As of early September, there appears to be a decline in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) activity. Data from DeFiLlama indicates that all DeFi protocols across major blockchains, including Ethereum and Solana, manage approximately $77 billion in assets, with Ethereum leading in total value locked (TVL).
Raydium Leads Solana’s DeFi Landscape
Despite this trend, the Solana DeFi ecosystem is thriving, as recent statistics suggest. Raydium, a prominent decentralized exchange (DEX) on Solana, has reinforced its status as a leading DeFi protocol on the network.
Data from Artemis revealed by an analyst on X indicates that the DEX holds a 60% market share, engaging an average of over 200,000 active users. At this rate, Raydium is the most actively used DeFi protocol, surpassing Jupiter.
The increase in user activity has also resulted in a significant rise in the number of daily active addresses. Recent data indicates that the Solana blockchain has achieved an average of 5.5 million daily active users, the highest ever recorded. Given this trajectory, even with Ethereum’s growing popularity and its layer-2 solutions, engagement with its protocols lags compared to those operating on Solana.
Unlike Ethereum’s scaling solutions, such as Base and Arbitrum, Solana’s base layer is inherently scalable. This contributes to elevated throughput and greater reliability, as it does not rely on off-chain systems like fault-proof mechanisms or sequencers, which often introduce vulnerabilities that could lead to centralization.
Gas Fees Rapidly Decrease, Meme Coin Trends Move to Tron
Interestingly, while daily active addresses are on the rise, gas fees have sharply declined. As of September 7, the revenue from gas fees reached its lowest point in six months, approximately $414,000.
Although there was a temporary rebound in revenue, it is minuscule compared to the $5 million generated on March 18, based on data from TokenTerminal data.
The decrease in gas fees may be associated with the waning popularity of Pump.fun, a meme coin launchpad on Solana. In recent weeks, gas fees generated by the platform have plummeted by more than 80% after hitting a peak of over $2.31 million in late July. By September 7, Pump.fun collected approximately $319,000 in fees, according to DeFiLlama.
The activity surrounding meme coins appears to be transitioning to Tron, another scalable blockchain, based on reliable DeFiLlama data. The establishment of a meme coin launchpad, SunPump, in August coincided with the decline of activity on Pump.fun, resulting in fewer daily fees for Solana.
Feature image from Adobe Stock, chart from TradingView
