Solana’s decentralized exchanges (DEXs) have achieved a significant milestone, surpassing the combined 24-hour trading volumes of Ethereum and its layer-2 network, Base. Data from DefiLlama indicates that on January 6, Solana-based DEXs recorded nearly $3.8 billion in daily trading volume, compared to Ethereum’s $1.7 billion and Base’s $1.2 billion.
This surge underscores Solana’s growing prominence in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, positioning it as a formidable competitor to Ethereum. Throughout 2024, Solana’s total value locked (TVL) increased approximately fivefold, rising from around $1.4 billion to over $9.5 billion. Additionally, Solana’s native token, SOL, has outperformed Ether (ETH) by about eight times since 2023.
A significant contributor to this growth is Raydium, Solana’s leading DEX. In 2024, Raydium’s daily trading volumes expanded more than tenfold, escalating from approximately $180 million in January to over $3 billion by December 31. Notably, in November, Raydium surpassed Ethereum’s Uniswap in monthly trading volumes by roughly 30%, equating to about $30 billion.
The proliferation of memecoins and AI agent tokens within the Solana ecosystem has further fueled this trading activity. Platforms like Pump.fun have been instrumental, with memecoin trading accounting for up to 65% of Raydium’s monthly volume in November. This trend reflects a broader market enthusiasm and speculative interest in Solana-based tokens, contributing to the network’s ascending DEX volumes.
