From DEXs to NFTs: Charting Solana’s trailblazing year in DeFi

Solana has emerged as a formidable force in the DeFi ecosystem. Its high throughput, low fees, and scalability have catapulted it to the forefront of the fastest-growing DeFi platforms, underpinning a wide array of applications and protocols. From lending and borrowing protocols to decentralized exchanges, monetization protocols, and NFT marketplaces, Solana’s infrastructure today supports an expansive ecosystem that spans the full spectrum of DeFi utilities.

Its growth trajectory over the past year has been nothing short of remarkable, especially given the fact that it saw its native token lose over 90% of its value in 2022. A surge in the number of projects launched, coupled with substantial increases in transaction volumes and a rapidly growing user base, has further cemented its position as a DeFi leader. Over the past few weeks alone, its stablecoin supply saw a meteoric rise, surpassing $3 billion, and it established new all-time highs against Ethereum in DEX trading activity.

This led to extensive media coverage of Solana. This coverage has mainly focused on the rapid rise in memecoins on the platform and the subsequent rug pulls, controversies, and broader network and regulatory issues that ensued. However, none of this coverage usually focused on the granular, foundational aspects of the Solana ecosystem.

In this report, CryptoSlate dives deep into the Solana ecosystem, spanning from emerging programs to the stalwarts of the DEX space, to compile a broad spectrum of Solana metrics into a single report. This report aims to provide readers, from causal enthusiasts to seasoned investors, with an in-depth overview of Solana’s current state.