Solana, a popular cryptocurrency platform, has seen a surge in activity despite its price drop of 33% in the first quarter. According to a recent report by Messari, the network set new records for daily transaction volume and real-world asset market cap.
The average daily non-vote transactions reached an all-time high of 112.6 million, up 50% from the previous quarter. This growth is at odds with the price decline, suggesting that the platform's user base remains strong. Chain GDP, which represents total application revenue, remained almost flat, fractionally above Q4 2025.
Pump.fun and Axiom, a trading app, were among the top revenue-generating applications on Solana, along with a launchpad called Bags that saw a significant spike in revenue due to meme coins tied to open-source AI projects. However, this momentum was short-lived, as Bags' revenue dropped 85% month-over-month into February.
DeFi TVL (total value locked) fell 22% quarter-over-quarter to $6.16 billion, but Solana's share of total DeFi TVL remained relatively stable. The platform's real-world asset market cap grew significantly, reaching over $2 billion. BlackRock's BUIDL tokenized money market fund doubled in value after Anchorage Digital added custody support.