As 2025 closes and markets look toward 2026, on-chain data is telling a surprise story: usage and price are diverging. Price picture: major caps finished the year in the red, and among the top five coins Solana (SOL) was the weakest performer, plunging more than 30% for the year while Ethereum (ETH) fell about 6%. Put another way, SOL’s decline was roughly five times larger than ETH’s, driving a roughly 25% drop in the SOL/ETH ratio. (Source: TradingView, SOL/ETH.) Usage picture: despite its poor price performance, Solana emerged as the most-used chain in 2025, according to Artemis CEO Jon Ma — sparking a heated debate in the community over what “dominance” really means. Artemis data shows Solana topping several raw-usage metrics: - Monthly active users: ~98 million - Total transactions: ~34 billion - Trading volume: ~$1.6 trillion (Source: Artemis Terminal.) That performance makes a strong case that Solana led in “pure usage” last year — demonstrating that network adoption doesn’t always move in lockstep with token price. But Ethereum’s on-chain strengths remain intact. Per Jon Ma’s breakdown, Solana ranked: - 3rd in total transfer volume - 2nd in TVL (total value locked) - 2nd in developer activity - 3rd in stablecoin supply In short: Solana dominated on user counts, transactions and trading flow, while Ethereum continued to lead or remain highly competitive on foundational DeFi metrics, developer engagement, liquidity depth and stablecoin supply — the rails that tend to matter for long-term ecosystem resilience. What this means going forward: the data highlights two different narratives. Solana’s network is being heavily used and attracting huge transaction throughput, yet it lags in several core DeFi and infrastructure measures that underpin market depth and long-term value capture. That makes a near-term reversal where SOL sustainably outperforms ETH in market returns look unlikely to many observers, though on-chain adoption trends complicate simple price-based comparisons. Bottom line: 2025 was a reminder that on-chain usage and token price can tell different stories — and both matter when evaluating the health and prospects of an L1. Analysts and traders will be watching whether Solana’s intense usage translates into deeper economic value for its ecosystem, or whether Ethereum’s stronger foundational metrics continue to underpin its market leadership. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Cryptocurrency trading is high risk; do your own research before making investment decisions. © 2025 AMBCrypto. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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