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Solana DEX Volume Collapsed 82% as the Meme Coin Engine Stalled

Solana (SOL) is showing worrying signs on its blockchain. Over the past two weeks, trading volume on its decentralized exchanges (DEXs) has plummeted by around 82%, and a significant group of token holders has started selling off their holdings. Data from Dune and Glassnode suggests these two events happened around the same time, and appear to be linked to platforms launching meme coins.

The timing is the story. Here is how the pieces connect.

Solana DEX Volume Collapsed in Two Weeks

Decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume on Solana has dropped sharply in the last two weeks. Data from Dune shows that total weekly volume across all Solana DEXs was around $104.3 billion the week of May 11th, with the Meteora DEX making up about $93.1 billion of that. By the week of May 25th, the total had fallen to approximately $18.8 billion, with Meteora’s volume decreasing to $9.2 billion.

That is a decline of about 82% in two weeks, and it hit the largest venue hardest.

If you’re interested in getting more crypto analysis like this, I highly recommend subscribing to Harsh Notariya’s Daily Crypto Newsletter. I find it really helpful for staying informed.

Meteora alone saw a drop of over $80 billion in weekly trading volume. This decline isn’t limited to one area, suggesting that the surge of speculative trading that previously characterized Solana is slowing down.

Trading volume on the network’s decentralized exchanges (DEXs) has fallen by over 50% since January, marking a prolonged decline. The key now is to understand what caused this drop and how different parties responded.

Meme Coin Launchpads Went Quiet

The current situation can be explained by the performance of meme coins. For a long time, the Solana decentralized exchange (DEX) ecosystem thrived because new meme coins were constantly launched, attracting traders and driving trading volume. This process, which at times even surpassed Ethereum in activity, has now come to a halt.

Currently, another network is producing more transaction fees than Ethereum. In 2025, Ethereum users paid a total of $249.1 million in fees. Considering this, is Ethereum’s $218 billion market value reasonable?

— Harsh A Notariya (@harsh_notariya) May 6, 2025

Data from blockchains indicates that the number of new meme coins being launched decreased significantly at the beginning of 2026. This slowdown in activity on launchpads meant there were fewer new tokens available for trading. As a result, the surge in trading volume seen on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) began to decline, as traders had fewer new and exciting projects to invest in. Consequently, revenue for trading bots probably also decreased.

The recent data clearly shows a connection. A platform focused on quickly launching new cryptocurrencies and experiencing high turnover wouldn’t lose $80 billion in weekly trading volume simply due to a general market downturn.

Here are the top 5 launchpads for memecoins, based on their market share:

PumpFun leads with 75.3% of the market.
Meteora DBC holds 12.9%.
LetsBonkFun has 4.74%.
Bags accounts for 4.24%.
MetaDao represents 0.51% of the market.

— 0xMarioNawfal (@RoundtableSpace) January 28, 2026

Trading activity drops off when new projects stop appearing. The recent decrease in trading volume on decentralized exchanges is mainly due to less interest in meme coins, and when this happened was important for what followed.

The Overlap: A Key Cohort Started Selling in the Same Window

The amount of Solana (SOL) held by long-term investors—those who’ve held their coins for one to two years—is decreasing. According to data from Glassnode’s HODL Waves, this group held 16.049% of all SOL on May 21st. However, by June 1st, their share had fallen to approximately 15%.

The decrease in selling started on May 21st, coinciding with a sharp drop in trading volume on decentralized exchanges between May 11th and May 25th. These two trends happened around the same time. This group of sellers had originally purchased their Solana coins during the price increase in 2024 and 2025.

It is the same boom that ran on the meme coin volume now draining away.

The data doesn’t demonstrate that a drop in trading volume caused these users to leave, and the article doesn’t suggest that either. Instead, the data reveals a clear connection in timing. When trading activity on Solana decreased, a group of long-term holders began selling their holdings around the same time.

As an analyst, I’m watching the situation closely, and it’s becoming clear that the recent drop in trading volume on Solana’s decentralized exchanges is either *causing* the broader issues we’re seeing, or it’s happening *because* of those same issues. Honestly, it’s hard to tell which came first. The next few weeks will be critical in determining the root cause and how Solana will recover.

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2026-06-02 10:06