Solana and Hyperliquid Lead Chain Revenue in 2025!

In 2025, two distinct blockchain networks—Solana and Hyperliquid—emerged as the top revenue generators in the industry. Solana has accrued an impressive $1.3 billion in revenue, while Hyperliquid reached $816 million. These figures highlight a significant trend in which blockchain protocols focused on execution and transaction efficiency are outperforming those powered by liquidity depth.

Key Takeaways

Top Revenue Generators: Solana and Hyperliquid lead with $1.3 billion and $816 million in revenue, respectively.
Execution Over Liquidity: Chains focusing on transaction execution are proving more profitable than those relying solely on liquidity.
Stable Performance: Solana's total value locked (TVL) has remained stable, with revenue driven by high transaction volumes rather than liquidity growth.
Hyperliquid's Specialization: As a derivatives trading platform, Hyperliquid has generated substantial revenue with a sticky TVL.
Market Resilience: Both networks continue to thrive, showing that sustained usage outweighs temporary market sentiment.

Solana and Hyperliquid dominate 2025 chain revenue as execution trumps TVL and sentiment

Solana's Revenue Lead Through Stable Capital

In 2025, Solana has retained a steady Total Value Locked (TVL), fluctuating between approximately $7 billion and $12 billion, according to DeFi data. Despite the absence of continuous TVL growth, transaction volumes have remained robust, with noticeable spikes over the year. This combination indicates that Solana is extracting revenue efficiently, focusing on transaction fees rather than simply increasing liquidity.

High-frequency use across decentralized exchanges, consumer applications, memecoin trading, and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) has resulted in significant fee generation. Furthermore, sentiment analysis reveals that while the perception of SOL has been inconsistent, swinging between positive and negative, this has not significantly impacted Solana's usage or revenue. This trend suggests that demand is driven by actual use rather than speculative narratives, reinforcing Solana's role as a high-throughput execution layer.

Solana sentiment Source: Santiment

Hyperliquid's Specialized Revenue Model

Hyperliquid operates as a dedicated derivatives trading platform, distinguishing itself from typical blockchains. In 2025, it has generated more revenue than many prominent layer-1 and layer-2 networks. Data shows Hyperliquid's TVL grew from around $2 billion at the start of the year to a peak above $6 billion, stabilizing at approximately $4.1 billion. Even with a slight pullback, its TVL is nearly double its beginning-of-year level, indicating strong capital retention despite market fluctuations.

Revenue for Hyperliquid has consistently remained high relative to its TVL, suggesting that its fee generation relies on ongoing trading activity rather than occasional spikes in volume. Social sentiment around HYPE did cool in the latter half of the year, trending towards neutral, but this did not result in a significant drop in TVL or revenue. Such resilience demonstrates that traders continue to rely on Hyperliquid regardless of overall market sentiment.

Hyperliquid sentiment Source: Santiment

A Shift in On-Chain Value Dynamics

The collective data from 2025 indicates a notable trend: blockchain networks emphasizing execution quality and throughput are outpacing those that depend on sizable but passive liquidity pools. Solana represents the general-purpose side, providing a wide range of applications with high transaction capacity. In contrast, Hyperliquid is at the specialized end, concentrating primarily on intense derivatives trading. Both networks convert activity into revenue more effectively than several competitors in the space.

Final Thoughts

As 2025 unfolds, Solana and Hyperliquid's revenue figures illustrate a shift in how blockchain networks capture on-chain value. By prioritizing execution and user engagement over merely liquidity size, both networks have established themselves as leaders in a rapidly evolving crypto ecosystem. Understanding such dynamics will be crucial for stakeholders looking to navigate the future of blockchain technology.