A report from CoinGecko has examined the performance of Ethereum versus Solana. As we cross the midpoint of 2025, the competition between Solana and Ethereum, two of the most prominent Layer 1 blockchains, continues to captivate the crypto sector.
Both ecosystems have faced significant challenges this year, with double-digit price declines reflecting broader market volatility.
However, a deeper look at their price performance, trading volumes, and ecosystem developments reveals a nuanced battle for dominance, with Solana showing resilience despite Ethereum’s entrenched position.
The first half of 2025 has been tough for both Solana (SOL) and Ethereum (ETH), as macroeconomic uncertainties and risk-off sentiment among investors weighed heavily on crypto markets.
Ethereum saw a steeper decline, dropping 25.0% from $3,336.62 in early January to $2,502.67 by June’s end. Solana, while not immune to the downturn, fared slightly better, declining 19.1% from $189.45 to $153.32 over the same period.
The monthly breakdown paints a vivid picture. Solana kicked off 2025 with a strong 26.2% rally in January, climbing from $189.45 to $231.51, fueled by retail enthusiasm around memecoins like TRUMP and MELANIA, alongside robust decentralized exchange (DEX) activity.
Ethereum, by contrast, saw a modest decline in January, setting the tone for its struggles.
February proved brutal for both, with Solana plummeting 40.6% to $137.61 and Ethereum falling 30.1% to $2,305.32, driven by global economic headwinds and profit-taking after Solana’s January surge.
March continued the bearish trend, with Ethereum dropping another 19.2% to $1,824.20 and Solana declining 15.9% to $124.58 as memecoin hype faded.
However, April marked a turning point for Solana, which rebounded 17.3% to $146.49, driven by renewed interest in its DeFi protocols and NFT infrastructure.
Ethereum, meanwhile, dipped slightly by 1.5% to $1,796.97, hampered by high gas fees and reduced on-chain activity.
May saw Ethereum stage a comeback, surging 40.5% to $2,524.48, buoyed by optimism around upcoming network upgrades and institutional interest.
Solana’s gains were more modest, but its SOL/ETH trading volume ratio rose from 0.069 to a high of 0.0815, signaling capital rotation toward its low-cost, high-throughput ecosystem.
Trading Volume: Solana’s Rising StarBeyond price, trading volume tells a compelling story of Solana’s growing influence.
Solana’s average monthly trading volume in 2025 climbed to $156 billion, a 25.4% increase from $124.4 billion in 2024, outpacing Ethereum’s 9.7% growth from $603.0 billion to $661.8 billion.
The SOL/ETH trading volume ratio, averaging 0.236 in 2025 (up from 0.206 in 2024), peaked at 0.298 in January, driven by memecoin frenzy and platforms like Raydium, which saw a 236% weekly volume spike.
Even as memecoin momentum cooled, Solana maintained a robust 0.219 ratio by June, reflecting sustained liquidity and trader interest.
CoinGecko also mentioned in the report that Solana’s ability to process over 100 million daily transactions and support 500,000 active wallets underscores its high-speed, low-cost appeal.
Protocols like Jupiter and Meteora, with the latter surpassing $750 million in total value locked (TVL) by June, have driven engagement, positioning Solana as a retail favorite.
Ecosystem Dynamics: Solana’s Developer EdgeSolana’s ecosystem has surged, particularly in DeFi, NFTs, and gaming, with over 10,000 active decentralized applications (DApps) by 2025, doubling from 2023.
Its low fees ($0.00025 per transaction vs. Ethereum’s $0.05) and high throughput (4,000+ TPS vs. Ethereum’s 30–50 TPS) have attracted developers, with 7,625 new developers joining in 2024 alone, surpassing Ethereum.
Innovations like the Firedancer update and Solayer’s InfiniSVM enhance scalability and security, while platforms like Magic Eden rival Ethereum’s OpenSea in NFT sales.
Ethereum, however, retains dominance in high-value, security-sensitive use cases like enterprise solutions and institutional DeFi, bolstered by spot ETF approvals and partnerships like Meta’s Diem stablecoin.
Its upcoming upgrades aim to improve validator efficiency, but Layer-2 reliance may dilute its decentralization advantage.
While Ethereum’s larger market cap and institutional backing keep it ahead, Solana’s superior performance in trading volume, developer growth, and retail-driven use cases like memecoins and NFTs make it a formidable challenger.
Posts on social media reflect this sentiment, with some analysts predicting Solana could close the valuation gap with Ethereum, citing its revenue generation and mispriced fundamentals.
Yet, Ethereum’s recovery in May and its entrenched position suggest it’s far from defeated.
CoinGecko also noted that as 2025 progresses, Solana’s technical advantages and ecosystem momentum position it as a serious contender, but Ethereum’s institutional moat ensures this race is far from over.