Solana’s decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes remain competitive with Ethereum’s ecosystem despite a sharp decline in meme coin trading activity, according to a report by asset manager VanEck. In February, Solana briefly accounted for 43% of all on-chain DEX trading volume, surpassing Ethereum and its layer-2 networks combined. By March, its share had dropped to around 30%, slightly below Ethereum’s 40%.

VanEck’s head of research, Matthew Sigel, noted that despite the decline in meme coin activity, Solana’s DEX volumes were still on par with Ethereum’s ecosystem. However, trading activity on the Solana network slowed significantly after a series of meme coin-related incidents. Stablecoin transfers, critical for on-chain trading, dropped by 80% compared to January levels. The decline was partly triggered by the collapse of several high-profile meme coins, including Libra, a token linked to Argentine President Javier Milei. On Feb. 14, Libra lost approximately $4.4 billion in market capitalization within hours of its launch.

Another major loss came from Official Trump (TRUMP), a meme coin associated with U.S. President Donald Trump. Since January, traders have lost around $2 billion across 800,000 wallets tied to the token. Meme coin trading, which primarily occurs on the Pump.fun platform, has been a major revenue source for Solana, accounting for approximately 80% of the network’s income. However, new token launches on Pump.fun have dropped by over 80% since the beginning of the year. Most tokens launched on the platform gain initial liquidity there before transitioning to Raydium, Solana’s leading DEX.

Raydium continues to hold over $1.3 billion in total value locked (TVL), according to DefiLlama. Despite the decline in meme coin activity, Solana has outperformed the broader crypto market in the current cycle. VanEck reported that Solana’s token price has surged by 191%, while on-chain revenues, excluding maximal extractable value (MEV), have increased by 700%. The supply of stablecoins on Solana has also risen by 291% this year.

VanEck highlighted that meme coin trading has been one of the biggest drivers of Solana’s recent growth. The firm noted that Pump.fun alone has generated more than $577 million in fees in just over a year. However, the recent decline in meme coin trading raises questions about the sustainability of Solana’s rapid growth. While the network has proven resilient, its heavy reliance on speculative trading could present challenges if meme coin activity continues to drop.