According to data from DefiLlama, Solana onboarded an additional $1 billion in stablecoin total value in December, primarily in USD Coin (USDC). This highlights the accelerating adoption of stablecoins and Solana’s rise to prominence in decentralized finance (DeFi) in 2024.
Stablecoin Adoption
The inflows demonstrate the growing importance of stablecoins as a store of value and medium of exchange in the crypto market. With nearly $5 billion in stablecoin total value locked (TVL) on Solana, the network has become an attractive destination for users seeking stability and liquidity.
USDC Dominance
USDC is Solana’s most popular stablecoin, accounting for approximately $4 billion of the network’s stablecoin TVL. Tether’s USDt (USDT) is a distant second, with around $1 billion in TVL. The dominance of USDC on Solana can be attributed to its reputation as a reliable and widely adopted stablecoin.
Stablecoin Market Capitalizations
As of December 31, the total market capitalizations of USDT and USDC across blockchain networks are approximately $137 billion and $44 billion, respectively. These figures have grown sharply since November, with many attributing this growth to the increasing adoption of stablecoins as a store of value.
Post-Election Growth
The combined market capitalizations of the top three stablecoins – USDT, USDC, and Dai (DAI) – have collectively grown by more than $25 billion since November. This growth is seen as bullish for DeFi, with Citi research noting that "stablecoins are the on-ramp to decentralized finance."
Solana’s Rise to Prominence
Solana has emerged as a serious challenger to Ethereum in DeFi and other applications requiring smart contracts. Since 2023, SOL (SOL) has outperformed Ether (ETH) by approximately 8x, according to data from TradingView.
TVL Growth
In 2024, Solana’s total value locked (TVL) rose roughly 5x, from around $1.4 billion to upward of $8.6 billion. This growth is attributed to the increasing adoption of Solana-based DeFi applications and the network’s ability to offer faster and more efficient transaction processing.
Retail Trader Interest
Retail traders are increasingly entering the crypto market through Solana, with speculation intensifying around Solana-based memecoins and AI agent tokens. Grayscale Research noted in a December 30 report that "retail traders increasingly enter the crypto market through Solana."
Jito and Jupiter’s Success
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, clocked monthly revenues of over $100 million in November and December from priority fees and tips.
Ethereum’s Stablecoin TVL
While Solana’s stablecoin TVL has grown significantly, it still lags behind Ethereum’s stablecoin TVL, which exceeds $110 billion as of December 31. Despite this, Solana’s growth trajectory suggests that the network is poised to continue its rise in popularity.
Conclusion
Solana’s accelerating stablecoin inflows and growing TVL demonstrate its increasing importance in DeFi. With USDC dominating the stablecoin market on Solana, the network has become an attractive destination for users seeking stability and liquidity. As the crypto market continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how Solana’s growth trajectory compares to Ethereum’s.
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