Ethereum (ETH 2.31%) and Solana (SOL -1.17%) are two of essentially the most profitable cryptocurrencies, each rating within the prime 10 by market cap. They’re additionally direct rivals. Every is a blockchain platform the place builders can construct decentralized apps (dApps) and launch crypto tokens.
As a result of Ethereum launched in 2015, 5 years sooner than Solana, it established an enormous early lead when it comes to reputation and utilization. However that hole has been closing. During the last 12 months, Solana’s value has risen by 10%, whereas Ethereum’s has fallen by over 30%. Here is why Solana is the higher crypto funding proper now.
Solana is the quicker, extra environment friendly blockchain
Ethereum grew to become the highest blockchain platform partly due to its first-mover benefit, however going second has its advantages, too. Solana’s builders have been in a position to create a blockchain that blows Ethereum away when it comes to efficiency.
In line with Solana’s dwell transaction stats, it frequently processes over 4,000 transactions per second (tps). Ethereum is at about 15 tps on the time of this writing. Whereas each blockchains use a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism to validate transactions, Solana combines that with its distinctive proof-of-history consensus mechanism. Proof of historical past incorporates timestamps into the validation course of, enormously bettering processing speeds and prices.
The typical transaction price on Solana is simply $0.00025, cheaper than on most different blockchains. Ethereum’s median gasoline charges (its time period for transaction charges) are $0.05, however they fluctuate relying on the kind of transaction and community congestion.
Solana customers are much less more likely to encounter community congestion since its proof-of-history consensus mechanism makes it so a lot better at processing transactions. Additionally they pay far much less in charges. And based mostly on current numbers, crypto fans are taking discover.
Solana’s now making extra in charges and has larger income
At its peak in November 2021, Ethereum earned $1.8 billion in charges, in line with DefiLlama. Since then, it has largely been trending downward. Extra just lately, it made roughly $140 million in charges in January of this 12 months and $46 million in February.
Earlier than 2024, Solana was properly behind Ethereum on this metric. Nevertheless it narrowed the hole final 12 months and has been beating Ethereum by a large margin in 2025, with practically $250 million in charges in January and over $80 million in February. The Solana group has frequently improved with new improvements, together with liquid staking in 2024, which permits individuals to stake their SOL tokens, earn rewards, and obtain a liquid staking by-product they’ll use to earn extra returns.
Charges point out the quantity of exercise on a blockchain, so Solana’s a lot bigger numbers display its growing reputation. Charges aren’t the one space the place Solana has the sting on Ethereum this 12 months, both. It additionally had larger income numbers in January and February.
|
Blockchain |
January 2025 Income |
February 2025 Income |
|---|---|---|
|
Solana |
$124.2 million |
$44.9 million |
|
Ethereum |
$109.1 million |
$26.2 million |
Information supply: DefiLlama.
A rising variety of persons are selecting Solana over Ethereum for his or her crypto tasks. And there is one sort of mission, specifically, that has taken off just lately.
The go-to blockchain for launching meme cash
Meme cash have a controversial fame within the crypto group. Critical cryptocurrency supporters usually see meme cash as ineffective at greatest and pump-and-dump scams at worst. More often than not, that is correct.
However even when they serve little goal, meme cash stay standard. Living proof, Dogecoin has a market cap of $35.7 billion. Because of its low charges, Solana has grow to be the place to launch meme cash, with Official Trump and Melania Meme being two of the extra well-known examples.
There’s even a Solana-based platform, Pump.enjoyable, that enables anybody to immediately create a meme coin. It requires little or no technical data and prices solely about $2 in SOL tokens.
Pump.enjoyable primarily makes launching meme cash on Solana as simple and low cost as potential, and it has been wildly profitable. Since March 1, 2024, it has generated over $575 million in charges. And in simply the final two weeks, it has had over $2 billion in buying and selling quantity.
Ethereum is larger and extra established, however Solana is the higher funding
Ethereum has been firmly entrenched because the No. 2 cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) for years. It most likely will not lose that place anytime quickly. In line with a 2024 report by Electrical Capital, it is at present the highest blockchain platform worldwide by share of general builders.
However at this stage, Ethereum’s a lackluster crypto funding. Charges are declining, it may’t deal with many transactions per second, and it solely just lately introduced gasoline charges right down to an inexpensive degree.
Solana, then again, is on the rise. Transactions course of rapidly and price only a fraction of what they do on Ethereum. Whereas Ethereum might have the most important share of builders, Solana is second and have become the No. 1 blockchain for brand spanking new builders in 2024. That 12 months, 7,625 new builders explored Solana, in comparison with 6,456 who explored Ethereum.
On-chain exercise for Solana can be selecting up, as seen in its price numbers. Elevated exercise helped Solana’s value hit an all-time excessive in January, the identical month it hit an all-time excessive in income and charges.
Crypto costs, together with Solana’s, have pulled again since then, which is a traditional prevalence. Cryptocurrencies are risky, so even with high quality tasks, it is sensible to take a cautious method and be prepared for the ups and downs. Selecting the best cryptocurrency investments can be essential to present your portfolio the most effective likelihood of success. Whereas Ethereum and Solana are each standard selections, Solana has way more going for it as a long-term funding.
