A Deep Dive into the Solana Ecosystem: What's New?
There's been a lot happening in Solana's ecosystem in the past few weeks. From a massive influx of institutional investment and a renewed memecoin push to hitting a new DeFi all-time high, the Layer 1 network has been experiencing growing activity and multiple significant developments lately.
In this article, we'll explore some of the most interesting trends shaping the Solana ecosystem today, including its leadership in tokenised stocks, the return of its memecoin market, the rise of corporate SOL treasuries, and its record-breaking growth in decentralised finance. Let's get started!
Taking Charge in the Tokenised Stocks Sector
Solana has firmly established itself as a leader in the tokenised stocks sector, particularly through the rise of products like Backed Finance's xStocks. As of September 18, 2025, Solana commands a dominant 61.45% market share of all xStocks, with a total real-world asset (RWA) value of $65.7 million. This represents impressive recent growth, with Solana's share of the xStocks market growing by 12.95% and its total RWA value surging by 40.48% in the last 30 days alone.
This leadership is notable, especially as Ethereum has made an explosive entrance into the space. In the last few weeks, Ethereum's market share in tokenised stocks surged from just 0.58% to 41.80%, with its RWA value growing by an exponential 14,586% to $236.2 million. Despite this, Solana has managed to maintain an over 10% share (currently 11.62%) of the total tokenised stocks market.
While its dominance is currently in xStocks, Solana is also a growing player in the broader $30.26 billion RWA market, holding a 1.73% share. Key projects contributing to its RWA ecosystem include the on-chain reinsurance company OnRe, which has issued $102.8 million in total value on Solana, alongside multi-chain protocols like Ondo and Securitise.
Memecoins Make a Comeback on Solana
After a period of intense volatility and surviving several high-profile scandals, the memecoin market on Solana is making a significant comeback. In the last three months, the combined market capitalisation of Solana-based memecoins has increased by 31.54%, showing renewed investor confidence.
This resurgence is also evident in trading activity. In the last 30 days, Solana has commanded meme token transaction volumes with a staggering 78.2% share of the market. Pump.fun, the largest memecoin launchpad on the network, recently saw its daily trading volume top $1 billion. Its total value locked (TVL) in decentralised finance has surged by 39.64% in the last 30 days, reaching $334.72 million on September 18. This renewed energy is being led by popular projects like Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), Bonk (BONK), Official Trump (TRUMP), and dogwifhat (WIF).
Solana Treasury Companies Scoop Up $3.9 Billion SOL
Following the successful model pioneered by Bitcoin and Ethereum treasury companies, institutional investors are now turning their attention to Solana in a big way. A new class of Solana treasury companies has emerged, following the footsteps of Michael Saylor's Strategy and adopting a strategy of holding large amounts of SOL as their primary reserve asset.
By September 18, these corporate treasuries had amassed an impressive $3.9 billion worth of SOL. This amounts to 15.83 million SOL, or roughly 2.75% of the token's total supply, signalling strong institutional conviction for the network. Publicly traded companies like Forward Industries, Sharps Technology, DeFi Development Corp, and Upexi are among the key players who have placed the accumulation of SOL at the centre of their corporate strategies, providing a new, regulated bridge for traditional investors to gain exposure to the ecosystem.
Solana DeFi TVL Hit a New All-Time High
The growing corporate demand for SOL is creating powerful ripple effects across Solana's decentralised finance (DeFi) ecosystem. This influx of capital and activity recently pushed the network's DeFi TVL to a new all-time high of $13.22 billion on September 14.
This milestone represents a 23.78% growth in the last 30 days and a 56.45% surge over the last 90 days. As a result, Solana's share of the total DeFi market now stands at 7.95%, gaining nearly 1% from the 7.02% it held just a month prior. This momentum is lifting the entire ecosystem, with leading DeFi protocols on the network, such as Jito, Jupiter, Kamino, Sanctum, and Raydium, all experiencing TVL growth of over 20% in the last month.
The Solana Ecosystem in Motion
From its leadership in tokenised stocks and the vibrant return of its memecoin market to the surge in institutional investment and a record-breaking DeFi sector, the Solana ecosystem is currently experiencing a period of remarkable growth and innovation. These interconnected trends paint a picture of a network with maturing infrastructure and rapidly expanding utility.
For those looking to gain exposure to this dynamic ecosystem, VALR provides traders with access to SOL and a wide range of tokens from leading Solana-based projects. Furthermore, you can put your SOL to work by generating passive income through VALR's simple and secure staking service.
Ready to explore the Solana ecosystem? Create an account on VALR to get started!
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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author and should not form the basis for making investment decisions, nor be construed as a recommendation or advice to engage in investment transactions.