While Ethereum maximalists clutch their pearls, Solana’s decentralized exchanges have blown past their rival’s trading volumes. The numbers don’t lie – Solana DEXs hit a whopping $60 million in February 2025, leaving Ethereum’s $34 million in the dust.
And it’s not just a one-time fluke. Solana’s been dominating since October 2024, with January 2025 seeing an eye-watering $258 billion in volume compared to Ethereum’s $86 billion.
The secret sauce? It’s pretty simple, really. Solana’s got speed – lots of it. While Ethereum users wrestle with hefty gas fees, Solana traders are zipping through thousands of transactions per second at bargain-basement prices. With a current total value locked of $9 billion, Solana shows significant room for growth compared to Ethereum’s $57 billion TVL. Unlike Layer 2 solutions like zero-knowledge rollups, Solana processes transactions natively at high speeds.
The network’s become a playground for meme coin enthusiasts and serious DeFi users alike, with platforms like Raydium and Meteora leading the charge.
Revenue figures tell an equally impressive story. Solana raked in $25 million in February 2025, while Ethereum managed $16 million.
January was even more dramatic, with Solana pulling in $124 million to Ethereum’s $109 million. Not bad for a blockchain that’s supposed to be the “cheap” option. The SOL-ETH ratio peaked at 0.09 in January 2025, currently sitting at a respectable 0.075.
The ecosystem’s heavy hitters – Raydium, Meteora, Orca, Lifinity, and Phoenix – have been instrumental in this surge. A single day in January 2025 saw Solana process $3.8 billion in trades, more than double Ethereum’s $1.7 billion.
The DeFi space is clearly voting with its feet, and those feet are walking straight to Solana’s doorstep.
For those keeping score at home, that’s months of consecutive wins for Solana in the DEX arena. Ethereum’s longtime dominance is looking shakier by the day.
The question isn’t whether Solana can compete anymore – it’s whether Ethereum can keep up.
