Author: Lynn Nguyen, CEO of Saros
Decentralized exchanges (DEX) on Solana continue to lead the trading volume rankings, surpassing DEXs on similar chains like Ethereum, Base, and BSC.
Meme coins are the main drivers of the surge in trading volume. While they have proven product-market fit in the crypto space, very few meme coins can survive through market cycles.
To maintain dominance, Solana DEX must also demonstrate the ability to adapt to the changing market environment and short-term trends.
This means that Solana DEX needs to create a more resilient and liquid market for assets with long-term value, such as Bitcoin, and further enhance the depth and diversity of liquidity pools.
According to the OKX report "The State of DEXs 2025," "Solana is gradually eating into Ethereum's market share."
In the last week of December 2024, Solana DEX accounted for nearly 90% of the DEX market share—this market share is almost unbelievable, especially after the ecosystem just experienced the trough of the last bear market. Although its dominance has fluctuated since then, it has remained strong.
Solana has driven growth with fast transaction speeds, low costs, and developer-friendly tools, leading in both transaction numbers and active DEX users. The OKX report states:
"Solana is the true retail chain."
In January 2025, the market share consistently remained above 50%, at times even surpassing Ethereum and Base.
Matthew Sigel, head of research at asset management platform VanEck, stated, "Despite the volatility in the meme coin market, Solana DEX trading volume remains robust—roughly on par with the entire ETH ecosystem."
However, it wasn't until August that DEXs on Ethereum surpassed those on Solana, thanks to institutional interest and a large influx of spot ETFs.
The decline in trading volume of highly speculative assets has led to a significant drop in overall DEX trading volume on Solana. By early September, trading volume had decreased by 65% to $10 billion. These reductions were further influenced by the rise of "Prop" or "Dark" AMMs on Solana, which have eaten into the market share of traditional DEXs over the past year.
This raises an important question: Should Solana DEXs focus on more sustainable assets?
Currently, Solana DEX faces two major challenges: over-reliance on trading highly speculative assets and insufficient liquidity depth.
Highly speculative assets are often the most volatile. This not only leads to dramatic price swings but also causes significant fluctuations in trading volume, especially evident in long-term trading volume.
For example, as Solana's leading meme coin issuance platform, Pump.fun saw its trading volume plummet by 63% within a month, resulting in a 90% decline in overall trading volume on Solana DEX. This phenomenon occurred during what is widely considered a bull market phase. Additionally, scams and significant price drops of meme coins like LIBRA and TRUMP often affect Solana's image as a reliable trading ecosystem.
In terms of liquidity depth, the OKX "2025 DEX Report" also reveals some concerning signs. A 30-day comparison of Ethereum, Solana, BSC, Arbitrum, and Base shows that Solana underperforms in key parameters such as trading history, liquidity depth, and sustained trading volume.
Most Solana liquidity pools have a total value locked (TVL) that is insufficient, indicating that while Solana has high DEX trading volume, its liquidity is far less compared to other blockchains, which could negatively impact traders' prices.
Enhancing capital efficiency is crucial; only by effectively utilizing liquidity depth can its true value be realized. Aggregators need to optimize trading routes from multiple liquidity sources, and DEXs must ensure sufficient depth to support large trades.
To introduce more liquidity to Solana DEX, it is essential to fill it with resilient and large-market-cap tokens, with Bitcoin undoubtedly being the best starting point.
Bitcoin DeFi (BTCFi) has become a hot sub-sector in the crypto industry. As a $2.3 trillion asset class, protocols and users are increasingly trying to utilize Bitcoin as a productive asset through on-chain activities. In fact, BTCFi venture capital funding reached $175 million in the first half of 2025.
Solana DEX can seize the opportunity to build deep liquidity pools for the emerging variety of Bitcoin-pegged assets, many of which already have large market caps. After all, Bitcoin has repeatedly proven its ability to withstand uncertain and highly volatile market conditions over its 17-year history.
Following BTCFi, the stablecoin market has also continued to grow robustly. After entering a bear market, the demand for stablecoins has surged, making it reasonable to create deep liquidity pools for various stablecoins.
Especially for blockchains like Solana, there is a clear strong interest in maximizing stablecoin adoption on-chain. Solana hosted its first stablecoin-themed Stable Future Summit in South Korea on September 23 this year, indicating its high regard for stablecoin adoption.
Prioritizing the industry's strongest assets, such as Bitcoin and stablecoins, can build a more solid foundation for Solana DeFi. This will help Solana achieve its long-term goal of becoming the backbone of the internet capital market and maintaining resilience in adverse market conditions.
Viewpoint: Lynn Nguyen, CEO of Saros.
Related: Analysts say: The $19 billion crypto market crash is "controlled deleveraging," not a chain collapse.
Original: Viewpoint: Solana DEX Needs to Focus on Building Resilient Markets
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