Tron's Reverse Merger Boosts TRX by 5% as Solana Revenue Hits $1 Billion

Tron, a blockchain network led by Justin Sun, is set to become a publicly listed entity in the U.S. through a reverse merger with SRM Entertainment, a small Nasdaq-traded company. This move bypasses the traditional Initial Public Offering (IPO) process, with Sun’s digital asset platform contributing $210 million worth of TRX tokens to capitalize the new entity, which will be rebranded as “Strategy of Tron.” The news of the reverse merger led to a nearly 5% increase in the value of TRX, Tron's native token, to $0.28, temporarily surpassing Dogecoin in market value. Both coins currently have market caps around $26.5 billion.

Tron’s decision to enter the public market comes at a time when regulatory pressures are easing. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its 2023 lawsuit against Sun earlier this year, marking a shift from the aggressive crypto crackdown pursued by former chair Gary Gensler. The reverse merger structure allows Tron to list faster and with less scrutiny, a route previously taken by several digital asset firms seeking to gain a foothold in U.S. capital markets.

Meanwhile, Solana continues to post impressive revenue figures. The blockchain’s app ecosystem generated over $1 billion for the second consecutive quarter, according to the Solana Foundation’s Network Health Report released June 20. Monthly application revenue peaked at $806 million in January, followed by $376 million in February, driven primarily by retail trading of meme coins and viral token launches. Platforms like Pump.fun, along with the rise of politically themed assets—such as Trump and Melania meme tokens—contributed heavily to network fees and on-chain economic activity.

Solana’s revenue model has matured rapidly, with protocol improvements, developer retention, and validator incentives reinforcing network stickiness. Fees from decentralized exchanges and other on-chain services now represent a core indicator of Solana’s performance—positioning it as one of the top-grossing Layer 1 blockchains. The foundation’s report underscores a broader shift in blockchain economics: application revenue and user engagement are replacing token speculation as metrics of long-term viability. Solana’s infrastructure investments are expected to continue, funded by this growing revenue base.

Tron’s reverse merger and Solana’s revenue surge reflect divergent but complementary strategies in crypto’s next phase. One is leveraging public equity markets for legitimacy and liquidity; the other is scaling via grassroots network activity and fee-based growth. Both developments point to a maturing digital asset sector that is increasingly accountable to public markets, user behavior, and real economic output. Whether this marks a sustainable new normal—or the peak of another hype cycle—remains to be seen.