In a significant shift within the decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape, Solana (SOL) has once again outpaced Ethereum (ETH)—this time in 24-hour trading volume across decentralized exchanges (DEXs). According to data from DeFiLlama, Solana-based DEXs collectively reached an impressive $62.4 billion in daily volume, far exceeding Ethereum’s $8.5 billion during the same period.
This surge highlights not only the growing adoption of Solana’s high-speed, low-cost blockchain but also the rising dominance of its native decentralized exchange ecosystem. At the forefront of this movement is Raydium, Solana’s leading automated market maker (AMM), which alone accounted for $42 billion in trading volume—nearly five times that of Ethereum’s top DEX, **Uniswap**, which reported $15.2 billion.
The Rise of Solana’s DEX Ecosystem
Solana’s performance isn’t being driven by a single platform. A wave of efficient, user-friendly DEXs has emerged on the network, creating a robust and competitive DeFi environment. Alongside Raydium, platforms like Orca and Aerodrome Finance have secured top-five positions globally, recording daily volumes of $10.7 billion and $7.12 billion respectively.
What’s particularly notable is that five Solana-based DEXs now consistently surpass $1 billion in daily trading volume—a clear indicator of strong user engagement and liquidity depth. This level of activity reflects a maturing ecosystem where traders and liquidity providers are increasingly favoring speed, cost-efficiency, and seamless execution.
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Layer-1 vs. Layer-1: Solana vs. Ethereum
While Ethereum remains the dominant force in total value locked (TVL) and smart contract innovation, Solana is proving to be a formidable competitor in real-world usage metrics—especially when it comes to transaction throughput and trader activity.
Notably, Solana has now surpassed Ethereum in weekly DEX trading volume across all layer-1 and layer-2 networks, marking a pivotal moment in the ongoing blockchain scalability debate. This achievement underscores Solana’s ability to handle high-frequency trading and mass-market applications without congestion or exorbitant fees—issues that continue to plague even Ethereum’s layer-2 solutions at peak times.
Market Momentum: Solana Joins the $100B Club
The surge in trading volume coincides with Solana rejoining the elite $100 billion market capitalization club**. After an 18% price rally the previous week, SOL’s market cap peaked at **$116 billion, reflecting renewed investor confidence.
As of November 19, SOL was trading at $243.20**, down slightly by 0.13% over 24 hours. However, its trading volume increased to **$78.1 billion, while market capitalization settled at $115.03 billion**. In contrast, Ethereum traded at **$3,105, down 0.04%, with a market cap of $374.07 billion—still significantly higher than Solana’s but growing at a slower pace.
Despite ETH’s larger overall valuation, Solana’s momentum suggests a shift in user preference toward blockchains that prioritize real-world utility and user experience over pure infrastructure development.
Why Solana Is Winning on User Experience
According to prominent crypto educator Cygaar, Solana’s success stems from its focus on building applications people actually want to use.
“Solana is winning because it focuses on user experience and dApps that solve real problems. Ethereum, on the other hand, spends too much time on infrastructure that average users don’t care about—they just want apps that work fast and cheap.”
This sentiment resonates with retail traders and DeFi users who prioritize speed, low fees, and intuitive interfaces. While Ethereum continues to invest heavily in scalability upgrades like rollups and sharding, many users are voting with their activity—choosing networks where transactions settle in milliseconds for fractions of a cent.
Solana’s architecture enables this performance natively, making it ideal for high-frequency trading, NFT mints, and real-time financial applications—use cases where delays or high gas costs can break the user experience.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Did Solana really surpass Ethereum in daily DEX trading volume?
A: Yes. According to DeFiLlama data from mid-November, Solana-based DEXs recorded $62.4 billion in 24-hour volume, significantly higher than Ethereum’s $8.5 billion across its decentralized exchanges.
Q: Why is Raydium outperforming Uniswap in trading volume?
A: Raydium benefits from Solana’s ultra-fast transaction speeds and near-zero fees, attracting high-frequency traders and arbitrageurs. Combined with strong incentives and deep liquidity pools, this creates a more dynamic trading environment compared to Uniswap’s higher-cost Ethereum base layer.
Q: Is Solana faster than Ethereum?
A: Yes. Solana processes transactions in under a second with minimal fees, while Ethereum averages 12–14 seconds per block and can experience high gas fees during peak times—even with layer-2 solutions.
Q: What factors contributed to Solana’s market cap reaching $116 billion?
A: A combination of surging DEX volumes, increased NFT activity, new project launches on the network, and broader market optimism fueled SOL’s 18% price increase leading up to November 17.
Q: Are more developers building on Solana than Ethereum now?
A: Not yet. Ethereum still leads in total developer activity and protocol diversity. However, Solana is seeing rapid growth in developer interest due to its performance advantages and improved tooling.
Q: Can Solana sustain this momentum long-term?
A: Sustaining growth will depend on continued network stability, security, and ecosystem innovation. If Solana maintains uptime and attracts more institutional-grade applications, it could solidify its position as a top-tier smart contract platform.
👉 See how leading blockchains are competing for dominance in speed, cost, and adoption.
Final Thoughts
Solana’s recent outperformance against Ethereum in daily DEX volume marks more than just a statistical milestone—it signals a broader trend toward user-centric blockchain design. While Ethereum remains foundational to DeFi’s evolution, networks like Solana are capturing attention by delivering what traders value most: speed, affordability, and reliability.
As the crypto ecosystem matures, the competition between layer-1 blockchains will increasingly hinge not just on technology, but on real-world usage patterns. For now, Solana is winning that battle—one fast trade at a time.