Solana Builds Strong Case for Higher Valuations as ETFs and Network Metrics Surge
Investors predict Solana (SOL) to achieve momentum in 2026, pushed by rising on-chain exercise, increasing DeFi participation, and rising institutional publicity by exchange-traded funds.
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While SOL trades at $139, beneath its all-time high, latest knowledge means that the community’s fundamentals are strengthening alongside a gradual value restoration. Together, these tendencies are shaping a clearer narrative round how Solana’s valuation could possibly be supported past short-term market strikes.
Network Activity and DeFi Metrics Show Sustained Growth
On-chain utilization has picked up notably for the reason that begin of the 12 months. Active addresses on Solana rose from round 3.38 million to three.78 million in early January, indicating broader participation throughout transfers, buying and selling, and software utilization. This improve in exercise has coincided with a gradual rise in decentralized finance metrics.
The TVL throughout Solana-based protocols elevated from roughly $8 billion to simply over $9 billion, reflecting greater capital commitments to lending, liquidity provision, and yield-focused methods.
These beneficial properties align with longer-term knowledge from Solana’s 2025 community overview, which confirmed that each day energetic wallets averaged 3.2 million and non-vote transactions reached a report 33 billion over the 12 months.
Decentralized change exercise additionally remained a key contributor. The annual DEX quantity reached $1.5 trillion in 2025, up 57% year-over-year, with SOL-stablecoin buying and selling quantity exceeding $780 billion. Raydium led DEX platforms when it comes to quantity, whereas a number of others surpassed the $10 billion threshold.
Application Revenue and Ecosystem Expansion
Revenue era throughout the Solana ecosystem continues to scale. Applications constructed on the community generated $2.39 billion in income in 2025, a 46% improve from the prior 12 months.
Seven purposes surpassed $100 million in annual income, whereas smaller initiatives collectively contributed greater than $500 million. The community itself reported $1.4 billion in income, reflecting a pointy rise in financial exercise tied to utilization fairly than hypothesis alone.
Beyond DeFi, Solana additionally noticed development in stablecoin transfers, tokenized equities, and Bitcoin-related exercise. Stablecoin provide greater than doubled to $14.8 billion, whereas transfers reached $11.7 trillion, pointing to elevated settlement and cost use circumstances.
Solana ETF Inflows and Price Levels in Focus
Institutional participation has turn into extra seen by Solana-focused ETFs. Assets beneath administration throughout these merchandise not too long ago crossed $1.02 billion, with Bitwise’s BSOL accounting for the bulk share.
Data reveals cumulative inflows of practically $800 million and regular buying and selling volumes, suggesting ongoing demand for regulated publicity. In the spot market, SOL has rebounded from the $120 space to commerce close to $140, supported by rising quantity and enhancing technical indicators.
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While resistance ranges stay, the mix of ETF inflows, greater community utilization, and increasing income streams is reinforcing the case for greater valuations if broader market situations stay supportive.
Cover picture from ChatGPT, SOLUSD chart from Tradingview