Solana Q2 Ecosystem Report: on-chain Decentralized Finance TVL rose 30% against the trend to reach 8.6 billion USD, with stablecoin and NFT volume under pressure.

Messari's latest report shows that the Solana (SOL) ecosystem achieved a key breakthrough in the second quarter of 2025: the total value locked (TVL) in on-chain DeFi increased by 30.4% to $8.6 billion, firmly ranking second across the network. The liquidity staking rate rose to 12.2%, with staked SOL accounting for 64.8% of the circulating supply, reaching a new high for the ecosystem. However, there is significant differentiation within the ecosystem: the daily trading volume of DEX Spot plummeted by 45.4% to $2.5 billion, the total market capitalization of stablecoins shrank by 17.4% to $10.3 billion, and the daily trading volume of NFTs halved to $979,500. The circulating market capitalization of SOL increased by 29.8% to $82.8 billion, with the current price reported at $184.5 (down 40% from its historical peak).

DeFi TVL rises against the trend, staking ecosystem flourishes

According to Messari data, the total value locked (TVL) in Solana's on-chain DeFi grew strongly by 30.4% quarter-on-quarter in Q2, reaching $8.6 billion, further consolidating its position as the second largest DeFi ecosystem in the network. This growth is partly attributed to the initial liquidity injection brought by the official launch of the TRUMP token on January 17, with its high liquidity trading pairs primarily built on Circle's USDC stablecoin. The staking ecosystem has performed remarkably: the liquid staking rate increased by 16.8% month-on-month to 12.2%, driving the on-chain staking value of SOL to rise by 25.2% to $60 billion. Currently, 64.8% of the circulating supply of SOL is staked, creating on-chain yield opportunities for holders while also solidifying the infrastructure of the DeFi ecosystem.

DEX and stablecoin trading cool down, NFT market royalty advantages stand out

Q2 trading activities within the ecosystem have significantly cooled down:

• The average daily trading volume of DEX Spot has plummeted by 45.4% to $2.5 billion, mainly due to the cooling off of the meme coin craze;
• The total market capitalization of stablecoins shrank by 17.4% to $10.3 billion (still ranking third in the network), with the market capitalization of USDC dropping to $7.2 billion (a 25.2% decrease month-on-month, with a market share of 69.5%), while USDT maintained a scale of $2.3 billion;
• The average daily trading volume of NFTs has fallen by 46.4% to approximately $979,500. Despite the decline in volume, Messari points out that the market capitalization of stablecoins is still significantly higher than the levels at the beginning of the year, indicating that new capital has not been withdrawn on a large scale from the Solana ecosystem. At the same time, Solana NFTs continue to lead the industry in on-chain royalty protection mechanisms (Creator Royalties).

Network efficiency optimization, SOL market capitalization ranks sixth in the world

The basic network metrics remain robust:

• The daily average number of on-chain fee payment addresses slightly decreased by 1.4% to 3.9 million;
• Non-vote on-chain transaction volume rose by 4% month-on-month to 99.1 million transactions;
• Thanks to scaling optimizations, the average transaction fee has significantly decreased by 59.6% to $0.01. The circulating market capitalization of SOL rose by 29.8% in Q2 to $82.8 billion, ranking sixth among global cryptocurrencies (behind BTC, ETH, USDT, XRP, etc.). The current price of SOL is $184.5, down nearly 40% from this year's historical high of $293. At the end of Q2, the total staking value across the chain reached $60 billion (down from the peak of $10.2 billion on January 18).

Conclusion

The Solana ecosystem in Q2 shows a structural adjustment characterized by "strengthening infrastructure and cooling trading activities". The growth of DeFi TVL and stake size verifies its underlying value as a high-performance public chain, while the contraction in DEX, stablecoin, and NFT trading volumes reflects a temporary shrinkage in market risk appetite. With average Gas fees dropping to $0.01 and non-voting trading volumes increasing, the network's efficiency advantages continue to solidify. If the ecosystem can accelerate the introduction of Real Yield protocols based on a high loan-to-value foundation, it may capture recovery dividends first when the market warms up.