Ethereum (ETH) is once again the most-used blockchain for decentralized exchanges (DEXs), overtaking Solana (SOL) for the first time in six months.
Ethereum Takes the Lead in Trading
According to DefiLlama, Ethereum-based DEXs recorded $63 billion in trading volume in March 2025, while Solana saw $51 billion during the same time.
For months, Solana was ahead, mainly because of its lower transaction costs and faster processing speed. Big investment firms like Franklin Templeton even predicted that Solana’s DeFi (decentralized finance) market could challenge Ethereum’s dominance.
But now, things are changing.
What’s Happening to Solana?
Solana’s trading volume is dropping, and the main reason is less activity on key platforms like Raydium and Pump.fun.
- Pump.fun, once a big name, saw its monthly trading volume crash from $7.75 billion in January to $2.53 billion in March, a 67% decline.
- Data from Dune Analytics shows that fewer new tokens are reaching the $100,000 market cap needed to move from Pump.fun to Raydium. This means less trading is happening overall in Solana’s ecosystem.
Why is Ethereum Staying Strong?
Unlike Solana, Ethereum is holding steady, mostly thanks to its top decentralized exchanges, like Uniswap and Curve Finance.
- Uniswap alone handled over $30 billion in trades last month, making up almost half of Ethereum’s total DEX activity.
- Even though Ethereum’s transaction fees are higher, it still attracts big-money investors and traders who trust the network.
Can Solana Catch Up?
Even though Solana is still in the game, analysts say it has more work to do before it can truly compete with Ethereum.
Ethereum’s dominance might increase even further in the next few months with upcoming network improvements. One of them is the Pectra upgrade, which is already being tested. Once fully launched, it will help reduce costs and speed up transactions, making Ethereum even more attractive.
At the same time, investors are showing more confidence in Ethereum. On Monday, Ethereum ETFs (exchange-traded funds) saw positive investments, while Bitcoin ETFs experienced withdrawals. This shift shows that more people see Ethereum as a stronger long-term option.
With all these developments, Ethereum looks set to stay ahead in the DEX market for now.
