Solana has surpassed Ethereum in total transaction fees and maximum extractable value (MEV) tips for the first time in a weekly timeframe since its launch.
According to data from Blockworks Research, Solana generated approximately $25 million in revenue during the week of July 22, surpassing Ethereum’s $21 million.
Solana’s Milestones
Dan Smith, a Blockworks analyst, noted this achievement on X, highlighting that Solana has, for the first time, surpassed Ethereum in total transaction fees and MEV tips on a weekly basis by reaching $25 million compared to ETH’s $21 million. He emphasized that Solana validators and stakers are benefiting significantly during this cycle.
On July 28, the network also achieved another record, generating $5.5 million in daily revenue, the highest in three months. Smith elaborated that this data includes all forms of revenue for Solana validators, such as tips and MEV.
According to Blockworks Research data, 58% of the fee revenue came from MEV tips, while 37% was derived from priority transaction fees. Dan added that most of the activity driving this revenue came from spot decentralized exchange (DEX) trading.
This milestone was further emphasized by Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Helius Labs, who remarked in an X post, “Solana just generated more revenue than Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Base combined. Good day to be staking with Solana validators. Accelerate.”
Responding to this, Dan added that this revenue was solely from transaction fees, excluding tips.
Meanwhile, according to DefiLlama data, the total value locked (TVL) on Solana has soared to around $5.5 billion, an increase of more than threefold since the start of 2024. However, Ethereum remains the undisputed leader in TVL, holding almost $60 billion and hosting the largest number of protocols at 1,135.
Solana’s Revenue Boosted By Meme Coin Frenzy
The rise in Solana’s revenue can be attributed to increased activity on its network, particularly through meme coin trading platforms like Pump.fun and Moonshot. These platforms started a meme coin trading frenzy, considerably boosting Solana’s market presence.
The trend, which began with tokens such as Bonk, has since evolved into a culture of meme coins named after public figures and celebrities. However, despite the initial hype, many of these tokens quickly lost much of their value shortly after launch, with celebrities also abandoning their projects.
Cryptocurrency analyst Slorg noted in a thread on X that even the “best performing” celebrity meme coins are down more than 70%, with exactly half down over 99% and seven others down more than 90% within a month of their launch.