Ethereum has done it. Its DeFi TVL broke past old highs and set fresh records in 2025. Solana? Still ranging around early 2025 levels. The market is asking one thing: will Solana follow Ethereum’s breakout, or will it stall at this range? The answer depends on how its fundamentals stack up, and they tell a mixed story. Why Solana Could Break Out Stablecoin Cushion Solana has $12.46 billion in stablecoins backing a total DeFi TVL of $25.7 billion. That’s ~48.5% of TVL sitting as liquid, deployable float. For comparison, that’s one of the highest cushions among major chains. It means Solana’s ecosystem holds plenty of dry powder for collateral, swaps, and yield strategies. Throughput and Usage In the past 30 days, Solana recorded ~$118.4 billion in DEX trading volume. That’s alongside ~2.6 million active addresses daily. Not one-off bursts, but broad recurring activity across the network. It shows that Solana’s throughput is not just marketing, it’s being used, at scale, every day. Credit Capacity Lending TVL on Solana sits at ~$3.63 billion. That’s a small fraction of the total $25.7 billion locked. The takeaway? Leverage and collateral redeployment are still underdeveloped. As lending markets expand, new layers of credit capacity could fuel TVL growth, just like on Ethereum in its 2020–2021 breakout. While Ethereum’s DeFi TVL has decisively broken above prior highs, Solana’s DeFi TVL is ranging around early 2025 levels. The key question now: will Solana’s TVL break out like Ethereum’s, or consolidate around the current range? Why Solana could break out Stablecoin… pic.twitter.com/J6e8npvfkV — Sentora (previously IntoTheBlock) (@SentoraHQ) September 3, 2025 Why Solana Could Stall Incentive Reliance Here’s the catch. Solana distributed ~$28.3 million in token incentives in the past 24 hours. Chain fees over that same time? Only ~$1.49 million. That’s a ratio of ~19x incentives to fees. In other words, activity may be subsidized more by incentives than by organic demand. That imbalance could weigh on sustainability. Cooling Momentum 7-day DEX volume fell 8.3%. Small, but a signal of softer near-term activity. Markets are watching closely. If volume stalls further, TVL could consolidate instead of breaking out. Solana by the Numbers: August Snapshot August 2025 was a monster month for Solana. The metrics read like a full-blown expansion phase. App Revenue: $148M in August, up 92% from 2024. Solana outpaced every other network. Perpetuals Volume: $43.8B all-time high. Transactions: 2.9B in August alone, up 46% y/y. More than 4x all other chains combined. DEX Volume: $144B, up 180% y/y. Active Addresses: 83M, doubling year-over-year. RWAs: Surpassed $500M for the first time. Tokenized Stocks: $92M in volume. REV (protocol revenue): $77M, up 22% y/y. Stablecoin Supply: $11.8B, up from $3.3B a year ago. Stablecoin Transfers: $295B, up 62% y/y. Bitcoin on Solana: $765M, up 7x y/y. Token Launches: 843k new tokens, +138% y/y. Of those, 357 tokens are valued at over $1M. Trading Platforms: Earned $85M on $8B in volume. Launchpads added another $51M. Fees: Median fees stayed at $0.001 with the lowest fee volatility of any major chain. This mix of revenue, stablecoin depth, and usage confirms Solana isn’t just a speculation hub, it’s running financial infrastructure at scale. August on Solana, by the numbers: ➔ $148 million in app revenue, up 92% from 2024 and surpassing all other networks ➔ All-time high perps volume of $43.8 billion ➔ 2.9 billion transactions, up 46% y/y and more than 4x all other networks combined ➔ $144 billion in DEX… pic.twitter.com/uPIZXObxW6 — Solana (@solana) September 4, 2025 Ethereum’s breakout in DeFi TVL came after months of steady on-chain growth, even when token prices chopped sideways. Solana is showing the same signs: deeper stablecoin pools, record app revenue, and surging transactions. The credit layer is underdeveloped, but that could be a feature, not a bug. It leaves space for new lending protocols, money markets, and structured credit products to drive the next leg higher. The risk is sustainability. Solana’s reliance on incentives remains a flashing yellow light. Unless fee-based activity grows to balance rewards, investors may question how sticky this activity is once rewards taper. Ethereum vs. Solana: The TVL Divergence Ethereum’s DeFi TVL broke above old highs decisively. The difference? Ethereum’s fees are high, sticky, and generate organic chain revenue. Solana, in contrast, is cheap to use, which drives adoption, but hasn’t yet proven that adoption can translate into sustainable chain income. That’s why this range matters. If Solana breaks out, it signals that activity is becoming self-sustaining. If it stalls, it risks becoming a rotation-driven chain that needs perpetual incentive fuel. For now, the data leans bullish. Stablecoins give Solana nearly half of its TVL in flexible liquidity. Daily active addresses and DEX volumes confirm constant demand. And the August growth numbers show expansion across every metric, from RWAs to token launches. The question is no longer whether Solana can handle volume. It can. The question is whether that volume converts into sustainable fees before incentive spending burns out. The market’s watching closely. Solana sits on the edge of a breakout. If the liquidity cushion gets deployed and lending markets catch up, TVL could follow Ethereum’s path higher. If incentives dominate and momentum cools further, consolidation is the likelier outcome. Either way, Solana has positioned itself as the network to watch in 2025. Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services. 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