Solana tops 2025 usage charts – So why didn’t SOL outperform ETH?

ambcryptoPublished on 2025-12-15Last updated on 2025-12-15

Abstract

Looking back at 2025, Solana (SOL) significantly underperformed Ethereum (ETH) in terms of price, with SOL declining over 30% while ETH fell only 6%, resulting in a 25% drop in the SOL/ETH ratio. Despite this, Solana emerged as the most-used blockchain of the year, leading in key on-chain metrics such as monthly active users (98 million), total transactions (34 billion), and trading volume ($1.6 trillion). However, Ethereum maintained stronger foundational strengths, ranking higher in total value locked (TVL), developer activity, total transfer volume, and stablecoin supply. This contrast highlights that while Solana excelled in pure network usage and adoption, Ethereum retained structural advantages critical for DeFi and long-term ecosystem growth, making a SOL outperformance over ETH in 2026 appear unlikely.

As we head into 2026, it’s worth taking a look back at 2025.

On the technical front, 2025 is ending with major top-caps losing capital, closing the year with negative ROI. Among the top five assets, Solana [SOL] stood out as the weakest, down over 30%+ on an annual basis.

To put this into perspective, Ethereum [ETH] was down 6% over the same period.

This meant SOL’s decline is 5x greater than ETH’s, translating into a 25% drop in the SOL/ETH ratio. In short, 2025 has been a year in which ETH outperformed.

But the story isn’t just about price.

Solana and Ethereum are similar L1s. Both are seeing growing adoption, strong RWA rankings, expanding ETF presence, and hosting a variety of protocols.

You’d expect that ETH’s dominance would show on-chain, too.

Surprisingly, according to Artemis CEO Jon Ma, Solana ended up being the most-used chain in 2025. Ultimately, that kicked off a heated debate across the community.

The question remains: Which side carries the most weight?

Solana’s activity lead meets Ethereum’s structural edge

No doubt, Solana’s network dominance is backed by hard data.

In 2025, it led all chains in multiple key metrics: Monthly Active Users (MAU) reached 98 million, Total Transactions hit 34 billion, and Trading Volume topped $1.6 trillion.

On the revenue side, SOL also came out on top.

Looking at this performance, the case for SOL as the most-used chain can’t be ignored. When it comes to “pure usage,” Solana clearly outpaced other L1s, showing that adoption does not always move in line with market price.

Ethereum’s structural edge

That said, Ethereum retained strength across foundational metrics.

Based on Jon Ma’s post, Solana ranked third in Total Transfer Volume, second in TVL, second in Developer Activity, and third in Stablecoin Supply.

In this context, the whole SOL dominance debate is totally reasonable.

Simply put, while Solana crushes it on network usage, Ethereum still flexes in the core on-chain fundamentals. In fact, most of the metrics SOL lags in are critical for DeFi rails, market depth, and long-term ecosystem play.

Against this backdrop, SOL outperforming ETH in 2026 seems unlikely.

Final Thoughts

  • Solana is the weakest among top 5 assets, down 30%+, while Ethereum [ETH] only fell 6%, making the SOL/ETH ratio drop 25%.
  • Despite the price gap, Solana emerged as the most-used chain in 2025, sparking debates over on-chain dominance versus market performance.

Trending Cryptos

ctr
CitreaCTR
wstusdt
wrapped stUSDTWSTUSDT
apr
aPrioriAPR
ctx
Cryptex FinanceCTX
audio
AudiusAUDIO
comp
CompoundCOMP
mantra
MantraMANTRA
waxl
AxelarWAXL
bill
Billions NetworkBILL
pyth
PYTH (Pyth)PYTH
rune
THORChainRUNE
velodrome
Velodrome FinanceVELODROME
brev
BrevisBREV
zrx
ZRX（0X）ZRX
cake
PancakeSwapCAKE

Related Reads

Unlocking $100 Million in Liquidity? Pump.fun's New Policy Tests the 5-Minute Pump Technique

Foresight News, July 21 – Pump.fun has launched its new "BOOST" mode as the standard launch mechanism for new tokens. The core of BOOST is to address the issue of "dead liquidity." Historically, when a token migrates from its bonding curve to a liquidity pool, roughly 20% of its liquidity becomes permanently locked and unusable, a problem the platform estimates costs over $100 million annually. The new mechanism redirects this 20% of funds, which would have been locked, to instead be used for a 5-minute Time-Weighted Average Price (TWAP) buyback of the token immediately after migration. The purchased tokens are then permanently burned. For example, this means reserving 17.6 SOL for SOL pairs or about $2516 for USDC pairs at migration. This creates a short-term buying pressure and reduces the token's supply. The goal is to improve the immediate post-launch performance of memecoins, potentially increasing trader retention and transaction volume on the platform. However, critics warn this could lower the bar for token launches, encouraging low-quality projects, and that the brief 5-minute buy pressure might lead to sharper price crashes once it ends if followed by large sell-offs.

Foresight News4m ago

Unlocking $100 Million in Liquidity? Pump.fun's New Policy Tests the 5-Minute Pump Technique

Foresight News4m ago

What Signals Can Be Read from the Trading Data of India's Largest Asset Manager SBI's IPO?

India's largest asset manager, SBI Funds Management, successfully listed on July 21 with a nearly $10 billion IPO, attracting approximately 42 times subscription. However, the first-day closing price rose only about 6.3%, falling short of the 16% premium anticipated in the grey market. This signals robust demand for core Indian financial assets but also disciplined pricing, indicating the IPO market is selectively open for strong brands with clear growth narratives. The low reported underwriting fees, which led some global banks to reduce participation, highlight a shift in pricing power towards powerful issuers like SBI. Its strong brand, banking parent, and stable cash flows reduced reliance on traditional investment banking sales channels, with local brokers playing a larger role. This fee dynamic may not be replicable for weaker issuers. SBI's performance is seen as a key test for India's IPO pipeline, including potential future large listings like Reliance Jio and NSE. Its success with tempered gains sets a new price anchor: high-quality assets can launch, but excessive valuation premiums are constrained. The true measure of a sustained market reopening will be whether subsequent major offerings can proceed smoothly at reasonable valuations.

marsbit22m ago

What Signals Can Be Read from the Trading Data of India's Largest Asset Manager SBI's IPO?

marsbit22m ago

Can Japan Buy Growth with AI? Will the Bond Market Believe It?

Japan's cabinet has introduced the 2026 Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform, shifting its primary fiscal target. The new framework moves away from the traditional annual primary balance goal and instead prioritizes a stable reduction of the debt-to-GDP ratio. This change is tied to a strategy of increased "responsible proactive fiscal" spending, aiming to boost long-term growth through investments in strategic sectors like AI, semiconductors, energy, and robotics. The government estimates total public and private investment in 62 key technologies could exceed 370 trillion yen by 2040. The market reaction has been mixed and cautious. While equity markets may respond to policy signals, bond markets are focused on fiscal credibility. Concerns center on whether the weakening of the clear primary balance anchor could lead to looser fiscal discipline. If investors doubt that these strategic investments will generate sufficient productivity gains, tax revenue, and nominal growth to outpace rising interest costs, they may demand higher yields on Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs). Recent volatility in the yen and JGB yields, with the 10-year yield briefly reaching 2.9%, reflects this skepticism. The success of this new framework hinges on two factors: whether Japan can achieve a nominal growth rate consistently higher than its long-term interest rates, and whether future budgets demonstrate disciplined control over bond issuance. The government's narrative is that strategic investment is essential to break Japan's cycle of low growth, aging, and labor shortages. However, the bond market will continuously assess the credibility of this plan, pricing the risk that it may represent fiscal expansion rather than a viable growth strategy.

marsbit31m ago

Can Japan Buy Growth with AI? Will the Bond Market Believe It?

marsbit31m ago

Misjudged A-Shares: Resilience, Expectations, and Confidence

China's A-share market recently faced selling pressure, especially in tech sectors, initially triggered by a global tech sell-off that began in South Korea. However, the article argues this is a case of "mistaken injury" and highlights the market's underlying resilience. This resilience stems from three main pillars: **1) Tech Sector Fundamentals:** Unlike Korea's market dominated by a few memory chip stocks, China's tech sector is diversified across computing, communications, electronics, and semiconductors, supported by dual narratives of global AI supply chains and domestic substitution. Core areas like optical modules and fiber optics continue to show strong earnings growth. **2) "National Team" Support:** State-backed institutions and large corporations have made significant market purchases and announced buybacks, providing liquidity and signaling confidence. This is seen as a stabilizing policy signal, often associated with market bottoms. **3) Broader Market Pillars:** Other major sectors are showing endogenous recovery momentum. Consumer stocks benefit from stabilizing CPI and signs of sector recovery (e.g., liquor price hikes). Cyclical sectors like aluminum have high earnings, potential price increases due to tight supply, and low valuations. The financial sector offers stable dividends and low valuations. The conclusion is that the sell-off was driven by external contagion, not a collapse in fundamentals. With strong policy support and recovering momentum across key sectors, the A-share market possesses the toughness to regain stability.

marsbit1h ago

Misjudged A-Shares: Resilience, Expectations, and Confidence

marsbit1h ago

Quantum Computers Haven't Arrived Yet, but Satoshi's 1.1 Million Bitcoin Pose the First Problem

A zero-knowledge proof tool can help modern Bitcoin wallets migrate assets before quantum attacks in milliseconds. However, approximately 1.1 million bitcoins mined by Satoshi Nakamoto before 2012 are fundamentally unprotected by such solutions, as they reside in older P2PK addresses lacking the hierarchical structure required for this cryptographic rescue. This exposes a critical divide: post-2012 HD wallets can potentially "upgrade" signatures using tools like Project Eleven's, while early coins are cryptographically isolated. The community faces a political, not technical, dilemma with four contentious options: 1) Let quantum attackers seize the coins, risking market instability; 2) Hard fork to freeze vulnerable addresses, seen as violating property rights; 3) Implement extreme spending limits to slow any attack; 4) Redistribute "orphaned" coins, breaking immutability. Each solution threatens a core Bitcoin tenet. The market is already pricing in this governance risk, as evidenced by institutional divestment citing uncertainty. The true crisis isn't the arrival of quantum computing, but the community's inability to reconcile its foundational principles with an existential technological shift.

marsbit1h ago

Quantum Computers Haven't Arrived Yet, but Satoshi's 1.1 Million Bitcoin Pose the First Problem

marsbit1h ago

Trading

Spot

Hot Articles

Discussions

Welcome to the HTX Community. Here, you can stay informed about the latest platform developments and gain access to professional market insights. Users' opinions on the price of ETH (ETH) are presented below.

活动图片

Top Questions