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21Shares’ Matt Mena says Solana’s $2.85B in annual revenue shows lasting strength across DeFi, trading and new app sectors even as memecoin mania has cooled.
Updated Oct 7, 2025, 9:41 a.m. Published Oct 7, 2025, 9:41 a.m.
Solana’s network continues to show unexpected resilience, according to new research from Matt Mena, a crypto research strategist at 21Shares.
In a blog post published Monday, Mena said Solana generated roughly $2.85 billion in annual revenue from October 2024 through September 2025, cementing its position as one of crypto’s fastest-growing blockchain economies. He described the revenue as “remarkably strong,” even as the speculative memecoin frenzy that drove early-year trading volumes has cooled.
Mena attributed Solana’s strength to its broad mix of activity. He said decentralized exchanges, trading tools, lending apps, wallets, and emerging sectors like DePIN and AI-driven applications all contributed meaningfully to network fees and usage.
While trading tools such as Photon and Axiom led the way — collectively generating about $1.12 billion, or 39% of total revenue — Mena emphasized that Solana’s value now comes from its diversity rather than a single trend.
Even after the peak months of late 2024, Mena noted that Solana’s monthly revenues have stabilized between $150 million and $250 million, suggesting sustained demand for blockspace and activity beyond speculative surges.
He compared the network’s total revenue to Palantir’s $2.8 billion and Robinhood’s $2.95 billion in 2024, saying Solana is “approaching the scale of major Web2 platforms.”
Mena also contrasted Solana’s position with Ethereum’s earlier stage of development.
He said that four to five years after launch — roughly where Solana is now — Ethereum averaged less than $10 million per month in revenue, highlighting how quickly Solana has monetized onchain usage. He credited the blockchain’s high throughput, low transaction fees, and growing ecosystem for accelerating adoption.
According to Mena, Solana’s evolution reflects a shift from resilience to readiness.
He pointed to upcoming technical upgrades such as Firedancer and Alpenglow that aim to enhance speed and scalability, adding that these advances could position Solana for greater institutional participation.
“Solana is no longer an experiment,” Mena wrote. “It’s a functioning digital economy showing real staying power.”
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.
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