Solana continues to command attention in the blockchain space despite turbulence from past associations and market volatility. With shifting regulatory narratives—especially following the XRP ruling and ongoing scrutiny of SOL as a potential security—Solana’s ecosystem is undergoing quiet but meaningful evolution. This article dives into the current state of Solana through on-chain data, developer activity, user growth, and key projects shaping its decentralized landscape.
Solana’s On-Chain Performance in 2025
Total Value Locked (TVL) Trends
As of mid-2025, Solana’s Total Value Locked (TVL) stands at approximately $360 million, ranking it 10th among major blockchains and Layer 2 networks. While this reflects a dramatic decline from its all-time highs—down over 95% from peak levels—it also reveals resilience. Since hitting a low of around $244 million in January 2023, Solana has seen a recovery of about 47%, outpacing most peers except Arbitrum, Optimism, and Mixin in terms of growth momentum.
This rebound is driven not by speculative frenzy but by gradual stabilization and renewed confidence in the network’s speed and low-cost infrastructure. Despite setbacks linked to FTX's collapse—given Solana’s historical ties—the chain has maintained a steady footing, particularly within the liquid staking and DeFi sectors.
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Transaction Volume and User Activity
Transaction volume on Solana remains robust, averaging around 20 million daily transactions throughout 2025. Two notable spikes occurred post-FTX collapse: one between March and May, fueled largely by Bitcoin NFT trading activity, and another in June, likely influenced by broader market movements.
The primary decentralized exchanges (DEXs) driving volume are Orca and Raydium, both of which saw a temporary surge in trading activity immediately after the FTX news broke. After a brief lull, volumes stabilized and have since maintained consistent levels, indicating sustained user engagement rather than short-lived hype.
Notably, the integration of Bitcoin Ordinals and the rise of BTC-based NFTs significantly boosted Solana’s user base. Magic Eden’s expansion into Bitcoin NFTs in early 2023 catalyzed a surge in new wallet creations—over 3 million new addresses were added between April and May alone. Active address counts reached their highest levels during this period, underscoring strong community interest in digital collectibles.
Developer Engagement and Ecosystem Health
Developer activity on Solana shows mixed signals. In early 2023, monthly active developers peaked at 2,732, but by mid-year that number had dropped to 1,475—a nearly 50% decline. Code commit frequency followed a similar trajectory, with March recording the year's highest activity before tapering off.
A critical distinction lies in workforce composition: while full-time contributors remained relatively stable, non-full-time developers fluctuated significantly. This suggests that much of the development momentum was driven by short-term incentives or speculative interest rather than long-term commitment.
Despite these challenges, core infrastructure upgrades continue. The network maintains high throughput and low latency, making it an attractive platform for scalable dApps—especially those requiring real-time interaction such as gaming and decentralized social platforms.
Key Sectors in the Solana Ecosystem
DeFiLlama currently tracks 98 dApps on Solana, with 19 exceeding $10 million in TVL. These are concentrated in three main categories: liquid staking, lending, and decentralized exchanges.
Liquid Staking Dominance
Marinade Finance leads the liquid staking segment with a TVL of $159 million, capturing roughly 46% of Solana’s staking market share. Users stake SOL to receive mSOL, a liquid derivative that can be used across various DeFi protocols like Solend and Marginfi.
mSOL is now listed on major centralized exchanges including Coinbase and Kraken, though most trading still occurs on DEXs. Other liquid staking platforms have also seen TVL increases—but largely due to rising SOL prices rather than organic adoption gains.
This concentration highlights both strength and risk: while Marinade provides essential liquidity, overreliance on a single protocol could pose systemic vulnerabilities if exploited or mismanaged.
Lending Protocols: Growth Amid Low Utilization
Two major lending platforms operate on Solana: Solend and Marginfi.
- Solend, launched in 2021, rolled out its v2 upgrade in stages starting in April 2023. Key features include renewed liquidity mining for mSOL deposits and the ability to convert locked SOL into mSOL for additional yield. These updates helped push its TVL from $28 million to $55.28 million by mid-2025.
- Marginfi, a newer entrant launched in 2023, experienced explosive growth—its TVL surged nearly 600% month-over-month, reaching $17.93 million. Backed by Multicoin Capital and Pantera, Marginfi introduced a points-based rewards system in July 2023, incentivizing users through deposits, borrowing, and referrals.
However, capital efficiency remains low compared to Ethereum. Solend’s fund utilization rate sits at 16.19%, while Marginfi reaches 21.7%—well below Aave V3 on Ethereum, where utilization approaches 35%. This indicates ample room for growth in leveraged strategies and yield optimization tools.
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Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs): Stability Over Innovation
Trading activity is dominated by Raydium, Orca, and Jupiter Aggregator:
- Raydium, one of Solana’s earliest AMMs, has maintained a TVL around $28 million since the FTX fallout—showing limited recovery.
- Orca has fared better, rebounding from $30 million to $38 million in TVL and becoming the largest DEX on the chain.
- Jupiter Aggregator enhances trade routing across multiple DEXs, improving slippage and execution.
Despite solid fundamentals, DEX innovation on Solana has been conservative. Few new features or incentive models have emerged to drive deeper engagement or attract users from Ethereum or emerging Layer 1s.
NFT Market Dynamics
Solana ranks third in NFT trading volume behind Ethereum and Bitcoin. A recent 30-day spike showed a 75% increase in transaction value, primarily driven by the launch of Smart Monkey Business (SMB) Gen3.
SMB is an algorithmically generated pixel-art monkey collection, originally released in 2021 (Gen1 and Gen2). In June 2023, the team introduced SMB Barrel Raffle, a lottery-based mint mechanism that generated massive short-term interest. At its peak, SMB accounted for over 90% of Solana’s NFT trading volume.
Other notable projects include Bodoggos, a collaboration between Nifty Protocol and EasyEatsBodega, which briefly surpassed $2 million in monthly volume. However, like SMB, its daily trades have since declined sharply.
While individual projects experience bursts of popularity, there’s no evidence yet of a sustained NFT market revival on Solana. Overall daily trading volume continues a gradual downward trend.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Is Solana still relevant after the FTX collapse?
A: Yes. Despite early ties to FTX, Solana has demonstrated resilience through continued development, strong infrastructure performance, and niche adoption in NFTs and DeFi. Its fast transaction speeds and low fees keep it competitive.
Q: Why is TVL so low compared to previous highs?
A: The drop reflects both market-wide crypto declines and loss of confidence post-FTX. However, the 47% rebound since early 2023 shows rebuilding efforts are underway, especially in liquid staking and lending.
Q: What makes Marinade Finance dominant in Solana staking?
A: Marinade offers seamless liquidity via mSOL, integrates with major DeFi platforms, and enjoys trust from both retail and institutional users. Its presence on top CEXs further boosts accessibility.
Q: Are there any upcoming catalysts for Solana?
A: Potential catalysts include deeper Bitcoin NFT integration, improved developer incentives, new token launches (e.g., from Marginfi), and broader institutional adoption of its high-speed architecture.
Q: How does Solana compare to Ethereum in DeFi utilization?
A: Solana lags behind Ethereum in fund utilization rates—Solend averages 16%, versus ~35% for Aave on Ethereum. This gap suggests underutilized capital and opportunities for yield-enhancing innovations.
Q: Can Solana regain its former ecosystem momentum?
A: It’s possible with stronger developer incentives, more diverse dApp categories (e.g., gaming, social), and sustained user acquisition beyond speculative NFT trends.
Final Outlook
While Solana hasn’t yet regained its former glory days, the ecosystem shows signs of stabilization and selective growth. Liquid staking leads adoption, lending platforms are innovating incrementally, and NFTs remain a cultural touchpoint—even if volatile.
For long-term viability, Solana must attract full-time developers, diversify beyond staking-centric use cases, and foster organic user retention—not just short-term spikes from viral projects.
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The road ahead demands more than speed; it requires depth, sustainability, and trust rebuilt one line of code at a time.