DeFi Shift: Solana Overtakes Ethereum in DEX Volume as Liquidity Explodes

Introduction

Solana has overtaken Ethereum in daily decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume, signaling a notable liquidity rotation in DeFi. DefiLlama data shows Solana posted $5.84 billion in 24-hour DEX volume versus Ethereum’s $5.75 billion, with nearly $137 billion processed over the last 30 days. This jump underscores Solana’s rising market share in on-chain trading as its high-throughput infrastructure attracts high-frequency traders and automated market makers.

A key driver is Solana’s stablecoin expansion, with Artemis data showing an all-time high of $17.5 billion in stablecoin supply. Liquidity from USDC and PYUSD is deepening order books on top Solana DEXs like Jupiter, Raydium, and Phoenix—supporting seamless swaps even during volatility. The surge appears less speculative and more structural, reflecting maturing institutional participation and stronger DeFi fundamentals on Solana.

SOL price action mirrors this momentum: SOL rebounded 5.78% in 24 hours to $208.60, after dipping from ~$221 to ~$177 during the recent market sell-off. With RSI at 47.7, momentum is neutral but has room to run if buying pressure persists; immediate resistance sits near $220 and support around $180–$190. If liquidity remains elevated and price holds above $200, Solana could consolidate its lead over Ethereum in DeFi and continue drawing institutional DeFi activity. 

Background

Over the last 24 hours, Solana’s decentralized-exchange (DEX) trading volume edged past Ethereum’s for the first time, underscoring a broader liquidity shift in decentralized finance (DeFi). Data from DefiLlama show Solana processing roughly $5.84 billion in DEX trades versus Ethereum’s $5.75 billion. While the margin is slim, the milestone hints at how network throughput, fee efficiency, and stablecoin inflows are reshaping on-chain markets.

Why DEX volume matters

A DEX allows users to trade crypto assets peer-to-peer without a central intermediary. Because trades occur on-chain, spikes in DEX volume often signal where traders—retail and institutional—find the best mix of speed, price execution, and liquidity. On Ethereum, Uniswap, Curve, and Balancer still dominate, yet Solana’s Jupiter, Raydium, and Phoenix are quickly gaining share thanks to sub-second confirmation times and near-zero fees.

The stablecoin catalyst

According to analytics platform Artemis, Solana’s circulating stablecoin supply recently eclipsed $17.5 billion, a record high. Stablecoins such as USDC and PYUSD are crucial because they function as “cash legs” in most DeFi trades; deeper pools translate to tighter bid-ask spreads and lower slippage. The influx also suggests increasing confidence among market makers and credit-worthy trading desks that Solana’s uptime and tooling have matured since the network’s congestion issues in 2022.

Throughput and fees: the hidden edge

Solana’s architecture differs from Ethereum’s account-based model. Its Proof-of-History (PoH) clock sequences transactions before they hit consensus, enabling high parallelism. Benchmarked data from Solana Foundation show theoretical throughput above 50,000 transactions per second (tps), compared with Ethereum’s current 15 tps on-chain (before rollup compression). That speed means arbitrage bots and high-frequency traders can execute strategies without battling mempool congestion or bidding wars for block space—an advantage that directly feeds higher DEX turnover.

How price action mirrors liquidity

Following last week’s market dip, SOL rebounded from roughly 177 to over 208 at press time, per TradingView. Technical indicators place the Relative Strength Index (RSI) near 48—neutral territory, suggesting neither extreme overbought nor oversold conditions. Should the token close decisively above $220, analysts at Messari note it could invite more cross-chain capital rotation as traders chase ecosystem incentives and cheaper execution.

Institutional interest is rising

A July 2025 report from digital-asset custodian Anchorage Digital highlighted growing demand from hedge funds for Solana-based liquidity pools, particularly because compliance-focused stablecoins such as PayPal’s PYUSD have migrated sizable treasury balances to the chain. Meanwhile, venture-capital investment in Solana-native DeFi startups reached $115 million in Q3 2025, according to The Block Research. Together, these factors underscore that Solana’s recent flip in DEX volume is not solely retail-driven hype.

Key terms unpacked

• DEX trading volume reflects the total value swapped on decentralized exchanges in a given period. High volume generally equals deeper liquidity and lower trading costs.

• Stablecoin is a cryptocurrency pegged to a stable asset—often the U.S. dollar—used as a hedge against volatility and as a settlement medium in DeFi.

• Liquidity refers to how easily an asset can be bought or sold without affecting its price. In DeFi, deeper liquidity pools reduce slippage and improve user experience.

• Throughput (tps) measures how many transactions a blockchain can finalize per second; higher throughput often means faster settlement and lower fees.

What to watch next

If Solana maintains daily volumes above $5 billion while keeping fees negligible, it could cement a durable lead in certain DeFi niches such as perpetual futures and on-chain order-book trading. Yet challenges remain: Ethereum layer-2 rollups like Arbitrum and Starknet are aggressively lowering fees, and forthcoming EIP-4844 (“proto-danksharding”) aims to cut data costs even further. For traders, the resulting multi-chain landscape means routing engines will likely optimize order flow across Solana, Ethereum mainnet, and rollups in real time.

Bottom line

Solana’s brief but symbolic overtake of Ethereum in DEX volume showcases how network design, stablecoin depth, and user experience coalesce to draw liquidity. Whether the trend persists will hinge on Solana’s ability to sustain uptime and on Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap delivering similar cost savings. Either way, the competition is accelerating innovation—good news for anyone who believes the future of finance is decentralized.