Solana's TVL Surge: Memecoins and DeFi Fuel Ecosystem's Rise

Solana’s DeFi Total Value Locked (TVL) has reached an all-time high of $12.2 billion, reflecting strong growth in the ecosystem driven by key decentralized finance protocols and surging memecoin activity. According to onchain data from DefiLlama, the TVL has surged by over 57% since June 23, when it stood at $7.8 billion. The 30-day growth rate is nearly 31%, with major protocols such as Raydium, Jupiter DEX, Jito liquid staking, and Sanctum contributing significantly to the rise. Raydium’s TVL alone increased by 32% over the past month, while Jupiter DEX added 24%. These developments position Solana as the second-largest blockchain by TVL, trailing only Ethereum.

The TVL surge coincides with renewed momentum in the Solana memecoin market, with the combined market cap of Solana-based memecoins rising 70% to $12.4 billion over the past three months. Most of the top memecoins have posted double-digit gains on the weekly time frame, with many up between 15% and 30% from local lows. This surge has also driven a sharp increase in decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume, which jumped by 73% in the last 24 hours to $817.3 million, as reported by Blockworks Research. The increased DEX activity indicates growing network usage and liquidity, both of which are positive indicators for the broader Solana ecosystem.

While Solana’s TVL growth is impressive, the native token, SOL, has yet to break past its previous all-time high of $293, set in January 2025. However, recent price action has formed a V-shaped recovery pattern, with the token rebounding from a local low of $200 to $218 at the time of reporting. Analysts have pointed to the potential for a breakout above the $220 resistance level, which could propel the price toward $270 or higher. Kepin, a prominent analyst, outlined a multi-tiered price target, suggesting that the next key levels are $250, followed by $290–300, with a maximum target of $350. Other analysts, including Jussy and Crypto General, have echoed these bullish sentiments, with Jussy highlighting the potential for a move to $272 upon a breakout and Crypto General identifying $190 as a critical support zone.

The growing optimism around Solana’s price prospects is further fueled by the performance of its DeFi ecosystem. Solana’s TVL now surpasses that of Ethereum’s layer-2 networks, including Base, Arbitrum, and Optimism. This indicates that the network is capturing significant market share in the DeFi space, particularly in areas such as liquidity provision and memecoin trading. In addition, Jupiter’s recent launch of a lending platform has added over $600 million to its TVL, reinforcing its position as the largest DeFi protocol on the network. The platform’s TVL grew by 25.2% in a single month, surpassing many of its competitors.

As the TVL and network activity continue to rise, institutional confidence in Solana is also growing. The approval of spot Solana ETFs in the U.S. and increasing adoption by institutional investors through SOL treasuries have further bolstered expectations for the token’s long-term performance. However, analysts caution that while the technical indicators and onchain metrics are positive, the market remains speculative, and investors should conduct their own due diligence before making any decisions. The combination of strong DeFi growth, rising memecoin trading volumes, and bullish price patterns has created a favorable environment for Solana, but continued adoption and regulatory clarity will be key to sustaining this momentum.