Solana’s Shifting Dominance

Recent data reveals a dramatic shift in the Layer 1 (L1) ecosystem, with Solana’s share of network fees falling from over 50% earlier in 2025 to just 9% by late October. This isn’t a story of decline but one of evolution. Solana’s network activity remains robust, generating approximately $6.6 million in daily fees from over 2.13 million active addresses. The change reflects a broader market trend: the rise of chain specialization, where platforms dedicated to specific functions are outcompeting general-purpose blockchains in key sectors.

Solana’s previous fee dominance was largely fueled by the memecoin frenzy and a bustling NFT market. As that speculative wave has cooled, the revenue landscape has been reshaped. While on-chain perpetual futures protocols on Solana, such as Jupiter Perps and Drift, still process a notable $1.7 billion in daily volume, a significant portion of high-frequency trading activity is migrating to more specialized venues.

The Rise of the Specialists

The primary driver of this fragmentation is the explosive growth of perpetual futures (perps) trading on dedicated chains. Platforms like Hyperliquid, a derivatives-focused blockchain, have emerged as powerhouses by offering an experience tailored to professional traders. With a Total Value Locked (TVL) of $2.41 billion and weekly revenue exceeding $20 million from perpetuals alone, Hyperliquid showcases the appeal of specialization.

Its low-latency engine and permissionless markets provide traders with centralized exchange speeds while retaining the benefits of on-chain settlement. This has successfully siphoned away massive trading volumes from generalist chains. Alongside Hyperliquid, BNB Chain has also captured market share by catering to retail perpetuals traders and the gaming community, absorbing some of the activity that previously lived on Solana.

Ethereum L2s Enter the Fray

While specialized L1s capture headlines, Ethereum’s Layer 2 (L2) ecosystem has quietly built a formidable presence in the perpetuals market, now accounting for 25-30% of all decentralized perp activity. By leveraging Ethereum’s security while offering low fees and high throughput, these networks provide a compelling alternative.

Arbitrum leads the L2 pack, commanding over 40% of L2 perp volume with platforms like Lighter and Ostrich processing billions in trades. Coinbase’s L2, Base, is gaining traction with a retail-friendly approach and innovative AI-driven trading interfaces, while Optimism focuses on providing the high-speed infrastructure needed for complex options and perpetuals strategies.

These L2s benefit from deep liquidity, with Arbitrum’s $9.6 billion stablecoin supply providing a strong foundation for derivatives trading. The shared user base across Arbitrum and Base also creates powerful network effects, enabling seamless asset movement between platforms.

A New Multi-Chain Reality

The crypto market is maturing into a multi-chain era where no single blockchain can dominate every niche. Perpetual futures have replaced memecoins as the primary driver for high-volume, speculative activity, and traders are choosing platforms that offer the best execution and efficiency.

Solana isn’t fading away; it’s adapting to this new reality. The network continues to prove its technical prowess, having processed more transactions than Ethereum and all its L2s combined during recent market volatility, with a median fee of less than $0.01. Developers are focused on strategic upgrades, including validator enhancements and institutional-grade tools like BlackRock’s $1.2 billion tokenized fund. The potential launch of a native, highly-optimized perpetuals decentralized application could help reclaim volume and enhance the token economics of SOL, as 50% of network fees are burned.

Ultimately, the landscape is no longer a battle for monolithic dominance. Instead, it’s a competition within specialized verticals. Solana remains a powerhouse for high-throughput transactions, but for now, the high-stakes game of perpetuals trading belongs to the specialists.

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