Solana DEX Volume Surges Before Returning to 2024 Levels

Solana DEX Volume Peaks in Q2, Driven by Memecoins

Solana's decentralized exchange (DEX) volume exploded during Q2, reaching levels far higher than those seen in early 2024. By June, much of the volume was driven by memecoins, with these digital assets accounting for a staggering 75% of weekly trading volume. This intense activity contributed to the market share of Raydium, one of the major DEX platforms on Solana, growing to 60% of total volume. However, since this peak, the overall DEX volume has cooled off, returning to levels last witnessed in January and February.

Solana memecoin DEX volume - Blockworks

PumpFun Memecoins Lag Behind Non-PumpFun in Volume

One of the more surprising findings from Solana’s Q2 activity was the comparative performance of memecoins launched through PumpFun. Memecoins not launched on PumpFun consistently posted roughly double the trading volume of those that were. Despite PumpFun's introduction, it did not seem to stifle overall market enthusiasm for other memecoins. In fact, the combined memecoin volume increased when PumpFun initially launched, challenging the assumption that PumpFun would capture most of the new trading activity.

Shifting Memecoin Activity Defies Expectations

You might expect the ratio of non-PumpFun to PumpFun memecoins to remain steady if the volume was merely shifting from old to new memecoins. Yet, this wasn’t the case. The data shows that activity tends to breed more activity—indicating that Solana’s vibrant memecoin market may have triggered a broader trading surge across various coins, rather than simply reallocating existing interest.

Be Wary of Misleading Metrics: 80% of Active Addresses Trade Less Than $10

While the Solana ecosystem continues to grow, a closer look at the volume segmentation by active addresses reveals an important insight. Over 80% of active addresses on Solana’s DEX platforms trade less than $10 in lifetime volume. This suggests that active address metrics can be misleading when evaluating the health of a platform. It’s a reminder to always dive deeper into the data and not to rely solely on surface-level metrics.

Orderbook Trading Represents 15% of Daily Volume, Phoenix Dominates in Stablecoin Trades

Approximately 15% of Solana’s daily trading volume occurs via orderbooks rather than automated market makers (AMMs). This is true not only for memecoins but also for high-profile trading pairs like SOL-USD. Phoenix, the largest on-chain orderbook in the Solana ecosystem, continues to perform exceedingly well, particularly in stablecoin-to-stablecoin swaps. This robust performance solidifies Phoenix’s position as a key player in Solana's on-chain trading ecosystem, especially in markets that require deep liquidity and precision trading.