2024 marked a transformative year for Solana DeFi, characterized by unprecedented growth, resilience, and innovation. Despite the challenges of 2022—including the fallout from FTX’s collapse—Solana not only recovered but emerged as a dominant force in decentralized finance.
The Turnaround: From Setbacks to Success
- Total Value Locked (TVL): Plummeted from $10B (2022 peak) to $249M (June 2023), a 97.51% drop.
- 2024 Recovery: TVL surged 572.34%, from $1.41B (January) to $9.45B (December), nearing its all-time high.
- Protocol Milestones: Five Solana DeFi protocols surpassed $2B in TVL—a first in three years.
Key Drivers of Growth
Liquid Staking:
- LST Adoption: SOL staked in Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) doubled from $17.25M to $35M.
- Jito’s Dominance: Captured 43% of the LST market, with TVL reaching $3B.
Centralized Exchange Entry:
- Binance, Bybit, and Bitget launched LSTs via Sanctum, pushing its TVL from $20M to $1.84B (91,00% increase).
DEX Volume Explosion:
- Monthly trading volume hit $129B (November 2024), surpassing Ethereum’s prior record.
- Raydium overtook Orca and Uniswap, processing $124B in trades.
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Sector-Specific Breakthroughs
Memecoins and Trading Innovation
Pump.fun:
- Revenue: **$397M** (1.78M SOL), becoming the fastest crypto app to cross $300M.
- 4.9M tokens launched, averaging 30+ per minute.
Perpetuals Trading
Jupiter Exchange:
- Monthly volume soared from $2B** to **$43B, capturing 82% of Solana’s Perps market.
- TVL grew 2,770.11% to $2.5B.
DeFi Lending
Kamino Finance:
- TVL surged 990.91% to $2.4B, ranking as Solana’s third-largest protocol.
Emerging Trends
Telegram Bots:
- Photon led with $22B lifetime volume, becoming Solana’s third-highest revenue generator.
- Trading terminals now dominate 4 of the top 7 revenue apps.
FAQs
Q: What fueled Solana’s TVL recovery?
A: Liquid staking, institutional adoption (e.g., Coinbase Prime’s mSOL integration), and CEX-backed LSTs.
Q: How did Solana surpass Ethereum in DEX volume?
A: Faster transactions, lower fees, and partnerships like Pump.fun with Raydium.
Q: What’s next for Solana DeFi?
A: Expansion into DePIN, AI-integrated DeFi, and RWA tokenization—leveraging its speed and scalability.
Solana’s 2024 resurgence solidified its role as a DeFi powerhouse. With innovation across staking, trading, and lending—plus emerging sectors—2025 holds even greater potential.