Solana closed 2025 as the most active blockchain for decentralized exchange (DEX) trading, firmly overtaking Ethereum and BNB Chain as on-chain volumes stayed elevated through year-end. Solana has processed more than $100 billion in DEX trades in December, more than double Ethereum’s roughly $48 billion over the same period. BNB Chain followed with about $58 billion in monthly volume.
The December figures capped a five-month stretch during which Solana consistently led all blockchains in DEX activity. Throughout the second half of 2025, the network transitioned from short-lived volume spikes to sustained, high-frequency trading, allowing it to finish the year as the dominant venue for decentralized swaps.
Ethereum Loses Ground as Activity Fragments Across Layers
While Ethereum remains the largest DeFi ecosystem by locked capital, its DEX volumes lagged Solana’s in late 2025 as trading activity spread across multiple Layer-2 networks. A growing share of Ethereum-based trading has shifted to rollups, diluting mainnet volumes and making direct comparisons less favorable. By contrast, Solana’s monolithic design concentrated activity on a single base layer, keeping headline DEX volumes elevated.
Despite trailing Solana in turnover, Ethereum still controls more than 67% of total DeFi liquidity, compared with roughly 6.13% on Solana.
Sustained DEX activity translated into record economic output for the Solana network in 2025. Estimates from protocol revenue trackers place Solana’s annual revenue between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion, showing aggregate fees generated across decentralized applications and validators. The figures represent gross network revenue rather than direct earnings for the Solana Foundation.
Daily trading volumes regularly crossed $3 billion in December, even as overall crypto market participation slowed into year-end. On a monthly basis, Solana’s DEX activity also exceeded that of specialized derivatives platforms such as Hyperliquid, which averaged around $8 billion in monthly volume.
PumpSwap and HumidiFi Anchor Solana’s Trading Dominance
Two platforms accounted for a significant share of Solana’s DEX growth in 2025.
PumpSwap expanded rapidly in the second half of the year, emerging as one of the most active decentralized exchanges on the network. On-chain data show the protocol generated about $584 million in annualized fees, with December trading volume reaching approximately $14.8 billion as automated strategies intensified.
HumidiFi also played a major role by offering dark liquidity pools designed to reduce slippage for large trades. The DEX reported more than $30 billion in monthly trading volume, making it a key contributor to Solana’s overall throughput. Activity on HumidiFi skewed heavily toward SOL and stablecoin pairs, reinforcing liquidity across the ecosystem.
Even as meme token launches slowed sharply from mid-year peaks, Solana remained the primary network for new token listings. The exit of many short-term “trenches” traders did not materially dent volumes, suggesting that professional and automated trading now account for a growing share of activity.
Stablecoin Issuance Supports On-chain Liquidity
Stablecoin liquidity remained a critical pillar of Solana’s DEX performance. Throughout 2025, the network saw heavy issuance of USDC, improving depth for decentralized trading pairs. In December alone, Circle minted $7.75 billion in USDC on Solana, according to on-chain minting records.
The influx of stablecoins boosted turnover but did little to alter Solana’s share of long-term DeFi capital.
Despite record DEX volumes and rising network revenues, Solana’s native token failed to track on-chain momentum. SOL price stands near $124 at the end of December, down more than 35% over the final quarter of 2025.
