Solana Reclaims $100 Billion Market Cap in July 2025

Traditional financial players are also making moves. BlackRock’s digital asset division and Fidelity have disclosed indirect SOL exposure through their partnerships with DeFi yield protocols. This marks the first time both firms have engaged with Solana-linked yield strategies in formal asset management products.

Institutional inflows have corresponded with a notable uptick in blockchain activity.

Solana’s Ecosystem Expansion and Developer Activity

Arkham Intelligence data shows that between July 8 and July 20, more than 14 new institutional wallets were created, each holding over $1 million in SOL.

This build-up has provided tailwinds to Solana’s price and visibility across digital asset markets.

• Coinbase’s July 15 listing of SolSea, a Solana-native NFT marketplace, on its main application also gave the network a retail boost.
• Within 48 hours of the listing, retail trading volumes for SOL jumped by 38%.
• At the same time, Magic Eden recorded $96.4 million in NFT volume – the highest weekly total since January 2024.
• During that week alone, over 740,000 new NFT wallet addresses were registered on the Solana blockchain.

On-chain usage surged in response. Daily active addresses surpassed 1.45 million in the third week of July, while Solana’s transaction fees remained below $0.001, maintaining a major cost advantage over Ethereum, which averages $0.34 per transaction.

The momentum in the market was further boosted by futures traders. A notable whale position worth over $18 million in unrealized gains was spotted on Binance Futures, held at 20x leverage.

Between July 10 and July 21, over 34 million SOL were reportedly opened in long positions across Bybit, OKX, and Binance.

Bearish traders were wiped out in a $16 million liquidation wave between July 18 and July 20, pushing SOL from $196 to $216 within 48 hours.

Solana’s performance in the DeFi space continues to improve. Kamino Finance, one of its key liquid staking protocols, now holds more than 51.7 million SOL in locked assets – roughly 12.8% of the staked supply. Drift Protocol, a decentralized margin platform, has grown its user base by over 400% since Q1, averaging 62,000 weekly active users.

Total DeFi value locked across Solana has climbed to $10.3 billion, according to the latest data.

While earlier estimates exaggerated ecosystem size, recent developer reports confirm over 3,900 active Solana-based dApps. The network currently processes around 50 million transactions per day, outperforming Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain by a wide margin in both throughput and speed.
2025 Snapshot and Outlook

Market Dynamics and Future Outlook: A Dual Perspective

As of July 21, Bitcoin has gained approximately 25.7% year-to-date, while Ethereum is up 12.9%. Solana, by contrast, has posted a modest 3.6% gain in the same period. The divergence between market cap momentum and YTD token performance highlights how ecosystem developments, like ETF inflows and NFT growth, can drive value beyond simple price charts.

Solana continues to outperform competitors in transaction finality, averaging just 400 milliseconds per block. This is significantly faster than Ethereum’s 12-second finality and Bitcoin’s 10-minute confirmation time. With NFT issuance growing, DeFi protocols scaling, and treasury participation increasing, Solana is carving out a distinct position that blends low cost, high speed, and real-world application.

Despite the upside, market signals suggest caution. Solana’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) currently hovers around 72, hinting at potential overbought conditions. Bitedge analysts point to the $190–$200 range as a possible pullback zone if momentum stalls. A cooling-off phase could emerge as leveraged positions unwind or short-term traders take profits.

Regulatory scrutiny is also intensifying. In July, the U.S. SEC reiterated its stance that staking rewards offered to U.S. investors may qualify as securities and must be registered accordingly. While Solana has not been directly named in any enforcement actions, its reliance on staking and yield-bearing instruments places it within the scope of ongoing regulatory debates.

Final Take

Solana’s return to a $100 billion valuation reflects a network realigning itself with real usage, diversified investor interest, and long-term product value. While price movement has lagged headline valuations, the fundamentals, NFT adoption, DeFi usage, and institutional access are trending upward.

Whether this cycle pushes SOL back toward its January high or not,
the building blocks of a stronger ecosystem are in place.