Accelerating Stablecoin Adoption on Solana
In December 2024, Solana witnessed an influx of approximately $1 billion in stablecoin total value (TVL), primarily comprised of USD Coin (USDC). This surge is indicative of the accelerating adoption of stablecoins and Solana’s growing prominence in the decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape.
Stablecoin TVL on Solana
As per data from DefiLlama, Solana now hosts a total of $5 billion in stablecoin TVL. This remarkable milestone is dominated by USDC, accounting for nearly $4 billion of the total stablecoin value locked on the network. Tether’s USDt (USDT) follows closely as the second most popular stablecoin on Solana, with a TVL of approximately $1 billion.
Market Capitalization and Adoption
According to CoinGecko, as of December 31, 2024, USDC and USDT boast market capitalizations of around $44 billion and $137 billion, respectively. These figures are significantly higher than their pre-November levels, reflecting the industry’s optimism following the United States presidential election.
Many experts believe that the election win by President-elect Donald Trump will positively impact the stablecoin market. This sentiment is echoed in a Cointelegraph Research report, which highlights the combined growth of the top three stablecoins – USDT, USDC, and Dai (DAI) – since November 2024.
Stablecoin Market Capitalization Growth
The collective market capitalizations of these top three stablecoins have increased by more than $25 billion in just over a month. This significant surge is attributed to the growing demand for stablecoins as an on-ramp to decentralized finance (DeFi).
Citi’s Perspective on Stablecoins and DeFi
In a Dec 26 research report, Citi stated that ‘stablecoins are the on-ramp to decentralized finance.’ The report further emphasizes the bullish sentiment surrounding the industry, particularly in relation to DeFi.
Ethereum Challenger: Solana
Solana has emerged as a formidable challenger to Ethereum in various applications requiring smart contracts. Since 2023, SOL’s price has outperformed Ether (ETH) by approximately 8 times, according to data from TradingView.
TVL Growth on Solana
In 2024, Solana’s TVL experienced a remarkable growth of roughly 5 times, rising from around $1.4 billion in the beginning of the year to over $8.6 billion as of December 31.
Growing Popularity of Solana
Retail traders are increasingly entering the crypto market through Solana due to speculation surrounding Solana-based memecoins and AI agent tokens. This trend is also reflected in Grayscale Research’s Dec 30 note, which highlights the growing interest in Solana-native DeFi apps.
Grayscale Adds Solana Apps to Top 20 Tokens List
In December, Grayscale added two Solana-native DeFi apps – Jupiter (JUP) and Jito (JTO) – to its list of top 20 tokens to watch in the first quarter of 2025. Jito, a Solana staking pool, generated monthly revenues exceeding $100 million in November and December from priority fees and tips.
Comparison with Ethereum’s Stablecoin TVL
However, it is essential to note that Ethereum still maintains a significant lead over Solana in terms of stablecoin TVL, exceeding $110 billion as of December 31.