Solana DEX volumes hit 2024 low, SOL eyes $80 support

Solana’s native token SOL faced a notable pullback after a rejection near the $93 level last Wednesday, slumping about 11% as traders assess the chain’s near-term support. With the price testing the $80 region on multiple occasions in recent days, market participants are watching whether SOL can defend a key floor or if a deeper retracement toward the mid-$70s could emerge.

Amid softer price action, Solana’s on-chain activity remains anchored by its ecosystem’s ongoing revenue generation. The latest data show that while Solana’s DEX volumes cooled, the network continues to support a higher concentration of high-revenue DApps than many rivals, underscoring continued developer interest in the chain. Over the past month, total value locked on Solana stood at roughly $6.3 billion, a fraction of Ethereum’s approximate $54.1 billion. At the same time, Solana’s on-chain fees totaled about $18.5 million in March, a roughly 42% decline from January’s level, driven primarily by softer DeFi activity on the network.

In a broader market context, Ethereum’s on-chain activity remained robust in a shifting landscape dominated by layer-2 solutions. March DEX volumes across Ethereum and its Layer-2 ecosystems reached about $41 billion, down 23% from two months prior. Importantly, when aggregating DEX activity across Ethereum’s layer-2 networks—Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, and Optimism—Ethereum’s DEX market share rose to 42% in March from 33% in January. This marks a clear shift in trading flow toward layer-2s and away from the base chain, reshaping the competitive dynamics between Solana and Ethereum’s expanding L2 ecosystem.

Key takeaways

• Solana remains a revenue leader among blockchains, with a cluster of DApps generating $1 million+ in monthly revenue, reinforcing fundamental ecosystem activity even as price declines persist.
• Ethereum’s L2 expansion is capturing a larger slice of the DEX market, contributing to a shift in trading activity away from Solana as L2 dominance grows.
• Solana’s TVL ($6.3B) lags far behind Ethereum’s ($54.1B), illustrating the ongoing capital gap despite Solana’s ongoing developer engagement.
• Solana’s March on-chain fees ($18.5M) fell sharply from January, reflecting softer DEX volumes; meanwhile, Ethereum’s L2s collectively accounted for a meaningful share of DEX activity (42% in March).
• Solana leads with 13 DApps reporting $1M+ in revenue over the last 30 days, surpassing Ethereum (11), with BNB Chain and Base at 4 each, highlighting a continued ecosystem strength that could support SOL’s longer-term narrative.

Solana’s price pressure vs. ecosystem resilience

Despite a near-term price retreat, Solana’s DApp revenue momentum stands out as a counterweight to the selling pressure. The fact that Solana hosts more DApps delivering $1 million-plus in monthly revenue than Ethereum suggests a vibrant, revenue-generating ecosystem that could underpin demand for SOL beyond speculative trading. Projects like Pump, Helium Network, and ORE Protocol exemplify the range of use cases attracting developers and users to Solana’s layer-1.

Developers and investors are also weighing strategic ecosystem activity beyond pure on-chain metrics. In recent coverage, Solana has highlighted collaborations and platform expansions that could widen adoption, including development platforms that attract financial services players and large brands seeking to experiment with Web3-enabled capabilities. The broader market context—where Solana’s on-chain activity competes against Ethereum’s expanding L2 footprint—remains a dynamic tension for SOL’s near-term trajectory.

Market structure and shifting dynamics

Solana’s total value locked remains a fraction of Ethereum’s, underscoring the persistent capital gap between the chains. However, Solana’s relative strength on DApp revenue signals an ongoing, qualitative advantage: developers continue to build and monetize on Solana, even as traders redirect some activity toward layer-2 networks on Ethereum. The rise of Ethereum’s L2 market share to 42% in March from 33% in January demonstrates how scaling layers are reshaping the competitive landscape, potentially offering lower costs and faster settlement that attract liquidity away from base-layer chains.

Moreover, Solana’s fee trajectory—$18.5 million in March versus $30 million in January—shows how activity patterns influence on-chain economics. While the fee base shrinks during quieter periods, the underlying ecosystem strength remains a critical factor for SOL’s longer-term health. The contrast with Ethereum’s L2-driven structure suggests that Solana’s path to upside hinges not just on transactional volume, but on sustainable DApp monetization and continued developer onboarding.

What to watch next

As SOL tests the $80 region, investors will be watching whether support holds or if the market revisits the $75 level. The evolving balance between base-chain activity and Ethereum’s expanding layer-2 footprint will be a key driver of SOL’s near-term risk-reward. On the ecosystem side, continued momentum in high-revenue DApps and strategic platform partnerships could reinforce NAV-like support for SOL, even amidst broader price volatility.

Readers should monitor upcoming data on DApp earnings, DEX volumes, and layer-2 adoption trends, which will collectively illuminate whether Solana can sustain its ecosystem-led resilience in a market increasingly driven by cross-chain and layer-2 dynamics.