Is it ‘over for Solana’? 97% network activity crash sparks fresh debate

Solana’s network activity has dropped by 97% in Q4 2025, and SOL’s price crash followed too. From a peak of over 30 million active traders in late 2024, the network’s traction has dropped to less than 1 million monthly traders in 2025.One analyst wondered whether it was “over for Solana” amid muted activity.Source: DuneAlthough the contraction in trading volumes in late 2025 was a broader market trend, with Bitcoin price falling by over 30%, Solana’s [SOL] case was a little more nuanced.Solana memecoins: A risk or test bed?Solana and Hyperliquid have been key success stories this cycle. SOL, in particular, rallied from $8 to nearly $300, over 35x growth from 2022 cycle lows.While the chain steadied and minimized network outages, memecoins remained a key revenue driver and traffic.During the 2025 market rout, memecoins were among the first to be hit. But Solana supporters, like Marty Party, always view memecoins as a ‘test’ for other ‘real-world’ applications.“Memecoin gamblers left after a successful liveness test, they will be replaced by equity traders and 50m stablecoin users – catch up.”Even so, the near-term risk of memecoin activity became apparent. SOL’s price has declined from nearly $300 to the yearly $120 support — A 58% price decline during the memecoin lull.That being said, the chain has garnered some institutional interest, such as Visa for stablecoin settlements. However, the network resilience could be possible if network activity dominance shifts away from gambling.Solana vs. EthereumPerhaps, this could close the revenue gap with Ethereum, which leads in institutional adoption. So far, in 2025, Ethereum has made over $1.4 billion in annual revenue while Solana raked in $5022 million — A 3x difference.In 2024, however, Solana made $2.5 billion in revenue, suggesting a 5x decline this year. Anatoly Yakovenko called it a “crazy year,” adding that,“It’s been a crazy year. Can open permissionless protocols actually grow and maintain revenues is still an open question.”Source: DeFi DevIn terms of investor returns, SOL has underperformed ETH by 56% this year, a stark contrast to the over 24% relative gains made against ETH last year. In fact, Fundstrat projected the SOL price could fall to $50-$75 range in H1 2026.For analyst Ted Pillows, however, there was a higher chance of a 15% surge to $134-$140, citing a massive $1 billion upside liquidity of leveraged shorts.Source: CoinGlassFinal ThoughtsSolana’s key network activity driver, memecoins, has cratered by over 90% and dragged the price with it.Ethereum outperformed Solana in annual revenue threefold, contrary to the 2024 performance.