In November, Solana's decentralized applications (DApps) generated a significant $365 million in revenue, spearheaded by the memecoin launchpad Pump.fun. This platform emerged as the first Solana DApp to break the $100 million monthly revenue barrier, achieving $106 million even amidst community outrage.
Controversy flared on November 25, 2024, when Pump.fun's livestreaming feature faced allegations of broadcasting inappropriate content, including potential threats.
Consequently, Pump.fun decided to suspend its livestreaming capabilities indefinitely, committing to enhance its moderation process. The suspension caused the platform's weekly earnings to plummet by 66%, from $33.8 million to $11.3 million by the month's end.
Besides Pump.fun, key contributors to Solana's DApp revenue included Photon, a token discovery platform, and the decentralized exchange Raydium. Memecoin DApps led revenue generation on Solana, amassing $509 million year-to-date. Syndica data highlighted that Telegram bots contributed $300 million, while spot DEXs generated $141 million in 2024. This rapid growth of memecoin DApps has defined Solana's 2024 trajectory.
In the last 30 days, Solana accrued $431 million in fees, surpassing all other Layer 1 chains combined. Solana now remarkably commands 53% of the global Layer 1 fee pool, largely fueled by the surge in AI agent activities, hinting at a "Fat SOL" thesis per industry insiders.
Back in January, memecoin applications earned merely $600,000, but by November, these revenues had soared to an impressive $183 million—a 300-fold leap. Overall, decentralized finance (DeFi) applications contributed 83.7% of Solana’s 2024 DApp revenue, with wallets making up 9.6%. The remainder was divided among infrastructure, NFTs, and gaming applications.
In a notable shift, Solana surpassed Ethereum as the leading platform for new developers in 2024, ending Ethereum's eight-year reign. This year, Solana attracted 7,625 new developers, outpacing Ethereum's 6,456, with Asia driving much of this momentum. Solana's rise began in July when it first outpaced Ethereum in developer onboarding since 2016, sustained by an 83% year-over-year growth in developer engagement.
On two occasions, Solana briefly exceeded Ethereum’s metrics: On March 18, 2024, Solana's network activity surpassed Ethereum's, fueled by demand for meme coins. Similarly, on October 28, Solana's daily network fee generation topped Ethereum's.
The emerging trend raises the debate: Solana vs. Ethereum—who holds the future crown in 2025?