Ethereum Reclaims Top as Leading DEX Chain, Surpasses Solana for First Time Since September
Ethereum has reclaimed its position as the top blockchain for decentralized exchange (DEX) trading, surpassing Solana for the first time since September 2024. This shift comes amid a broader market downturn, particularly in the memecoin sector, which has seen a decline in speculative activity.
According to DefiLlama, Ethereum-based DEXs recorded a cumulative trading volume of $64.62 billion in March, surpassing Solana’s $52.62 billion by 22%. This signals a return to dominance for Ethereum, which had lagged behind Solana in recent months.
Market Conditions and Declining Solana Activity
The leadership change comes as total cryptocurrency market capitalization fell 4.2% to $2.63 trillion, continuing the 20% decline from February. The market downturn was affected by macroeconomic uncertainty and investor frustration over the lack of new Bitcoin purchases in the US strategic reserve, sending Bitcoin prices falling below $80,000.
The downtrend has significantly impacted Solana’s ecosystem, especially its leading DEX, Raydium, which is a hotspot for memecoin trading. Throughout March, Raydium did not record a single day with trading volume exceeding $1 billion, a sharp decline from the record $13 billion on January 18.
Additionally, daily volumes on Solana’s memecoin launchpad have fallen below $100 million from a peak of $390 million in mid-January. Much of Solana’s previous dominance was attributed to the frenzy surrounding memecoin trading, including the launch of the TRUMP token in January, which briefly caused a spike in activity.
The Resurgence of Ethereum
Ethereum’s return to the top was largely driven by Uniswap, which accounted for over $30 billion in trading volume, while Fluid, another Ethereum-based DEX, followed with $9 billion in trading volume.
This is not investment advice.