Solana has demonstrated impressive revenue generation, outpacing Ethereum's early growth trajectory, according to a recent report by 21Shares. The report highlights that Solana generated $2.85 billion in revenue between October 2024 and September 2025, fueled primarily by activity on trading platforms. This figure dwarfs Ethereum's monthly revenue of under $10 million at a comparable stage in its development. Solana's monthly revenue averaged around $240 million during this period, peaking at $616 million in January 2025 during a memecoin surge. Even after the initial excitement surrounding memecoins subsided, Solana maintained a consistent monthly revenue stream of between $150 million and $250 million.
The primary source of revenue for Solana validators stems from transaction fees across its ecosystem, encompassing decentralized finance (DeFi), memecoins, AI applications, decentralized exchanges, DePIN, launchpads, and trading tools. Trading platforms stand out as the dominant revenue driver, contributing 39%, or $1.12 billion, with applications like Photon and Axiom playing a significant role.
Solana's efficiency and low-fee structure have been instrumental in attracting a substantial user base. The network boasts approximately 1.2 to 1.5 million daily active addresses, which is roughly three times the number Ethereum had at the same point in its lifecycle. Solana's ability to handle thousands of transactions per second (TPS) at minimal cost has caught the attention of institutional investors. Engineers on the network have also reduced finality times from approximately 400 microseconds to just 150 microseconds.
Several companies have rebranded to Solana treasury companies this year, resulting in nearly $4 billion in SOL being held on public company balance sheets. Solmate, formerly Brera Holdings, is one such entity, aiming to establish a Solana-focused digital asset treasury and infrastructure platform. Forward Industries leads with 6.822 million SOL, followed by Sharps Technology with 2.14 million SOL.
The network has maintained 100% uptime for nearly 16 months. Solana's Nakamoto Coefficient, a measure of decentralization, stood at 20 as of April 16, 2025.
The rise of Solana has not gone unnoticed by asset managers. Several spot Solana ETF applications are awaiting decisions from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with deadlines in October for filings from prominent firms like Fidelity, VanEck, and Grayscale. The approval of these ETFs is widely anticipated.
Solana is also making strides in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. Crypto exchange Kraken has launched xStocks on Solana, offering tokenized U.S. equities to investors across the European Union. Stablecoin adoption on Solana has surged, with total usage growing nearly sixfold in less than a year.
While Solana's revenue and technological advancements are noteworthy, Ethereum remains a dominant force in the crypto space. Ethereum's Total Value Locked (TVL) is nearly $60 billion. Ethereum continues to lead with roughly $173 billion in stablecoins and an expansive network of DeFi applications. Ethereum is also becoming a treasury asset as a number of both private and public companies have started accumulating ETH, with it being held, spent, and managed like corporate capital.
