A recent report by 21Shares has highlighted Solana (SOL) as the fastest-growing Layer 1 blockchain in 2025, surpassing Ethereum (ETH) in developer growth. Solana has made significant strides in DeFi, payments, and AI, processing $364 billion in volume in the first two months of the year alone, surpassing Ethereum and Coinbase. The network now boasts over 100 million monthly active users, with average fees under $0.01 and sub-second transaction finality driving adoption from both retail and institutional users.
Major companies like Visa, Shopify, and Stripe are settling stablecoin payments on Solana, with PayPal and First Digital holding over $100 million in Solana-native assets. The stablecoin supply on the network has seen a 600% year-over-year increase, surpassing $12 billion by the end of the first quarter.
DeFi, memecoins, and AI on Solana
Solana’s DeFi ecosystem has reached $8 billion in total value locked, accounting for 16% of Ethereum’s market share. The network hosts three of the top 10 DEXs by volume and ranks third globally in stablecoin market cap.
Memecoins have also played a significant role in Solana’s growth, contributing more than half of on-chain volume. The launch of the Official TRUMP token led to $30 billion in trades over 48 hours, showcasing the network’s high throughput capabilities.
Aside from DeFi and memecoins, Solana is expanding into infrastructure and AI. The network leads in DePIN market cap, supporting projects like Helium, Hivemapper, and Render Network. Moreover, Solana dominates the crypto-AI space, with 66% of AI agent activity and increasing adoption of tools like ElizaOS and Arc.
Potential for significant growth
While there are concerns around validator centralization and speculative activity, the report suggests that Solana is undervalued. Valuation models project SOL’s fair value between $520 and $1,800, far above its current price of around $150. If Solana captures half of Ethereum’s market cap, it could see further growth in payments, AI, and institutional adoption.
The report concludes that Solana is well-positioned as the primary Layer 1 competitor and the foundation of next-generation blockchain infrastructure.
Solana Market Data
As of 7:40 pm UTC on May 13, 2025, Solana is ranked #6 by market cap, with the price up 4.65% in the past 24 hours. Solana has a market capitalization of $92.81 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of $4.52 billion.
Crypto Market Summary
At the same time, the total crypto market is valued at $3.37 trillion, with a 24-hour volume of $143.68 billion and Bitcoin dominance at 61.39%.
