Solana's decentralized exchange trading volume collapsed roughly 82% in the span of two weeks, dropping from about $104.3 billion in the week ending May 11 to around $18.8 billion in the week ending May 25. The decline marks the steepest recent downturn for the network's core on-chain activity, driven by a sharp contraction in meme coin trading and signs that long-term holders are starting to sell.
Meteora leads the drop
Much of the volume loss came from Meteora, a Solana-based DEX that saw its weekly trading volume fall from roughly $93.1 billion to $9.2 billion over the same period — a decline of more than $80 billion. Meteora accounted for the bulk of the overall DEX volume during the earlier week, meaning its pullback dragged the entire network down. The broader Solana DEX ecosystem has seen volume drop more than 50% since January 2025, but the two-week crash was far sharper.
Long-term holders begin selling
On-chain data shows that Solana holders who had held their tokens for one to two years reduced their supply share from 16.049% on May 21 to about 15% by June 1. That reduction indicates selling pressure started within the same window as the DEX volume collapse. The timing suggests that some of the same investors who had been providing liquidity or trading on DEXes may have begun exiting positions.
Meme coin launches cut in half
New meme coin creations on Solana roughly halved in early 2026, according to on-chain data. The top meme coin launchpad, PumpFun, held a 75.3% market share as of January 28, 2026. With fewer new tokens hitting the market, the frenzy that drove much of Solana's recent DEX activity appears to have lost steam. PumpFun's dominance means its own output directly shapes the pipeline of speculative trading opportunities on the network.
What comes next
The DEX volume collapse and holder selling raise questions about Solana's near-term trading momentum. Whether the numbers recover or continue to slide likely depends on the next wave of meme coin launches or broader market conditions that could reignite the kind of high-frequency trading that pushed volume above $100 billion earlier in the spring. For now, the data shows a network that has lost more than four-fifths of its weekly DEX activity in just 14 days.
