Application revenues on the Solana network increased by 213% in the fourth quarter of 2024, primarily due to memecoin speculation, according to a report by crypto research firm Messari.
Cumulative app revenues grew from $268 million in Q3 2024 to $840 million in Q4, Messari said. They peaked in November at $367 million, according to the report.
The gains largely stemmed from increased memecoin trading, which was the driving force of Solana’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem in 2024.
Memecoin launchpad Pump.fun clocked $235 million in Q4 revenues, for a quarter-over-quarter increase of some 242%, Messari said.
It was followed by DeFi trading terminal Photon and decentralized exchange (DEX) Raydium, which clocked Q4 revenues of $140 million and $74 million, respectively. They both gained more than 250% quarter-over-quarter, according to Messari.
“These applications are directly related to the increase in speculation on meme coins and the increase in AI-related coins launched during this quarter,” Messari said.
Overview of Solana’s app ecosystem. Source: Messari
Related: Solana 24-hour DEX volume beats Ethereum, Base combined
The highest-grossing application not directly related to memecoin trading was Jito, a blockbuilder, which ranked 10th at around $21 million in revenues. Jito still benefits from increased trading activity.
Meanwhile, average daily DEX volume grew by 150% to $3.3 billion in Q4, Messari said.
Memecoins, AI tokens dominate
Fueled by venture capital funding and political speculation, memecoins now command approximately $130 billion in market capitalization, according to CoinGecko.
In December, Pump.fun generated roughly $250 million in trading volume, according to data from DefiLlama.
Additionally, Solana has emerged as the dominant blockchain for AI agents, holding a 56.48% market share, according to a January report by Bitget.
Tokens tied to AI agents are poised to soar in value to a total market capitalization of as high as $60 billion in 2025, Gracy Chen, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Bitget, told Cointelegraph.
Meanwhile, Solana continued to attract total value locked (TVL) in Q4, becoming the second largest blockchain network by TVL at $8.6 billion, according to the report.
Ethereum continues to lead in TVL with around $57 billion, according to DefiLlama.
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