Solana processed a record 5.2 billion non-vote transactions in August, but network revenue fell sharply in the first half of 2026 as the memecoin trading boom lost momentum.
The August total was 19% higher than the figure recorded in July, according to Solana. However, data from 21Shares showed gross network revenue dropped to $141m in the six months to the end of June, compared with $1.09bn during the same period a year earlier.
The figures cover different timeframes. The transaction data relates to the month ending 31 August, while the revenue comparison covers the first six months of the year. Taken together, they show that activity on the blockchain has accelerated even as the fees and tips generated by that activity have remained well below the levels seen during the memecoin surge a year earlier.
Non-vote transactions exclude messages validators send as part of the network’s consensus process. They are therefore intended to provide a clearer indication of application activity. However, the measure can include both successful and unsuccessful transactions, and does not show how many individual users were involved or how much value was transferred.
Further analysis at programme level is required to distinguish between payments, trades and other types of activity, according to documentation from Dune and Token Terminal.
21Shares attributed the fall in revenue to reduced competition for space in Solana’s blocks. Its analysis found that priority fees and Jito tips accounted for 95% of gross revenue in the first half of 2025, contributing 40% and 55% respectively.
Those additional charges were paid by memecoin traders seeking to have their transactions processed ahead of others in heavily congested blocks. As speculative trading cooled, that particularly lucrative source of fees declined.
The composition of trading also changed. Memecoins accounted for 40% of Solana’s spot trading volume in the first half of 2025, but just 16% in the first half of 2026. Over the same period, stablecoin swaps increased from 6% to 19%.
21Shares said the forms of trading that replaced memecoins generated less revenue per transaction.
A comparison between consecutive quarters points to the same trend. A shareholder letter from DeFi Development Corp., filed with the SEC, put Solana’s second-quarter network revenue at $51m. That was 43% lower than in the first quarter and 81% below the same quarter a year earlier. The median transaction fee during the period was $0.00043.
More recent data suggested some improvement in fees paid to validators. Solana Compass reported that the seven-day average had reached approximately 9,200 SOL per day by late August, more than 80% above its level three months earlier.
The figure is denominated in SOL and includes both priority fees and Jito tips. It cannot be directly compared with the 21Shares figure, which measures six months of gross revenue in US dollars.
Validator income also comes from sources beyond transaction charges. Under Solana’s fee rules, half of the base fee is paid to the block producer and the other half is burned. The full priority fee goes to the validator, which may also receive commissions from inflationary staking rewards.
The record processing volume is a positive operational signal for SOL. However, the token’s economic value will depend on what users are willing to pay for blockspace, how much SOL is burned or staked, and whether growth in stablecoin, DeFi and payment activity produces lasting fee revenue.
Transaction numbers alone remain an unreliable guide to validator income or demand for the token.
SOL fell 0.70% over the preceding 24 hours and was ranked seventh by market capitalisation.
The report was written by Liam Wright, also known as “Akiba”, a reporter, podcast producer and Editor-in-Chief at CryptoSlate. CryptoSlate says artificial intelligence tools may be used to support research, editing and production, but that its journalism is led by its editorial team.
The publication states that its writers’ opinions are their own and should not be treated as investment advice. It also warns that buying and trading cryptocurrency is a high-risk activity and accepts no responsibility for trading losses.
