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Ethereum-based decentralized exchanges have overtaken Solana in trading volume for the first time since April, buoyed by record spot ETF inflows and a surge in institutional demand.
Aug 13, 2025, 3:39 p.m.
Decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes on Ethereum have leapfrogged Solana for the first time since April after a swift shift in sentiment away from Solana-based memecoins and towards ether {{ETH}} amid a wave of institutional activity.
Over the past 48 hours Ethereum-based DEXs have facilitated $24.5 billion in trading volume compared to Solana's tally of $10 billion, according to DefiLlama.
The two weeks prior were also dominated by Ethereum, with a total of $28 billion and $27 billion beating Solana's total of $20 billion and $24 billion.
This represents a contrast in trader behavior from earlier this year, which was dominated by Solana and BNB Chain in a wave of speculative memecoin trading.
However, institutional flows into spot ether ETFs has buoyed the second largest cryptocurrency, lifting it to $4,680 this month after a 53% gain over the past 30 days.
DEX volumes (DefiLlama)
Coinglass data shows that Monday's net inflows to ETFs topped $1 billion for the first time ever, this was followed by more relentless buying on Tuesday with another $523 million inflow.
Solana, meanwhile, appears to have lost its magic in the second quarter of this year. In January, for example, DEX volumes topped $98 billion in one week and $84 billion in the next. That hype subsided after U.S. President Donald Trump released the TRUMP memecoin, which ultimately lost more than 88% of its value over the subsequent seven months, a moment that obliterated investor confidence in memecoins.
Uniswap remains the most commonly used DEX on Ethereum with $8.6 billion being traded over the past 24 hours, the next best being Fluid, which topped $1 billion during the same period.
The change in behavior could bode well for Ethereum-based staking tokens, which experienced a boost following SEC clarification last week. Tokens like LDO , the governance token of liquid staking protocol Lido are up by 65% over the past week.
Oliver Knight
Oliver Knight is the co-leader of CoinDesk data tokens and data team. Before joining CoinDesk in 2022 Oliver spent three years as the chief reporter at Coin Rivet. He first started investing in bitcoin in 2013 and spent a period of his career working at a market making firm in the UK. He does not currently have any crypto holdings.
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