Solana Is Faster and Cheaper Than Ethereum — So Why Isn’t It Winning?

Solana is trading at a 71% discount from its all-time high. Here’s why. Since its launch in 2020, Solana has often been described as “the next Ethereum.” However, despite being faster and cheaper than Ethereum, Solana has not lived up to those expectations.

Solana is trading at a 71% discount from its all-time high. Here’s why.

• Given Solana’s role in the meme coin frenzy, many investors still view it as overly speculative and risky.
• Solana’s strategy, launched with major hype in 2022, ultimately failed to deliver the expected results.
• The new spot Solana ETFs also failed to attract significant investor attention.

Since its launch in 2020, Solana has often been described as “the next Ethereum.” However, despite being faster and cheaper than Ethereum, Solana has not lived up to those expectations.

Take this year as an example. Solana has fallen 32% in 2026 and is now trading at a massive 71% discount from the all-time high reached in January 2025. So why isn’t Solana winning?

Theory 1: Solana and the Meme Coin Mania

In the minds of many investors, Solana remains closely associated with the 2024 meme coin mania. At the time, the idea of a “meme coin supercycle” became extremely popular, and Solana emerged as the primary blockchain for launching and trading meme coins.

Celebrities launched meme coins on Solana, and even Donald Trump chose the network for his own meme token.

Unfortunately, meme coin enthusiasm peaked in December 2024 and never recovered. At its height, the meme coin market was valued at $150 billion. Today, that figure has dropped below $40 billion, with most meme coins trading far below their 2024 highs.

As a result, many investors still blame Solana for its central role in the meme coin frenzy.

Theory 2: Mobile Crypto Investments Failed to Deliver

Another possible explanation is that Solana’s attempt to become a mobile-first blockchain ecosystem did not succeed.

Back in June 2022, Solana announced the launch of the Saga mobile device alongside a broader mobile strategy. Saga was supposed to change everything — but it never did.

Theory 3: Solana ETFs Never Reached Critical Mass

Although eight spot ETFs based on Solana are now trading in the United States, they have never achieved the same level of momentum or popularity as the spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January 2024.

The launch of Solana ETFs was expected to attract a wave of institutional capital, but that never materialised.

The total assets under management (AUM) for spot Solana ETFs currently stand at only $1.1 billion. By comparison, spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $100 billion in less than 12 months.

Solana Bets on Stablecoins and DeFi

Following the collapse of meme coin enthusiasm, Solana began shifting its focus toward more sustainable areas of the crypto market.

The network is actively expanding infrastructure for stablecoins and DeFi applications, while transaction volumes and user activity continue to grow.

Solana is already being used by several payment and DeFi projects thanks to its high transaction speeds and low fees. This makes the network particularly attractive for services that require scalability and inexpensive transfers.

Major Partnerships and Institutional Interest

Despite the price decline, Solana continues attracting major market participants. In recent months, the network has received support from:

• Visa — expanded stablecoin payment experiments on Solana.
• Shopify — added Solana Pay payment integrations.
• Franklin Templeton — publicly praised Solana’s technology and performance.

Institutional infrastructure around Solana also continues expanding:

• spot Solana ETFs have launched;
• custody and institutional trading solutions are increasing;
• major investment funds continue monitoring the ecosystem.

Solana Remains One of the Fastest Networks

The main advantage of Solana remains unchanged: the network is significantly faster and cheaper than most competitors.

This allows it to:

• process large transaction volumes;
• support mass-market applications;
• maintain low fees even during periods of heavy demand.

That is why many developers continue launching new projects within the Solana ecosystem despite difficult market conditions.

Should You Buy, Sell, or Hold Solana?

Although there are currently many reasons for a bearish outlook on Solana, it may still be too early to write it off completely.

The world’s seventh-largest cryptocurrency is repositioning itself away from meme coins and toward stablecoins. It is also significantly expanding its presence within decentralised finance (DeFi) while continuing to show rising blockchain activity.

Solana remains faster and cheaper than Ethereum, which should help it continue attracting both developers and users.

For that reason, holding a position in Solana may still represent a potentially attractive long-term investment.

Editor: Yulia Krasnaya

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