Solana DEX Trading Volume Surpasses Ethereum
Token trading on Solana decentralized exchanges briefly surpassed that of Ethereum exchanges in December due to meme coin mania, and now it has happened again, this time due to an upcoming token airdrop.
Trading Volume Comparison
According to data from DeFi Llama, as of Sunday night, the rolling 24-hour trading volume on Solana-based decentralized exchanges exceeded that of Ethereum exchanges, with about $705 million on Solana compared to $698 million on Ethereum. However, as of now, Ethereum has regained its position at the top.
Ethereum remains ahead in terms of seven-day volume, with $8.9 billion compared to less than $4.5 billion for Solana.
Increasing Pressure on Ethereum
The recent reversals indicate that Ethereum is facing growing competition from Solana. Solana offers cheaper and faster transactions, which was evident in December during the spike in DEX volume caused by trading on Solana meme coins like BONK and Dogwifhat (WIF).
JUP Token Launch Impact
The current shift in trading volume can be attributed to the impending launch of JUP, the official token of the popular Solana decentralized exchange aggregator Jupiter. The launch is set for Wednesday, and nearly a million wallets are eligible to claim JUP tokens.
Jupiter vs. Uniswap V3
According to CoinGecko data, Solana trading volume on Jupiter surpassed that of leading Ethereum DEX Uniswap V3 late Sunday. However, as of Monday morning, the positions have already swapped.
Uniswap V3 has over $629 million worth of trading volume in the past 24 hours, while Jupiter has about $571 million in DEX trading on Solana during the same period.
Jupiter Airdrop Eligibility
It is uncertain whether recent trading will impact Jupiter airdrop eligibility. The protocol took a snapshot of early users on November 2, and approximately 955,000 wallets are eligible for the upcoming drop, scheduled for Wednesday. Jupiter has additional tokens planned for future airdrops.
Jupiter Launchpad and WEN Airdrop
Jupiter’s launchpad was used for last week’s WEN meme coin drop as a test run before the JUP drop. Over a million wallets were eligible for the WEN airdrop, but the claim period ended on Monday morning, leaving over 280 billion WEN unclaimed.
Hot Take: Solana Poses a Threat to Ethereum’s Dominance
The recent surge in Solana DEX trading volume compared to Ethereum highlights the growing pressure on Ethereum’s dominance in the crypto market. Solana’s cheaper and faster transactions attract traders, especially during meme coin mania and token airdrops. As Solana continues to gain traction and improve its ecosystem, it poses a significant threat to Ethereum’s market position. The competition between these two blockchain networks will likely intensify in the coming months as they vie for dominance in decentralized finance (DeFi) and other crypto sectors.