When the Crypto market gives in to spectacular excitement and narratives, fundamental signals are drowned in noise. However, it is precisely in these disconnection phases between valuation and on-chain data that real dynamics take shape. Solana embodies this paradox today. Carried by metrics in clear progression, but underestimated by the market, the blockchain offers a very real potential that can seem to want to face.
An on-chain performance that defies the market trend
While the price of the soil fell 9 % between March 28 and April 4, the on-chain indicators of the Solana blockchain displayed a positive dynamic on the contrary. Deposits in decentralized ecosystem applications reached 53.8 million soil on April 2, a record since June 2022, a monthly increase of 14 %.
Converted into dollars, this represents 6.5 billion, or 780 million more than BNB Chain, the main competitor of Solana in this segment. A progression that consolidates Solana's position as the second ecosystem defined behind Ethereum, despite a less favorable global context.
Several elements support this remarkable performance:
- Jito, the liquid storage protocol, is among the main platforms in terms of TVL on Solana.
- Jupiter, which has become the flagship DEX of the ecosystem, continues to attract large volumes of exchange.
- Kamino, focused on loans and liquidity management, completes this trio of dominant Dapps.
- Solana is now capturing 24 % of DEX market share, compared to 12 % for BNB Chain and 10 % for base, according to Defillama data.
- Even after the bursting of the same bubble, volumes on the Dex remain solid, which demonstrates a sustained activity on the basic layer of the network.
This growth in registered value and in transactional activity reinforces the idea that Solana evolves today in a structural logic, carried by its infrastructure and no longer only by speculative effects.
Underlying tensions
In parallel with these encouraging technical indicators, several elements came to weaken the price of the soil on the secondary market. First, on April 4, there was the release of 1.79 million soil tokens, an estimated value of more than $ 200 million.
These tokens, initially staked in April 2021 while the soil was worth around 23 dollars, were potentially sold to profit, which generated significant selling pressure. In addition, the Solana ecosystem suffers from the current disaffection for the same, which had largely contributed to adoption in recent months.
Tokens such as WIF, Pengu, Popcat, Bome or AI16Z saw their value fall by more than 20 % in seven days, which dried up part of the speculative volume.
However, beyond the short-term vision of the Crypto markets, it is the very governance of the network that triggers questions. Recent criticisms have informed about the maximum extractable Value (MEV) on Solana, a phenomenon where certain validators reordinate transactions to maximize their profits.
If this practice is not specific to Solana, it causes increasing controversy as to the transparency of the network. CBB0FE, a Defi liquidity supplier, has thus expressed On February 18, 2025 on the X platform (ex Twitter) its concerns about the presence of “gatekeepingIn the validation of the blocks.
In addition, some actors in the crypto ecosystem, like Loring Harkness (contributor to the Network Shutter), offer solutions such as transaction encryption before entering Mempool, in order to reduce these opportunistic practices.
In the longer term, these debates relate to the economic balance of the network. Voices are raised to revise soil emission awards, because revenues from the MEV are enough to encourage validators. If this debate remains technical, its implications are deep. They condition the security of the network, but also its perception by investors. From this perspective, even if Solana's fundamentals improve, a return to summits will require a closer alignment between technological performance, transparency of practices and confidence on the crypto market.
Maximize your Cointribne experience with our 'Read to Earn' program! For each article you read, earn points and access exclusive rewards. Sign up now and start accumulating advantages.
