Solana surpasses Ethereum in DEX volume reaching 55 billion

Solana Makes History by Surpassing Ethereum in Monthly DEX Trading Volume
In a groundbreaking moment for the crypto world, Solana has exceeded Ethereum in monthly decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume for the first time.
During the month of July, Solana’s (SOL) DEX volume soared to $55.8 billion, surpassing Ethereum’s (ETH) on-chain trading activity, which stood at $53.8 billion, according to DefiLlama.
Following Solana and Ethereum, Layer-2 networks like Arbitrum and Base, along with the L1 blockchain Binance Smart Chain, accounted for the most trading volume.
The driving force behind Solana’s impressive volume
Solana’s rise to the top over Ethereum comes amid distinct developments for both networks.
Last year, Solana’s chain witnessed a surge in popularity of memecoins, such as Dogwifhat (WIF) and Bonk (BONK), dominating on-chain markets. Speculative investors saw substantial gains as these tokens traded with billion-dollar market caps as of August 1.
Additionally, celebrities joined the Solana ecosystem, launching new tokens using platforms like Pump.fun and Moonshot. Though many of these ventures failed, the involvement of public figures injected excitement into the memecoin trend.
While wealth managers like VanEck sought approval to list spot Solana ETF shares, skepticism loomed over the possibility of basket crypto ETFs beyond Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum, as noted by BlackRock’s Robert Mitchnick.
Ethereum’s enduring role in DeFi and institutional interest
Conversely, Ethereum remains the prominent choice for building decentralized applications. Major dapps, including Aave and Uniswap, originated on the Ethereum network.
Ethereum experienced a resurgence of interest following a technology upgrade that drastically reduced fees, making trading and swapping more affordable. This upgrade, known as Dencun, was followed by institutional demand for ETH on Wall Street, with issuers like BlackRock, Bitwise, Fidelity, and Grayscale gaining SEC approval to list spot ETH exchange-traded fund shares.
Although spot Ethereum ETFs have faced challenges, with Grayscale experiencing outflows, debates persist regarding their impact on Ether’s future price. Some anticipate that ETF buying will drive on-chain staking yields, while others view the development with caution.
Nevertheless, Ethereum’s position as a DeFi market leader is further solidified by on-chain data, showing a 127% increase in daily active addresses on Ethereum and its L2s since the beginning of the year, according to Glassnode.
In conclusion, as the crypto landscape evolves, both Solana and Ethereum continue to shape the future of decentralized finance, each with its unique strengths and challenges.