Journalist
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Key takeaways
Is Ethereum still leading the DeFi ecosystem?
Yes, Ethereum holds about 67.65% of DeFi activity, but its dominance is slowly eroding.
Which chains are catching up to Ethereum?
Solana leads the charge with higher user activity and developer growth, while Tron and BNB are also gaining ground.
For years, Ethereum [ETH] has been the undisputed king of the smart contract world. But lately, the empire’s edges are starting to fray.
With Solana [SOL] sprinting ahead in activity and newer chains building momentum, Ethereum’s long-held dominance may finally be meeting its match.
The rivals are sure to put up a fight, but how long can Ethereum hold the fort?
Competitors are closing in on ETH
According to DeFiLlama, Ethereum continues to command a massive 67.65% share of total DeFi activity, dwarfing rivals like Solana (8.9%), Binance Smart Chain (BSC) [BNB] (6.67%), and Bitcoin [BTC] (6.75%).
Yet, that lead is beginning to narrow.
Source: DeFiLlama
Data from CoinGecko shows Ethereum remains the second-largest smart contract platform coin, with a market cap of around $420.7 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of $31.6 billion.
Source: CoinGecko
Despite a 2.5% daily dip, ETH gained 5.6% over the week. However, competitors like Solana and Binance [BNB] are gaining traction, continuing to challenge Ethereum’s long-standing dominance.
Tron gains ground
DeFiLlama data shows Ethereum still leads stablecoin issuance with 55.55% market share, but its dominance has slipped.
Source: DeFiLlama
TRON [TRX] captured a significant 25.78% share of the $302.17 billion market. BSC and Solana follow with 4.42% and 4.36%, respectively, while emerging chains like Base [BASE] and Arbitrum [ARB] each hold just over 1%.
Despite a modest 0.24% weekly decline in total stablecoin market cap, Tron’s growing foothold is challenging Ethereum’s long-standing control.
A change in activity
While Ethereum remains the dominant layer in DeFi and stablecoin ecosystems, Solana is quietly outpacing it in network usage.
Source: Santiment
Over recent months, Solana has consistently led in daily active addresses and transaction volume, even as Ethereum’s developer activity has plateaued.
Source: Santiment
Ethereum’s development activity score was near 14.3, trailing Solana’s 21.5 at press time.
Higher usage and faster development growth mean a meaningful shift in market momentum. Perhaps Ethereum’s lead has more challenge than before.
Source: https://ambcrypto.com/analyzing-how-ethereums-dominance-in-defi-fell-below-68/