Solana Tops 2025 Blockchain Revenues at $1.3B; Hyperliquid Posts $908M from Perpetuals
Solana led blockchain app revenues in 2025 with about $1.3 billion, driven by meme-token cycles, AI agent activity and a late-year DeFi resurgence. Cryptorank data showed Solana surpassed Ethereum in users, transactions and app revenues for much of the year, with app-driven income dominating for over seven months. Hyperliquid’s native HyperCore chain ranked second with roughly $908 million in native-chain revenues after its first full year as a perpetual-futures DEX — $848 million came from perpetual futures trading. Hyperliquid reported $3.87 billion in deposits, about 609,000 new users, $46 million distributed to builders and nearly $1 million from ticker auctions. Ethereum generated $524 million in 2025, BNB Chain $257 million and Base $76.4 million. Several legacy networks (Avalanche, Filecoin, TON) dropped from the top 10 as apps migrated to newer L1/L2s and specialized chains (EdgeX, Axelar, Bittensor, Optimism) rose based on strong single-app performance. The broader market takeaway for traders: 2025 marked a shift from incentive-led volume to predictable, app-driven revenue streams — favoring chains and apps with real user traction rather than airdrop farming. Traders should monitor Solana metrics (users, transactions, app revenues), DEX volumes and perpetual futures flows as potential trade signals; Hyperliquid’s results also highlight the revenue and liquidity potential of perpetual DEXs and native-chain settlement models.
Bullish
The news is bullish for SOL and for projects tied to perpetual DEX activity. Solana’s top-line $1.3B in app revenues signals stronger real-usage fundamentals — higher user counts, transactions and app revenue growth tend to support positive on-chain sentiment and can attract capital and developer activity, which is bullish for SOL over the medium term. Hyperliquid’s $848M in perpetual revenues and $3.87B deposits underline substantial demand for perpetuals on native settlement chains; this suggests elevated trading volumes and fee capture that can benefit native tokens and liquidity-providing strategies. Short-term price effects could be mixed: the market may already price some of these developments, and profit-taking or rotation into yield strategies (DEX liquidity, perpetuals) could cause volatility. Over the longer term, a shift from incentive-driven volume to predictable app-driven revenue tends to improve on-chain monetization and investor confidence, supporting sustained upside. Traders should watch on-chain metrics (users, txns, active app revenue), DEX volumes, funding rates and deposit flows for trade signals and risk-manage around heightened volatility following major data releases.