🧠 Executive Summary
Solana’s DeFi ecosystem has undergone a dramatic transformation since its 2021 peak. Once dominated by yield farming and FTX-linked liquidity, it experienced a sharp decline in late 2022—but has since staged an impressive resurgence. This article offers a comparative analysis of Solana DeFi during its bull run in 2021 versus its rebirth in 2024–2025. It uses on-chain data to assess key metrics such as Total Value Locked (TVL), user activity, and protocol innovation.
While 2021 Solana was fueled by speculative growth and high emissions, today’s DeFi stack—anchored by protocols like Jupiter, Kamino, and marginfi—emphasizes capital efficiency, composability, and user experience. TVL has rebounded from its post-crash lows, but more importantly, the new wave of protocols are proving more resilient, transparent, and product-driven.
Will explore whether Solana’s DeFi revival represents a return to form or an evolution into something more sustainable—and how this might position Solana against other Layer 1s in the next cycle.
🌊 Introduction: From Peak to Reset to Revival
In late 2021, Solana emerged as one of the most vibrant ecosystems in DeFi. Fueled by lightning-fast transaction speeds and strong institutional backing, the network’s Total Value Locked (TVL) soared past $10 billion, with protocols like Raydium, Serum, and Saber leading the charge. The growth was explosive—but also unsustainable.
The collapse of FTX and Alameda Research in late 2022 sent shockwaves through the ecosystem. Many of Solana’s leading protocols relied heavily on infrastructure tied to FTX—most notably Serum’s central limit order book. Liquidity evaporated, TVL cratered , and community confidence was severely shaken. The ecosystem was forced to reckon with the fragility of its early success.
But the builder culture didn’t die—it adapted. Through 2023 and into 2024, a new generation of protocols began to emerge: leaner, more product-focused, and deeply aligned with Solana’s native advantages. Innovations like Firedancer, state compression, and low-cost transactions set the stage for a meaningful resurgence.
Fast forward to today: Solana’s DeFi is experiencing a true renaissance, led by next-gen protocols like Jupiter, Kamino, and marginfi. These teams aren’t just replicating Ethereum blueprints—they're reimagining UX, risk frameworks, and liquidity layers from the ground up. The focus has shifted from unsustainable yield farming to capital efficiency, composability, and user ownership.
Will unpack how Solana’s DeFi ecosystem has evolved since 2021—through metrics, user behavior, and protocol-level innovation—to assess whether this resurgence is not just a comeback, but a reinvention.
📊 Methodology
To evaluate Solana's DeFi resurgence, two key periods were analyzed:
2021 Cycle Peak: October to December 2021
Current Resurgence: January to April 2025
Metrics Tracked
Total Value Locked (TVL): Measures the total capital deployed across Solana DeFi protocols, denominated in USD.
Transaction Volume: Tracks activity levels across lending, trading, and other DeFi operations.
Data Sources
Data was collected from DeFiLlama's comprehensive dataset, focusing on historical and real-time metrics. The graphs provided visualize Solana's TVL and transaction volume trends for both timeframes.
Key Insights from the Charts
2021 Peak
The first chart highlights a sustained TVL above $10 billion during Solana's 2021 peak. Transaction volume (green line) reached consistent highs, reflecting strong ecosystem activity fueled by protocols like Raydium and Serum.
2025 Resurgence
The second chart shows a more modest but steadily growing TVL (~$6 billion to $8 billion). Transaction activity (green line) remains stable, signaling a gradual recovery driven by new protocols such as Kamino and Jupiter. Notably, this period reflects greater resilience despite market volatility.
Methodological Considerations
Efforts were made to normalize the data by:
Comparing USD-denominated TVL across timeframes to account for market price fluctuations.
Filtering for genuine transaction activity to exclude anomalies (e.g., bot activity or wash trading).
Together, these metrics provide a lens to understand the structural shifts in Solana's DeFi ecosystem.
TVL & User Growth
The evolution of Solana’s DeFi ecosystem is best illustrated by shifts in Total Value Locked (TVL) and user activity. These two metrics serve as a proxy for capital confidence and adoption rate—key ingredients in any healthy financial system.
🧠 Then vs. Now: Comparing TVL
During the 2021 cycle peak, Solana DeFi saw TVL soar past $10 billion, powered by speculative mania and a rush of capital into early platforms like:
Raydium (AMM + orderbook hybrid)
Serum (central limit order book)
Saber (stablecoin swaps)
However, the capital was fragile. Much of it was mercenary yield-chasing liquidity that left as quickly as it arrived. The 2022 bear market and the collapse of FTX (a key backer of many Solana-based projects) triggered a rapid flight of capital.
In contrast, the 2025 resurgence shows a more measured and resilient recovery:
TVL climbed from ~$5.5B to ~$8.5B between January and early April.
This capital appears “stickier,” with a large share deployed in more sustainable protocols like Kamino, MarginFi, and Jito.
The rise in TVL has tracked more closely with actual usage, rather than speculative cycles alone.
🚀🔧 Protocol Innovation: The New Guard
Solana’s DeFi resurgence has been driven not only by growth in Total Value Locked (TVL) and user activity but also by the innovative spirit of the new wave of protocols emerging on the blockchain. These projects are introducing fresh approaches to DeFi, pushing boundaries, and tapping into new markets. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most notable protocol innovations:
Jupiter 🌐
Jupiter has solidified its dominance as a decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator on Solana, simplifying the swapping of tokens across multiple liquidity sources. With the launch of LFG (Liquidity for Good) and its association with the memecoin frenzy 🚀, Jupiter has positioned itself as a key player in the Solana ecosystem. The project’s ability to aggregate liquidity seamlessly provides users with the best possible swap rates and has made it a critical part of Solana’s DeFi infrastructure.
Kamino 🔒
Kamino brings a unique approach to risk-managed vaults and cross-margin lending, combining UX-first design with cutting-edge DeFi innovation. The protocol offers users an intuitive platform for earning yield while mitigating risk, focusing heavily on user experience (UX) to create a more accessible DeFi environment. Kamino’s vaults have become a go-to tool for users looking for safe, reliable returns in the complex world of DeFi.
Marginfi 📊
In an exciting fusion of SocialFi and DeFi, Marginfi introduces a "points meta" system, enabling users to engage in decentralized finance through a social network lens. The protocol’s innovative use of "points" within its ecosystem allows for a more gamified experience , engaging users and encouraging greater participation. This fusion of social and financial elements is setting a new precedent for DeFi platforms, blending community interaction with traditional financial activities.
Drift v2, Zeta, Phoenix 🔥
These perp DEXes (perpetual decentralized exchanges) represent a significant leap forward with their unique models. Drift v2, for instance, introduces LP-less order books, eliminating the need for liquidity providers and allowing traders to execute orders with zero slippage. Zeta focuses on options and derivatives with its innovative design, while Phoenix emphasizes speed and scalability. All three protocols are breaking new ground in decentralized derivatives trading, each with a focus on solving pain points in user experience and liquidity.
Conclusion of Protocol Innovation
The resurgence of Solana's DeFi ecosystem is largely driven by the innovative protocols that have emerged in recent years. Marginfi, with its cross-margin trading functionality, has introduced sophisticated trading capabilities to Solana’s DeFi space, empowering traders with more flexible and efficient strategies. Kamino has revolutionized yield farming by enhancing capital efficiency, while Jupiter has significantly improved the liquidity aggregation experience, ensuring users have access to the best prices across the ecosystem. These protocols, alongside others, are redefining how users interact with decentralized finance on Solana. 🚀
The innovation within Solana’s DeFi sector is further amplified by the blockchain’s inherent strengths — its high throughput, low transaction costs, and scalability — which make it an ideal platform for deploying advanced financial protocols. 🌐 As these innovations continue to unfold, Solana is positioning itself as a key player in the DeFi space, offering scalable and efficient solutions for users and developers alike. 💡
However, the key to Solana's continued success lies in its ability to maintain and foster a culture of innovation. 🔄 As new protocols and use cases are developed, Solana’s DeFi ecosystem is set to grow exponentially, solidifying the platform’s position as a leading contender in the decentralized finance landscape. Continuous protocol innovation will not only improve user experiences but also drive further adoption, making Solana a pivotal force in the future of DeFi. 🌱
