Solana has a DEX, and in 2025 it started showing signs of recovery, with trading volume increasing to upwards of $6 billion per day in total volume traded.

Of that, nearly $4 billion are in memecoins, which have long been a dominant color in the Solana ecosystem.

Even with unending doubts about the staying power of memecoin trading, this type of trading has shown itself to be quite sturdy, adapting to—and sometimes leading—new trends and narratives. From late 2023 to early 2024, trades involving memecoins have provided between 40% and 70% of the total trading volume found on Solana DEXs. This kind of trading is far from the total collapse we seemed set for in 2022 and at the beginning of 2023, with trades found in Solana memecoins likely as safe as any trades found on centralized exchanges.

Memecoins Drive DEX Growth, with PumpDotFun Leading the Charge

Solana DEX volumes are experiencing a resurgence, and that revival is linked closely to trading “memecoins.” A new player in this realm is @pumpdotfun, which seems to have quickly inflated to near the top of the Solana DEX leaderboard, commanding over 20% of DEX volume in recent weeks. @pumpdotfun features a unique bonding curve and automated market maker (AMM) functionality that have made it popular with users. This growth has not come without consequences, though, as it has seemingly and at least to some extent displaced @RaydiumProtocol in the DEX trading mix.

Previously, Raydium held a commanding percentage of the Solana DEX market, accounting for as much as 60% of the total DEX volume. But the memecoin trading movement—taking place on platforms such as PumpDotFun—has blasted off and is now wrecking what’s left of the Solana DEX ecosystem. Raydium is not even mentioned as a key player in the latest segment of the Solana DEX ecosystem on DeFi Lama.

Tokens like those traded on PumpDotFun represent an enduring sector on Solana: the memecoin. These offshoots of the meme economy reach obscene heights, and on Solana (as elsewhere), they are propped up by a few factors. High volatility lends them an aura of potential profitability, which attracts traders. Still, they maintain a decent amount of user engagement—because, at the end of the day, what are these tokens but a joke? A joke waiting to be told, retold, and riffed on, the surface reason why the value of these tokens might go up. What are trading memes if not a punchline?

New Launchpads and Apps Stir the Market, Shifting Memecoin Market Share

Though PumpDotFun has been the long-standing leader, newer projects and platforms are starting to make a big splash in Solana’s DEX landscape. AxiomExchange’s recent rise has been key to the overall increase in app activity across Solana, contributing 5-10% of total trading volume and about 15% of memecoin trading volume. This is a shift that shows the Solana ecosystem is becoming more diversified and that users are exploring a new set of applications and exchange platforms.

Additionally, the excitement around memecoin projects and the appearance of new launchpads have turned up the competitive intensity. One notable instance comes from @RaydiumProtocol’s LaunchLab, which has been riding the coattails of @bonk_fun, a top-shelf memecoin that has driven attention and traffic to the platform. This instance illustrates the new-wave project fishing for momentum using the Solana DEX infrastructure to create a buzz around itself.

Maybe the most amazing change has occurred with @MeteoraAG, whose market share has rocketed upward thanks to the rising enthusiasm around @believeapp. The roll-out of Believe has sparked fresh interest in the Solana memecoin scene, as the platform really leans into the Internet Capital Markets story. Over just a couple days, Meteora’s market share has blasted up to 25%, while PumpDotFun has seen a slight dip, moving from the mid-30s down to around 20%.

1/ Solana DEX volumes have recovered to mid-February levels, with daily total volumes crossing $6B and memecoin volumes back at nearly $4B.

Despite constant remarks about the supposed ephemerality of memecoin trading, the sector has continuously adapted to new narratives. pic.twitter.com/y96FUSvj0E

— defi_kay_ (@defi_kay_) May 15, 2025

This transformation highlights the increasing impact of new launchpads and applications within the Solana ecosystem, which are competing with long-established platforms like PumpDotFun. The latest narratives that are gathering momentum and the innovative projects that are in the vanguard of user attention mean that the market dynamics are changing with dizzying speed and that the Solana DEX sector retains a highly competitive and fluid character.

Looking Ahead: A Competitive Landscape for Solana DEXs

The reestablishment of volumes on Solana’s DEX to levels not seen since mid-February—thanks to the continuing memecoin craze—gives me hope that the Solana ecosystem can stage a comeback. Unlike at some other cryptocurrency exchanges, though, the Solid DEFI team reports relatively few problems with their products. Even the new apps coming onboard, like PumpDotFun, AxiomExchange, and Meteora, don’t seem to be having the kind of negative impact that—along with a decentralized governance proposal—that Raydium had on the market.

So, it’s all good, right? Right.

Especially, the rise of PumpDotFun has made it a key player in the memecoin sector, but now its dominance is being challenged by new launchpads and apps that are becoming influential.

The competition between platforms like Raydium, Meteora, and AxiomExchange shows the development of Solana’s DEX ecosystem and suggests there are probably soon-to-be-released projects that are maintaining this ecosystem’s momentum.

While the Solana decentralized exchange (DEX) sector is growing, it looks like one part of its ecosystem is maturing fast. Solana’s memecoins are doing an awful lot of heavy lifting for the blockchain’s DEX sector. Whether they are a passing fad or not, the memecoins seem to be here to stay for a while, and that can’t be anything but good for the Solana decentralized finance (DeFi) © space.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ May 17, 2025 5:14 am