Solana Sees 97% Drop in Traders as Big Money Walks Away in 2025
Solana is facing one of its toughest years yet. Network activity has collapsed by 97% from its November 2024 peak, as institutional investors quietly exit while retail traders continue to buy the dip.
The blockchain hit an all-time high of $296 in November 2024, but since then, SOL has fallen nearly 58%, revealing a sharp divide between who is buying and who is leaving.
What’s Really Happening: Institutions Exit, Retail Steps In
According to crypto trader Ardi, buying pressure since Solana’s peak has been driven almost entirely by small retail wallets, typically making purchases between $0 and $1,000.
Behind the scenes, large holders were already preparing their exit. Distribution began before Solana reached its all-time high, with selling pressure increasing months ahead of October 10, 2024. This suggests that major players planned their exits well in advance of the price decline.
Wallet data tells a clear story:
Mid-sized wallets ($0–$100,000)
Institutional wallets ($100,000–$10 million)
Both groups have been shrinking steadily for about 13 months. In contrast, retail wallets have continued to grow, showing that smaller investors still believe SOL is undervalued despite institutional withdrawal.
Another key insight: Solana’s demand has been almost perfectly correlated with memecoin activity, highlighting how dependent network usage has become on speculative trading.
Why It Matters: A Massive Revenue and Activity Crash
Investor and trader Jas highlighted the scale of the slowdown. Solana’s monthly active traders plunged from around 30 million to fewer than 1 million in 2025, marking a staggering 97% decline.
The impact on revenue has been just as severe:
2024 revenue: $2.5 billion
2025 revenue: ~$500 million
That’s a fivefold drop year-over-year.
Meanwhile, Ethereum generated $1.4 billion in revenue in 2025 and has outperformed Solana by 56% year-to-date.
As Jas summed it up:
“SOL’s future may depend less on memes—and more on what comes after them.”
