In the first quarter of 2026, Solana maintained its position as the leading blockchain for decentralized exchange spot trading with a 30.6% market share, according to a CoinGecko report. However, its trading volume fell by 26.5%, and Ethereum briefly overtook Solana in March. Solana also processed a dominant 25.3 billion transactions in Q1 and saw a record $650 billion in stablecoin activity in February, driven by new offerings.
Solana remained the top chain for decentralized exchange spot trading in Q1 2026, with a 30.6% market share. Its trading volume fell by 26.5% during the same period.
This momentum shifted in March, when Ethereum briefly overtook Solana with a 27% share compared to the latter’s 26%. CoinGecko revealed BNB Chain ranked second for the quarter overall after holding a 24.5% share, slightly ahead of Ethereum’s 23.7%.
Meanwhile, Monad has steadily gained traction since its mainnet launch in November 2025. It is now the tenth-largest chain by spot trading volume, surpassing networks like Unichain and Optimism.
Solana also handled far more activity than any other blockchain in Q1 2026, processing about 25.3 billion transactions. BNB Chain came in a distant second with 1.7 billion transactions, followed by Tron at 978 million.
Solana saw a major jump in stablecoin activity in February 2026, recording around $650 billion in transactions in a single month. This was a record high and nearly three times higher than January’s level.
The growth was driven by new offerings like Western Union’s USDPT and Jupiter’s JUPUSD, which helped attract more users. JUPUSD also drew attention for offering yield features within its ecosystem.
Solana’s price has been volatile in the past week. The crypto asset started near $84 and saw a sharp decline around April 12-13, dropping toward the $82 level.
Selling pressure eased midweek, and a recovery began on April 14 as prices moved back above $84. Momentum strengthened later into the week, pushing SOL toward $89.86.
