and adaptability. With continued innovation and institutional backing, Solana appears well-positioned to maintain its momentum in the DeFi landscape.