Written by: YASH AGARWAL
Compiled by: LlamaC
"Recommended Insight: In 2023, many danced on the grave of Solana DeFi, declaring it dead. By 2024, Solana roared back with memecoin mania and airdrop fever, marking significant progress. This article delves deep into the current landscape of Solana DeFi across all categories, spotlighting 100+ noteworthy projects. Enjoy."
With over $3.8 billion in TVL and $2.5 billion+ in daily trading volume, Solana DeFi has made a dramatic comeback, fueled by memecoin hype and airdrop frenzy!
While 2023 seemed quiet for Solana DeFi, it was a year of critical groundwork. Initially written off by many, Solana DEXs eventually outpaced Ethereum DEXs in weekly trading volume, thanks to tireless building by 50+ top teams like Marinade, Phoenix, Jito, MarginFi, Kamino, and Jupiter. Today, Solana DeFi boasts 100+ high-quality projects.
Solana DeFi Overview
Solana DeFi hit rock bottom in early 2023, with TVL plummeting to $200M. By October, SOL’s price recovery pushed TVL to $330M, and over the past four months, it skyrocketed to $3.3B, buoyed by SOL’s price surge. A healthy $2.5B stablecoin market cap reflects robust liquidity.
Capital Efficiency Leader
While TVL can be a vanity metric, DeFi velocity (daily DEX volume / chain TVL) highlights Solana’s dominance.
OPOS: Only Possible on Solana
Solana’s low fees and high throughput enable unique use cases:
- On-Chain Orderbooks: Handling $150M+ daily volume with high-frequency order cancellations—impossible on Ethereum.
- DEX Aggregators: Jupiter splits $100 orders across 4-5 DEXs, recombining them—a process prohibitively expensive elsewhere.
- High-Frequency Actions: Rebalancing, faster liquidations, etc.
While chains like Aptos and Sui offer similar throughput, Solana’s vibrant community and top-tier builders set it apart.
Solana DeFi Categories
Wallets & Bridges
Top wallets: Backpack, Phantom, and Solflare.
Leading bridges: Wormhole, Mayan Finance, Allbridge, and deBridge.
👉 Compare bridges for Ethereum-to-Solana transfers
Spot DEXs
Solana DEXs peak at $2B–$30B daily volume, with Jupiter (DEX aggregator) routing ~80% of trades. Top DEXs:
- Orca (CLAMM)
- Raydium (hybrid CLOB/AMM)
- Meteora (DLMM)
- Lifinity (Oracle-based AMM)
Orderbook DEXs
- Phoenix: $100M–$150M daily volume.
- OpenBook: Forked from Serum, sustaining $50M–$1B daily volume.
Perpetual DEXs
- Jupiter: LP-to-trader model, 100x leverage.
- Drift: "Liquidity Trifecta" (JIT auctions + orderbook + AMM).
- Zeta Markets: Fully on-chain orderbook.
👉 Discover Solana’s top Perp DEXs
Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs)
- Marinade (mSOL): Pioneer with native/fluid staking.
- BlazeStake (bSOL): $4B TVL, DeFi-integrated rewards.
- Jito (JitoSOL): MEV-focused, with StakeNet for autonomous delegation.
Sanctum unifies LST liquidity via:
- Sanctum Reserve: Instant unstaking pool.
- Sanctum Route: Cross-LST swaps.
Lending Platforms
- Kamino Lend: $700M TVL, E-Mode, and auto-deleveraging.
- MarginFi: $600M TVL, launching YBX stablecoin.
- Solend: Original protocol, $200M TVL.
Structured Products & Options
- SDX Market: PsyFi’s AMM for cash-settled options.
- DeVol: SRB-based pricing.
- Cega: Dual-token vaults ($380M traded).
FAQs
Q: Why did Solana DeFi rebound in 2024?
A: Memecoin mania, airdrop hype, and capital-efficient infrastructure revitalized activity.
Q: What makes Solana’s orderbooks unique?
A: Fully on-chain, high-frequency capabilities impractical on Ethereum.
Q: Which LST offers the highest yield?
A: JitoSOL (MEV rewards) and Sanctum’s unified liquidity optimize returns.
Q: Are Solana Perp DEXs competitive with Ethereum?
A: Jupiter’s volume rivals top ETH Perps, but hybrid DEXs (e.g., Aevo) still lead.
Conclusion
Solana DeFi’s resurgence is just beginning. With leveraged yields, speculative products, and RWA integration accelerating, the chain is poised for unprecedented growth. Innovations like Sanctum’s LST unification and Jupiter’s cross-DEX swaps exemplify OPOS potential—setting the stage for a 2024 bull run.
🚀 Final Thought: Solana’s composability and community will drive the next wave of DeFi breakthroughs.