Solana extended its month-long rally on Friday, climbing 6.4% to $284.12 — a fresh record high — after on-chain decentralized-exchange volume on the network surpassed Ethereum mainnet for the first time. Jupiter, the leading aggregator on Solana, and the Raydium and Orca constant-product pools collectively processed $14.2 billion in 24-hour trading volume, edging out Ethereum mainnet's $13.8 billion.
The flippening, while limited to a single trading day, marks a symbolic milestone for the high-throughput Layer-1 network that has rebuilt credibility since the FTX-related collapse of 2022. Solana's total value locked has risen to $14.8 billion according to DeFiLlama, up from $1.2 billion at the post-FTX low, and now ranks third among all blockchains behind Ethereum ($82 billion) and Tron ($28 billion).
Memecoin Engine Persists
Memecoin trading remains the dominant volume driver on Solana, with platforms including Pump.fun and the newer LetsBonk launchpad collectively generating roughly 38% of network DEX flows. Pump.fun's native token PUMP surged 22% on the day after the protocol disclosed cumulative tokens launched on its platform crossed 12 million, with $14.6 billion in lifetime trading volume.
Beyond memecoins, institutional adoption continues to broaden. BlackRock launched a Solana-based version of its BUIDL tokenized money-market fund earlier this month, while Visa expanded USDC settlement on Solana to include 28 additional issuer banks. The total stablecoin supply on Solana has reached $11.4 billion, more than tripling from $3.6 billion a year ago.
ETF Approval Imminent
Spot Solana ETF approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is widely expected on or before May 7, with the SEC having recently amended the proposed rule changes to permit in-kind creations and redemptions. VanEck, 21Shares, Bitwise, Grayscale, and Franklin Templeton have all filed S-1 amendments and are expected to launch products simultaneously upon approval.
Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick raised his year-end Solana target to $375, citing ETF approval, the upcoming Firedancer validator client deployment, and the continued strength of memecoin and DePIN ecosystems. Bears continue to flag concentration risks among validators and the network's lower decentralization metrics relative to Ethereum.