Solana DEX Sees $2.517B Volume Amid Ongoing Downtrend

• Solana DEX trading volume hit $2.517 billion, marking a continuous decline since mid-December.
• Raydium and Orca volumes dropped, but Meteora saw an 18.65% rise last week.

Trading volume on Solana-based decentralized exchanges (DEX) has recently shown a fairly significant downward trend. According to data from DeFiLlama, on February 16, 2025, Solana’s DEX trading volume was recorded at $2.517 billion, marking its lowest point since mid-December last year. This drop extends the five-week downtrend that has been running.

Meme Coin Losing Appeal?

Investor saturation with the meme coin trend seems to be quite correlated with this decrease in trading volume. Solana’s on-chain transaction volume dropped by 28%, according to Binance’s analysis, equating to $28.8 billion at the period closing February 10, 2025.

Considered more stable and having diverse potential among the volatility of meme coins, many investors have begun to migrate to BNB Chain.

Furthermore, Jason Lau, Chief Innovation Officer at OKEx, clarified that prior development was mostly driven by meme coin trading activity on the Solana network. When the buzz dies, though, investors often turn their focus to other networks or more traditional instruments.

This disorder reminds me of a common market phenomenon whereby the initial impulse fades rapidly when the interest in a new trend starts to wane.

Solana Still Controls DEX Activity

Solana still leads the DEX activity market share with a domination of around 50%, even if volume is declining. High retail acceptance, low transaction prices, and the existence of top platforms like Jupiter and Raydium help to justify this benefit.

Solana has been successful in drawing the attention of small-scale traders who wish to try their luck in the crypto world without having to dig deep into their pockets with more pocket-friendly transaction expenses.

In terms of liquidity depth, Ethereum is still better nonetheless. It is noted that 10 of the 20 largest liquidity pools globally are still on the Ethereum network. This shows that although Solana is able to attract large trading volumes, the Ethereum ecosystem remains the main choice for large institutions and traders with high liquidity needs.

Meteora Rises Amid Decline

Among the general drop, one name that has drawn interest is Meteora. Over the last week, trading volume on this platform has surged by 18.65%. Raydium and Orca, in the meantime, actually had declines of 39.16% and 41.42% respectively.

It shows a change in user interest in the Solana ecosystem, maybe driven by Meteora’s new feature or innovation offer.

Dynamics Behind the SOL Price Decline

Apart from the decreased trading volume, the SOL token price is under pressure as well. As of press time, SOL is swapped hands at about $182.11, corrected 6.47% over the last 24 hours and a decline of 10.06% over the last 7 days. This decline is associated with the unlock of $3 billion worth of tokens which has raised concerns among investors.

On the other hand, institutional curiosity in Solana-based ETFs offers a new perspective. CNF had noted growing interest in Solana ETFs, which might stimulate long-term demand. Should this interest persist, Solana may rise once more among the difficulties it now faces.

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