A Critical Examination of Solana's Economic Activity and Growth Trends

Solana has experienced significant economic contraction, with active addresses plummeting by 30% and operational efficiency declining over 40% in Q3. However, the stablecoin sector exhibited remarkable growth during this period.

Solana’s Network Health in Q3

Recent findings from The DeFi Report Q3 2025 indicate declining economic activity on the Solana network, marking a second consecutive quarter of downturns. The Real Economic Value (REV) fell 18% quarter-over-quarter to $222.7 million. Meanwhile, the Real Onchain Yield suffered a 48% decrease, settling at 0.47%. The average on-chain yield has dropped to 7.08% APY, representing a 10.8% decline from the prior quarter.

Despite reduced user monetization, staking rewards saw consistent support from SOL issuance, which constituted 93% of total returns during Q3.

Mixed results were reported across various network fundamentals: while total SOL staked increased by 3.13% and the total value locked (TVL) rose by 33% to $11.5 billion, the Solana network’s GDP decreased by 6.8% to $909 million. Additionally, active addresses dropped sharply by 30%, with DeFi Velocity having a downturn of 18%. This downturn reflects a slower turnover rate on-chain, with the production cost for $1 of real economic value escalating by 41% to $5.74, highlighting a decrease in operational efficiency.

Resilience in Stablecoin Activity

One of the few positive aspects in Q3 has been stablecoin activity. Founder of The DeFi Report, Michael Nadeau, reported that despite some doubts, the total supply of stablecoins on Solana surged by 37% to $14.6 billion, primarily driven by USDC, which grew by 39.6%, now constituting 69% of all stablecoins on the network. The average daily stablecoin transfer volume surged 50% to $752 million, indicating healthier transactional patterns compared to earlier.

DeFi activities showcased mixed trends: although decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes increased by 7.2% to $3.97 billion daily, trading platform revenues dipped by 5% to $214 million, and new token launches fell by 19%. Private automated market makers (AMMs) contributed significantly to this growth, with transaction volumes climbing by 69%, representing 37% of overall DEX trading.

Future Prospects

From a tokenomics point of view, there was a 2.98% decrease in SOL issuance, while burned SOL numbers fell by 9%, leading to a 1.74% increase in circulating supply, reflecting a 4.8% annualized net dilution rate. Despite these market cap gains and increased stablecoin adoption, Solana continues to face challenges with monetization amid contracting on-chain activity and deteriorating efficiency.

A Glimpse of Growth

Despite current struggles displayed across numerous metrics, Solana has made remarkable strides beyond Ethereum’s early growth trajectory, positioning itself as one of the fastest scaling revenue engines in blockchain history. According to 21Shares, Solana generated a staggering $2.85 billion in revenue between October 2024 and September 2025, over 50 times Ethereum’s earnings at a similar juncture.