Solana’s explosive growth continues to make headlines as the blockchain network reports $2.85 billion in annual revenue, outpacing Ethereum’s early performance and strengthening its position in decentralized finance, AI, and trading sectors. A new 21Shares report highlights that institutional adoption and expanding ecosystem activity have propelled Solana into a dominant position in Web3 innovation.

Solana Posts $2.85 Billion in Annual Revenue

According to the 21Shares report, Solana’s ecosystem generated $2.85 billion between October 2024 and September 2025, averaging around $240 million in monthly revenue. The network saw its peak performance in January 2025, when activity surged during a trading boom led by popular tokens such as Official Trump (TRUMP).

Even after that wave cooled, Solana maintained steady monthly revenue in the $150–$250 million range, showcasing consistent demand across its ecosystem.

The report attributes most of this revenue to transaction fees collected by Solana validators. These fees are distributed across a wide range of applications, including DeFi platforms, decentralized exchanges (DEXs), AI-powered apps, trading tools, DePIN, and launchpads.

Trading Platforms Lead Revenue Growth

Trading platforms have emerged as Solana’s primary revenue driver, contributing 39% of total income, or roughly $1.12 billion. Leading decentralized apps such as Photon and Axiom have played a major role in attracting active traders and institutional participants to the network.

Solana’s fast transaction speeds and extremely low fees — often just fractions of a cent — have also helped it capture high-frequency trading and automated market-making (AMM) activity from Ethereum-based platforms.

This efficiency has translated into widespread adoption, with 1.2 to 1.5 million daily active addresses on Solana — approximately three times more than Ethereum’s count at a similar stage in its development.

Outpacing Ethereum’s Early Growth

The 21Shares report underscores that Solana’s growth trajectory far exceeds Ethereum’s early years. Roughly five years after Ethereum’s launch, the network was generating less than $10 million in monthly revenue, compared to Solana’s $240 million average today.

This gap highlights the pace of innovation and the broader maturity of today’s blockchain landscape, where institutional engagement and developer activity have accelerated dramatically. Solana’s combination of speed, scalability, and low transaction costs has allowed it to scale faster than Ethereum did during its formative years.

Institutional Adoption and Solana Treasuries

Institutional involvement has played a critical role in Solana’s rise. Several companies have rebranded themselves as Solana treasury companies, collectively holding nearly $4 billion worth of SOL on their balance sheets.

According to data from StrategicSolanaReserve.org, there are currently 18 tracked entities holding a combined 17.8 million SOL tokens. The largest holders include:

• Forward Industries with 6.82 million SOL

• Sharps Technology with 2.14 million SOL

• Solmate (formerly Brera Holdings) following its $300 million PIPE raise in September

These companies are positioning themselves to capitalize on Solana’s role as a core infrastructure layer for next-generation digital finance.

Solana ETFs Await Regulatory Approval

Momentum is also building around the approval of Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States. Applications from Fidelity, VanEck, Grayscale, Canary, and Franklin Templeton are currently awaiting decisions from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Additional filings from 21Shares and Bitwise are set for review on October 16, though a temporary U.S. government shutdown may delay the decision timeline. Analysts believe that once the government reopens, Solana ETFs are likely to be approved — potentially marking a major step toward mainstream institutional adoption.

The Broader Picture: Solana’s Expanding Ecosystem

Since its inception, Solana has transitioned from a high-speed blockchain to a multi-sector ecosystem, powering everything from AI-driven applications to decentralized finance and tokenized assets.

Its performance-driven design has enabled the network to support tens of millions of daily transactions, positioning it as a serious competitor to Ethereum in both throughput and developer engagement.

The combination of robust validator incentives, growing institutional participation, and ETP exposure via 21Shares paints a bullish picture for Solana’s next phase of growth. As more enterprises and financial firms integrate Solana into their operations, the network appears poised to play a leading role in shaping the next generation of blockchain-based finance.