In recent months, Solana (SOL) has emerged as one of the most dynamic blockchains in the crypto ecosystem. With a surge in Meme coin listings on major exchanges like Binance—including Goat, Pnut, and Act—the Solana network has experienced a significant uptick in user activity and transaction volume. According to Blockworks Research, since October 19, 2024, Solana’s daily on-chain fee revenue has consistently exceeded that of Ethereum. On October 24 alone, Solana generated over $10 million in daily income—an impressive milestone signaling growing network demand.
While Ethereum remains a dominant force in decentralized applications and smart contracts, Solana’s performance highlights its rising competitiveness. But what’s driving this surge? Is it sustainable? And could Solana truly challenge Ethereum’s long-standing position?
🔍 Understanding Solana’s On-Chain Revenue Structure
Like Ethereum, Solana generates income through multiple streams: base transaction fees, priority fees, MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) tips, and validator voting fees. However, there are key differences in how these revenues are distributed.
Solana implements a partial fee-burning mechanism—initially set at 50%—where half of the base transaction fee is burned, and the remainder goes to validators. This mirrors Ethereum’s EIP-1559 model but with a crucial distinction: Solana does not burn all base fees, allowing validators to retain more rewards and maintain network incentives.
The four main components of Solana’s on-chain income include:
- Base Transaction Fees
- Priority Fees (paid to speed up transactions)
- MEV Tips (e.g., via Jito)
- Voting Fees (for network security)
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Among these, priority fees and MEV tips have seen explosive growth since early 2024. This surge reflects increasing network congestion and heightened DeFi activity—users are willing to pay more for faster execution, especially during high-volatility Meme coin launches.
📈 What’s Driving the Surge? The Meme Coin Effect
A closer look at Solana’s transaction composition reveals a clear trend: Meme coins now dominate trading volume. Data shows that Meme-related transactions—primarily facilitated through platforms like Pump.fun—have surged from 48% to 74% of total activity over the past two months. That’s a staggering 667% increase in Meme trading volume.
While other categories such as project tokens, liquid staking tokens (LSTs), stablecoins, and SOL itself have also grown significantly, their relative share has shrunk due to the sheer scale of Meme-driven demand.
This frenzy isn’t just speculative—it directly impacts network economics. In fast-moving Meme markets, "time is money", prompting traders to pay higher priority fees to front-run pumps or avoid slippage. Increased transaction volume also creates more MEV opportunities, which validators and bots capture through optimized trade sequencing.
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🚀 Top Active dApps Powering the Solana Ecosystem
Despite the Meme-centric narrative, several robust decentralized applications (dApps) are expanding Solana’s utility beyond speculation.
1. Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs)
With Meme trading at an all-time high, DEXs are naturally the most active dApps on Solana.
- Raydium leads the pack, capturing 63.5% of Solana’s DEX trading volume, largely due to its integration with new Meme launches.
- Once dominant, Orca has seen its market share drop from over 60% to around 15%, squeezed by newer, faster platforms.
- Pump.fun, though primarily a Meme launchpad, now accounts for nearly 5% of trading volume, with growing traction.
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2. Aggregators & Trading Bots
Beyond standalone DEXs, aggregators and automated trading bots play a crucial role in optimizing trades and capturing arbitrage.
Jupiter, Solana’s largest DEX aggregator, boasts a TVL exceeding $1.57 billion. Recent developments include:
- Extension of its Active Stake Rewards (ASR) program with 230 million unclaimed JUP tokens allocated for funding.
- Launch of a mobile app supporting Apple Pay and credit card deposits—effectively creating a new fiat on-ramp.
- Introduction of “Ape Pro,” a Meme coin trading terminal focused on MEV protection and sandwich attack mitigation.
Meanwhile, trading bots now account for over 10% of Solana’s total transactions. The top earners—Photon, Trojan, BONKbot, and Banana Gun—highlight the profitability of algorithmic trading on Solana. Notably, Photon earned $29.85 million in 30 days, ranking second only to the Solana protocol itself in revenue generation.
3. Yield & Lending Platforms
As SOL’s price rises, so does demand for yield-generating protocols:
✅ Jito – Leading Liquid Staking Platform
Jito dominates with over $3 billion in TVL, making it the largest dApp on Solana. It allows users to stake SOL or LSTs while earning additional yield from MEV extraction—a unique advantage over traditional staking services.
With re-staking deposits hitting their $25 million cap, Jito plans to raise limits in its next phase to meet growing demand.
✅ Kamino – All-in-One DeFi Hub
Kamino offers leveraged yield strategies, lending, and liquidity provision with $2 billion in TVL. Its upcoming Lend V2 upgrade will introduce:
- Permissionless lending markets
- Automated single-asset vaults
- Cross-market liquidity aggregation
These features aim to position Kamino as a foundational layer for Solana’s financial infrastructure.
✅ Marinade – Institutional-Focused Staking
Though trailing Jito in yield performance, Marinade has grown its TVL by nearly 50% in recent weeks by targeting institutional clients with enterprise-grade staking solutions.
🧩 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Why are Solana’s fees higher than Ethereum’s right now?
A: Due to a surge in Meme coin trading and network congestion, users are paying higher priority fees for faster transaction confirmation. This short-term spike doesn’t necessarily reflect long-term scalability but indicates strong user engagement.
Q: Are Meme coins sustainable for Solana’s ecosystem growth?
A: While Meme coins drive traffic and revenue, they’re inherently speculative. Long-term sustainability depends on building durable use cases like DeFi, NFTs, and real-world asset tokenization.
Q: How does Jito generate extra yield for stakers?
A: Jito captures MEV by optimizing transaction order within blocks and redistributes those profits to stakers—boosting returns beyond standard staking rewards.
Q: Can Solana overtake Ethereum in total value locked (TVL)?
A: Currently, Ethereum holds significantly more TVL. However, if Solana continues attracting developers and expanding its DeFi ecosystem, it could close the gap over time.
Q: What risks does Solana face if Meme activity slows down?
A: A decline in speculative trading could reduce fee income and user activity. To mitigate this, Solana must strengthen fundamentals—developer tools, institutional adoption, and non-speculative dApps.
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🔮 Final Thoughts: Beyond the Hype
There’s no denying that Meme coins have ignited Solana’s current momentum. The chain’s ability to process thousands of transactions per second at low cost makes it ideal for high-frequency trading environments.
However, history reminds us that speculative cycles eventually cool down—just as NFT mania faded after its peak. For Solana to cement itself as a long-term leader, it must convert this burst of attention into lasting infrastructure.
Efforts by projects like Jito, Kamino, and Jupiter show promising steps toward a diversified and resilient ecosystem. If developer activity keeps pace with user growth, Solana may not just rival Ethereum—it could redefine what a high-performance blockchain can achieve.
The question isn’t whether SOL can surpass ETH tomorrow, but whether it can build something enduring when the hype fades.
What do you think about Solana’s current trajectory? Is it more than just a Meme coin playground? Share your thoughts.