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Solana has made significant strides in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, with a notable increase in stablecoin total value locked (TVL) in December. According to data from DefiLlama, Solana onboarded an additional $1 billion in stablecoin TVL, primarily consisting of USD Coin (USDC), highlighting the accelerating adoption of stablecoins and Solana’s growing prominence in 2024.
Stablecoin Adoption Accelerates on Solana
The influx of stablecoins onto the Solana network underscores its increasing importance in the DeFi ecosystem. With approximately $5 billion in stablecoin TVL, Solana has firmly established itself as a major player in the sector. This significant milestone is primarily attributed to USDC, which accounts for nearly $4 billion of the total stablecoin TVL.
Tether’s (USDT) USDt is Solana’s second most popular stablecoin, boasting roughly $1 billion in TVL. The substantial presence of these two prominent stablecoins on the Solana network underscores its attractiveness as a platform for DeFi applications.
Stablecoin Market Capitalizations Surge
As of December 31, USDT and USDC’s combined market capitalizations across blockchain networks stand at approximately $137 billion and $44 billion, respectively. This significant growth in stablecoin market capitalizations is attributed to the election of United States President-elect Donald Trump in November.
According to Cointelegraph Research, many believe that Trump’s presidency will benefit the industry. Since then, the combined market capitalizations of the top three stablecoins—USDT, USDC, and Dai (DAI)—have collectively grown by more than $25 billion, as reported by a Dec 26 Citi research note.
Stablecoins are the on-ramp to decentralized finance.
As stated in the report, this trend is bullish for DeFi, as stablecoins serve as a gateway to the decentralized finance sector.
Solana Emerges as Ethereum Challenger
Solana has established itself as a formidable challenger to Ethereum in DeFi and other applications requiring smart contracts. Since 2023, SOL (the native token of Solana) has outperformed Ether (ETH) by approximately 8x, according to data from TradingView.
In 2024, Solana’s TVL rose roughly 5x, from around $1.4 billion to upward of $8.6 billion, as reported by DefiLlama. The increasing popularity of Solana can be attributed to the growing interest in Solana-based memecoins and AI agent tokens.
Retail Traders Flock to Solana
Retail traders are increasingly entering the crypto market through Solana due to speculation surrounding Solana-based memecoins and AI agent tokens. As reported by Grayscale Research, this trend is expected to continue.
In December, Grayscale added Jupiter (JUP) and Jito (JTO), two Solana-native DeFi apps, to its list of the top 20 tokens to watch in the first quarter of 2025. Jito, a Solana staking pool, generated monthly revenues of more than $100 million in November and December from priority fees and tips.
Ethereum Still Leads in Stablecoin TVL
While Solana has made significant strides in stablecoin adoption, Ethereum still surpasses Solana’s stablecoin TVL. As of December 31, Ethereum’s stablecoin TVL exceeded $110 billion, according to DefiLlama.
Conclusion
Solana’s growing popularity and increasing adoption of stablecoins highlight its rising prominence in the DeFi sector. With approximately $5 billion in stablecoin TVL, Solana has firmly established itself as a major player in the industry.
While Ethereum still leads in terms of stablecoin TVL, Solana’s growth is undeniable. As speculation surrounding Solana-based memecoins and AI agent tokens continues to drive interest in the platform, it will be fascinating to observe how this trend evolves in 2025.
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