What happened? Solana pulled in $2.85B in annual revenue and hit a $616M monthly peak in January.
Over the past year Solana generated $2.85 billion in revenue, with trading platforms accounting for roughly 39% of the total. The network saw a $616 million spike during the memecoin frenzy but has since kept monthly revenues mostly between $150–$250 million. That rapid growth outpaced Ethereum’s early trajectory by about 30x, driven by high throughput, low fees, and broad on-chain activity.
Who does this affect? Traders, builders, institutional investors, and SOL holders stand to gain or change strategy.
Active traders and decentralized apps benefit from cheaper, faster transactions and deeper liquidity on Solana’s markets. Institutional players and public companies that are building Solana treasuries or waiting on spot SOL ETFs (e.g., Fidelity, VanEck, Grayscale) could increase allocations if approvals come through. Validators, DeFi projects, and SOL holders would see more fee revenue and network activity, while competing blockchains may face pressure in fee-sensitive use cases.
Why does this matter? Strong revenue and institutional interest could shift market flows and spark broader adoption.
With nearly $4 billion in SOL held by corporate treasuries and ETF applications pending, approval or continued institutional adoption would likely drive significant capital into Solana and lift demand for SOL. That would accelerate tokenization, stablecoin activity, and on-chain trading on Solana, changing where market infrastructure and liquidity congregate. The result could be upward pressure on SOL prices, intensified competition among blockchains, and a reallocation of products and services by exchanges and asset managers.