As Pump.fun’s revenue and meme coin activity slow, Solana’s first Layer-2 project, Solaxy, is gaining traction. Could this be the next big Solana narrative?
Pump.fun, once the epicentre of the Solana meme coin craze, is experiencing a sharp decline in revenue, signalling a shift in investor sentiment.
The platform’s daily protocol fee revenue has dropped to $791,500 as of March 17, marking a staggering 94% decrease from its January peak of $15.38 million.
This is the lowest revenue figure for Pump.fun since November, showing that enthusiasm for Solana-based meme coins is fading.
Adding to the evidence of this downturn, the platform’s graduation rate – the percentage of launched tokens that successfully transition to Solana’s decentralised exchanges – has also fallen to 0.98%.
This is a stark decline from the 1.62% recorded on January 20 and the rate has remained below 1% for an entire month. The numbers suggest that fewer tokens are gaining traction, reinforcing the idea that the January meme coin bubble has well and truly burst.
According to Matrixport, this cooling-off period for meme coins is a key factor in the $1 trillion decline in total crypto market cap, which has dropped from $3.6 trillion to $2.6 trillion. The collapse of high-profile meme tokens like LIBRA, as well as Trump-linked coins, has shaken confidence in speculative assets.
In an attempt to counteract its revenue slide, Pump.fun has launched a mobile app and announced plans to integrate an automated market maker. These features aim to revitalise trading activity and improve liquidity.
However, the slowdown in meme coin interest has led many investors to look elsewhere – particularly towards the emerging Solana Layer-2 ecosystem, where new projects like Solaxy are making waves.
Solaxy: Solana’s First Layer-2 Solution Gains Traction
While meme coins struggle, another trend is taking shape in the Solana ecosystem. Solaxy is making history as Solana’s first Layer-2 blockchain, designed to tackle the scalability challenges that have long plagued the network.
Solana has faced congestion issues whenever demand spikes, causing delays and transaction failures. A recent example was when Donald Trump’s meme coin launched on Solana, overwhelming the network and leading to major disruptions. Solaxy aims to solve these problems by handling transactions off-chain, bundling them for efficiency and then settling them back onto Solana’s Layer-1 mainnet.
By reducing the strain on Solana, Solaxy promises faster transaction speeds, lower fees and improved reliability. These improvements could help Solana expand beyond its meme coin-dominated reputation and become a more attractive platform for decentralised applications (dApps) and institutional adoption.
The balance between serious technological innovation and memetic branding has made Solaxy a hit within the Solana community. Analysts like Jacob Bury have voiced strong support for the project, with Bury recently stating that Solaxy “could make millionaires” once it launches on exchanges.
How Solaxy Could Redefine Solana’s Future
Solana recently celebrated its fifth anniversary, marking its evolution from a risky new blockchain to Ethereum’s biggest competitor. In just five years, Solana has processed over 408 billion transactions, reached a market cap of $64 billion and become the backbone of some of the biggest DeFi and NFT projects in crypto.
Despite this success, Solana still faces fundamental limitations. Ethereum solved its congestion and scalability issues through Layer-2 solutions like Arbitrum and Optimism, which now collectively hold over $14 billion in total value locked (TVL). Until now, Solana has lacked a similar solution – but Solaxy is set to change that.
Solaxy will process transactions off-chain before finalising them on Solana’s mainnet, drastically improving efficiency. It will also maintain full compatibility with Solana’s ecosystem, allowing existing applications and tokens to integrate seamlessly.
If Solaxy delivers on its vision, it could be the catalyst that pushes Solana past Ethereum in terms of user experience and efficiency.
Just as Ethereum’s Layer-2 solutions helped it dominate DeFi, Solaxy could help Solana cement itself as the go-to blockchain for scalable decentralised applications.
Could $SOLX See a 7x Gain? The Investment Case for Solaxy
With Solana’s Layer-2 sector still in its infancy, Solaxy holds a first-mover advantage. This makes it difficult to compare directly to Ethereum’s Layer-2 ecosystem, but historical trends suggest that early Layer-2 adopters tend to see exponential growth.
If Solaxy reaches a $1 billion market cap – a conservative estimate based on the success of Ethereum’s Layer-2 tokens – $SOLX would trade at approximately $0.007, representing a 7x increase from its current presale price.
However, if Solaxy truly becomes the backbone of Solana’s scalability, its valuation could exceed that of Ethereum’s top Layer-2 projects.
Given that Arbitrum and Optimism are both valued at over $2 billion, a similar trajectory for Solaxy is well within reach.
The Shift from Meme Coins to Layer-2 Growth
The first quarter of 2025 has marked a clear transition in the Solana ecosystem. Meme coin mania is cooling down, as evidenced by Pump.fun’s declining revenue and token graduation rate. Meanwhile, the demand for scalable blockchain solutions is increasing, with Solaxy leading the charge.
As Ethereum’s Layer-2 ecosystem continues to expand, Solana is now following a similar path. The launch of Solaxy signals the beginning of a new era for Solana – one focused on real utility, institutional adoption and long-term growth.
SECURE YOUR $SOLX TOKENS BEFORE THE NEXT PRICE INCREASE
For investors, this shift presents a rare opportunity. Just as early backers of Arbitrum and Optimism saw major gains, those who position themselves early in Solana’s Layer-2 revolution could see significant returns.
With its strong presale performance, growing community support and the potential to redefine Solana’s scalability, Solaxy is shaping up to be one of the most exciting crypto projects of the year. The question now is: will it follow the same explosive trajectory as Ethereum’s top Layer-2 tokens?
Only time will tell, but for those looking to get ahead of the trend, the window of opportunity is now.