Solana reached a historic milestone as its decentralized exchanges (DEXes) hit $70.9 billion in monthly trading volume, according to DeFiLlama. This surge in activity marks the first time that Solana’s DEX market has crossed this threshold, propelled by a wave of memecoin enthusiasm sweeping the crypto space.
A Surge in Trading Activity
Solana’s decentralized finance (DeFi) sector has experienced explosive growth, with weekly trading volumes reaching a staggering $41.39 billion. This represents a sharp increase from the October 29 to November 3, which saw volumes of $18.1 billion. Trading activity hit a peak on November 12, with daily volumes reaching $6.88 billion. Since then, Solana's DEX volume has consistently exceeded $5.7 billion daily, outpacing Ethereum's DEX ecosystem by a significant margin. Over the same period, Ethereum’s decentralized exchanges processed $14.27 billion in trades, far below Solana’s numbers. Other networks like Base ($11.9 billion), BNB Chain ($11.73 billion), and Arbitrum ($9.57 billion) followed.
Raydium Leads the Charge
At the heart of this surge is Raydium, Solana’s leading decentralized exchange. The platform is responsible for 69% of Solana's total DEX trading volume, with an incredible $27 billion in weekly trades—an increase of 127% from the previous period. Raydium's growth has been closely linked to the success of PumpFun, Solana’s memecoin launchpad, which has helped propel tokens like PNUT and GOAT to prominence. The memecoin frenzy is not limited to Raydium. Orca, another Solana-based DEX, also saw a massive 169% increase in its weekly trading volume, reaching $7.5 billion. Other exchanges like Lfinity surpassed $3 billion in weekly volumes. These memecoins have become major players in the market, with their pairings ranking third and fourth in Raydium’s 24-hour trading volumes. PNUT and GOAT have generated $48.6 million and $47.2 million in daily volume, respectively, reflecting the growing appetite for memecoins in the Solana ecosystem.
Memecoin Mania Fuels Growth
PumpFun, the memecoin-focused launchpad, has experienced a surge in daily fee revenue, bringing in $1.65 million, making it one of the top 10 web3 protocols by this metric. As memecoin speculation rises, Raydium has also benefited from increased transaction fees, with the platform generating $11.79 million in 24-hour fees.
The boom in Solana’s DEX activity comes at a time of major price action for the native SOL token. Solana has surged to a price of $242, nearing its all-time high of $259. This rise in the price of SOL, coupled with the strong performance of its DEXes, has propelled Solana’s market capitalization to $115 billion—44% higher than its previous all-time high of $77 billion in November 2021. Notably, Solana’s recent success is not just about DEX volume; it also reflects a broader trend of increased activity across the Solana ecosystem. With tokens like Dogwifhat (WIF) gaining significant traction and being listed on major exchanges like Coinbase, Solana is firmly in the spotlight as a DeFi hotbed.
