Solana Outpaces Ethereum’s Economic Metrics for the First Time in October

Solana has officially surpassed Ethereum in several key economic metrics, according to a recent report by hedge fund Syncracy Capital. The network, which has been gaining momentum throughout 2024, now rivals Ethereum in almost every major economic indicator, signaling a shift in market dynamics.
Solana’s Economic Value Surges
Syncracy Capital’s bullish November 12 report highlights Solana’s impressive growth, particularly its Real Economic Value (REV), which reached 111% of Ethereum's REV in October 2024. This marks a significant jump from just 1% in the same period last year. REV measures transaction fees and maximal extractable value (MEV) tips paid to validators, reflecting the overall economic activity on a network.
Another critical metric showing Solana’s rise is Total Application Revenue (TAR), which tracks the fees earned by protocols and applications built on a blockchain. In October 2024, Solana’s TAR was 109% of Ethereum’s, compared to just 1% a year ago. This rapid increase indicates that Solana’s ecosystem is seeing more financial activity and adoption compared to Ethereum, at least in terms of application-generated revenue.
Memecoin Mania Drives Solana’s Growth
Solana's surge in economic activity has been largely driven by the memecoin craze, which swept through the network in October. New memecoins gained significant traction, with Goatseus Maximus (GOAT) leading the charge. The coin's market cap soared to $400 million in just one week, a remarkable rise that added to Solana’s overall network volume and transaction fees. Other memecoins, including SPX6900 (SPX), Apu Apustaja (APU), and FWOG, also posted impressive gains, with respective increases of 379%, 170%, and 134% last month.
This memecoin-driven surge in activity has contributed to higher Total Value Locked (TVL) and overall network traffic. According to data from DeFiLlama, Solana’s TVL hit a two-year high of over 42 million SOL on October 26, marking a 13% increase month-over-month. In contrast, Ethereum’s TVL remained largely unchanged at 17.7 million ETH, underscoring Solana’s growing dominance in decentralized finance (DeFi).
The Sustainability Debate: Memecoins as a Stress Test
While Solana's memecoin boom has sparked debates about the sustainability of its economic model, Syncracy Capital views this speculative activity as an important stress test for the network’s infrastructure. The report notes, “This phenomenon of onchain speculation is exactly what happened during the birth of DeFi on Ethereum in 2020. In either case, what’s important is that experiments are conducted and infrastructure gets tested.”
Indeed, Solana has had its share of network outages since its launch in 2020. Most recently, the network experienced a five-hour downtime in February 2024. However, these interruptions are viewed by some as growing pains for a network that is scaling rapidly.
Solana’s Diversification Beyond Memecoins
Solana is also gaining traction in areas beyond memecoins, particularly in the Decentralized Infrastructure (DePIN) sector. The network has attracted blockchain-based projects that reward users for building and running real-world infrastructure. The report highlights that Solana now serves as the layer-1 blockchain for nine “unicorn” projects—blockchain projects valued at over $1 billion—while Ethereum is home to 18 unicorns.
Projects like Helium, Render, IoNET, and Grass are examples of DePIN applications that are thriving on Solana. These non-financial applications are further diversifying the use cases of the Solana network, giving it a broader and more robust ecosystem.
Looking Ahead: Firedancer Upgrade and Future Growth
Looking to the future, Solana plans to accommodate its rapidly growing user base and economic activity with the Firedancer upgrade, set for a full release in 2025. The upgrade aims to enhance the network’s scalability and performance, allowing it to better handle the increasing volume of transactions and decentralized applications on the blockchain.
Conclusion
Solana’s impressive performance in October 2024, surpassing Ethereum in several key economic metrics, highlights its growing relevance in the blockchain space. While its recent success has been fueled by speculative memecoin activity, Solana is diversifying and building a more sustainable ecosystem with growing application revenue and DePIN projects. With a full Firedancer upgrade on the horizon, Solana is positioning itself as a serious competitor to Ethereum, and the network's momentum shows no signs of slowing down.
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