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|4 min ReadSolana 2025 Report Card: The $1.5 Billion "Flippening"
Carter Hayes
Senior Analyst
Published
Jan 16, 2026
2025 will be remembered as the year Solana stopped being an "Ethereum Killer" and started being the Market Leader.
For years, the industry debated whether a high-throughput blockchain could actually make money with fees that cost less than a penny. The data from 2025 has delivered a definitive answer. According to Blockworks Research, Solana generated over $1.5 billion in total revenue this year.
This figure is significant because it eclipses the combined earnings of Ethereum ($690M) and the derivatives giant Hyperliquid ($780M).
This isn't just a technical milestone; it is a financial regime change. Solana achieved this while keeping median transaction fees below $0.01, proving that in the blockchain economy, scale—not gouging users—is the ultimate revenue driver. Nansen data confirms this dominance, ranking Solana first in pure on-chain fee generation ($603M), finally overtaking the long-standing heavyweights Tron ($581M) and Ethereum ($514M).
The Volume Monster
The engine behind this revenue machine is a staggering explosion in trading volume. Solana processed $1.6 trillion in spot trading volume in 2025, a milestone that surpasses the volume of every centralized exchange on earth, with the sole exception of Binance.
This represents a fundamental migration of liquidity. According to JupiterExchange, Solana's slice of the total crypto trading pie grew from a negligible 1% in 2022 to a commanding 12% in 2025. This growth came directly at the expense of centralized incumbents; over the same period, Binance saw its market dominance slide from 80% to 55%. The narrative is undeniable: activity is moving on-chain, and the venue of choice is Solana.
The Deflationary Engine
Solana’s revenue isn't magic; it is the result of a complex, four-part economic machine. The network monetizes through a combination of tiny base fees, "priority fees" paid during meme coin manias, MEV tips from arbitrage bots, and storage rent.
Crucially, this model is designed to benefit the token holder. Unlike Ethereum, where fees largely flow to validators, Solana burns approximately 50% of its fees. In a high-volume year like 2025, this mechanism transformed the network into a massive deflationary engine, constantly reducing the supply of SOL as usage accelerated.
The Profit Hierarchy
Stepping back to look at the broader crypto landscape, the 2025 data reveals a clear hierarchy of profitability.
At the very top sits Tether, the "Central Bank" of crypto, which generated a staggering $7.43 billion in net profit purely from interest on reserves. Below them, however, the infrastructure layer has proven to be a goldmine, with Solana leading the pack at $1.5 billion in revenue.
Further down the stack, the "Casinos"—the applications built on this infrastructure—are printing money at an unprecedented rate. Hyperliquid (Perps) generated over $900 million in gross revenue (with ~$420M in pure net profit after incentives), while Pump.fun (Memes) pulled in $550 million. Notably, because Pump.fun has zero incentive costs, its revenue is almost pure profit.
The Verdict
The 2025 report card offers a grim lesson for the skeptics and a validation for the believers: Infrastructure is a business.
The most profitable trade in crypto is no longer just holding assets; it is owning the rails that move them. Solana has proven that a high-throughput, low-fee chain isn't just a tech demo or a casino for meme coins—it is a money-printing machine that has finally outgrown its biggest rival.
Disclaimer: This document is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed in this document are not, and should not be taken as, investment advice or recommendations. Recipients should do their own due diligence, taking into account their specific financial circumstances, investment objectives and risk tolerance, which are not considered here, before investing. This document is not an offer, or the solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell any of the assets mentioned.