The Importance of Solana DEXs
Decentralized exchanges (DEX) are arguably the heart of every DeFi ecosystem. DEX builders need infrastructure that’s scalable, cost-efficient, and especially fast for transaction processing.
It’s sufficient to say that Solana fits like a glove, as it’s the go-to blockchain for DEX developers seeking that type of chain.
That said, DEXs are a key driver of economic growth for the Solana ecosystem. By leveraging Solana’s blockchain, DEXs have managed to become DeFi giants, attracting users with innovative features like automated market makers (AMMs), liquidity provision, dollar cost averaging (DCA), perpetual trading, and much more.
Moreover, DEXs within Solana are important because they keep the ethos of decentralized money alive. They provide users with a main element—ownership and control of their assets through personal self-custody wallets.
If you still haven’t picked one, take a look at our detailed guide on the top Solana wallets. You can also watch our video here.
Given the importance of decentralized exchanges, we have decided to devise a dedicated guide on the best Solana DEXs.
Therefore, the following list purposefully doesn’t include many decentralized exchanges, although quite a few of them should definitely be considered top projects on Solana. And yet, because the guide would be misleading without including any, we will look into the biggest one.
The Top 10 Solana Projects in 2024
In this comprehensive list, we’ll explore the best Solana projects. We have considered factors such as market presence, standout features, community, and development team strength.
Here’s a short recap of the niches that we looked into and some of the projects in them:
- Decentralized Exchanges: Jupiter
- Lending: Marinade Finance, Jito, Kamino Finance
- Wallets: Phantom Wallet
- NFTs: Magic Eden, Mad Lads
- DePIN: Render Network, Helium Network
- RWA: Ondo Finance
- Meme Coins: Dogwifhat (WIF)
Phantom Wallet: The Biggest Self-Custody Wallet on Solana
Quick summary:
- Largest self-custody wallet on Solana.
- Integrated support for other networks.
- Millions of monthly active users.
Phantom is hands-down the most popular self-custody wallet on Solana by means of total users. Launched in January 2021, the app has become one of the most widely used not only on Solana but across other networks as well.
It allows users to safely store their cryptocurrencies on-chain, catering to those looking for self-custody solutions. Almost all of the decentralized applications (dApps) on Solana support the Phantom wallet. It’s particularly popular among SOL stakers because of its simplified staking process and overall user-friendly interface, which makes it appropriate for hundreds of thousands of monthly users. It’s also available as a web browser extension for Brave, Google Chrome, and Firefox.
However, Phantom also has a dedicated mobile application that is supported on both iOS and Android devices.
CryptoPotato has conducted a couple of interviews with the CEO of Phantom – Brandon Millman, who’s also one of the co-founders. You can find them here and here.
Founders
Phantom was co-founded by:
- Brandon Millman – currently serving as the CEO.
- Francesco Agosti – currently serving as the CTO
- Chris Kalani – currently serving as the CPO
Funding
Data from CryptoRank shows that Phantom’s latest funding round in January 2022 valued the company at $1.2 billion. They raised $109 million. Before that, in July 2021, the company raised $9M.
Investors in Phantom include Paradigm, Jump Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, DeFi Alliance, Variant, Solana Ventures, and others.
Notable Milestones
- Raised over $100 million at a $1.2 billion valuation in January 2022.
- Extended support for Ethereum and Polygon in April 2023.
- Reported at 2.7 million monthly active users in January 2024.
Jupiter: Solana’s Top Decentralized Exchange (DEX)
Quick summary:
- Largest daily trading volume among Solana DEXs.
- Abundance of trading tools such as limit orders and DCA.
- Commitment to reward community.
As mentioned above, decentralized exchanges are at the forefront of Solana’s bustling ecosystem, providing a means for users to quickly swap between tokens without having to rely on their centralized counterparts.
Jupiter launched back in October 2021 and is one of the first on-chain swap aggregators on the networks.
Part of the reasons behind its success include important features such as limit orders, dollar-cost averaging (DCA), efficient swap services, and perpetual exchange capabilities (albeit still in BETA).
In January 2024, Jupiter launched its token – JUP. This was one of the most highly-anticipated airdrop campaigns in the cryptocurrency industry, which further highlighted the team’s commitment to rewarding its community.
This approach, firmly coupled with the team’s overall approach toward innovating and delivering practical and functional trading tools, has cemented Jupiter as one of the top projects on Solana and a powerhouse in the field of decentralized trading.
Founders
The founder of Jupiter is pseudonymous, using the X monicker Meow. Ben Chow is the co-founder.
Funding
Jupiter conducted an airdrop in January 2024. According to its tokenomics, 20% of JUP is reserved for team members under a specified vesting schedule. There’s also a 20% strategic reserve, which is managed by the team.
Notable Milestones
- Outperformed OpenSea on multiple occasions in 2024.
- Conducted one of Solana’s largest airdrops, launching the JUP token.
- Introduced limit orders, DCA, and other features.
Marinade Finance – Leading Solana Lending Project
Quick summary:
- Occupies the lending field.
- Focuses on liquid staking on Solana.
- Largest lending protocol on Solana.
Marinade Finance is one of the biggest projects in Solana, with a total value locked surpassing $1.5 billion (April 2024).
The protocol allows users to stake their SOL tokens and, in exchange, receive mSOL, which is the tokenized version of their staked assets. This means that while stake assets accrue yield and contribute to the network’s security and liquidity, users can deploy the mSOL tokens in other DeFi applications to maximize their income.
Users can unstake at any time without needing to wait. Moreover, accessibility to the protocol is not an issue, given that it’s integrated with exchanges like Coinbase and Solana-based wallets like Phantom.
Marinade quickly became one of the topSolana projects after capitalizing on the liquid staking narrative alongside protocols like the Ethereum-based giant Lido. After losing nearly 90% of the TVL in its network following the bearish grip that took over the crypto market from late 2021-2023, Marinade gained momentum 2024, amassing billions in total value locked (TVL).
Founders
Marinade Finance was founded in 2021 by Marco Broeken and Lucio Tato. Little information is available about the duo, mostly because the project is run by its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).
Funding
The exact amount Marinade Finance has raised is not publicly available. However, PitchBook reveals that Marinade completed at least one funding round and has secured investment from two VCs: Miton and Big Brain Holdings.
Notable Milestones
Important milestones for the protocol in 2024 include reaching over 160+ validators and the rollout of important developments. Some of them are:
- The rollout of Protected Staking Rewards in Q1, 2024, which allows Marinade to stake to more than its fleet of 100+ validators, further supporting decentralization on Solana.
- Improved TX performance for the dApp.
- The rollout of new marketing strategies to build new partnerships and push institutional adoption of Marinade’s growing product suite.
Magic Eden: Solana’s Go-To NFT Marketplace
Quick summary:
- Occupies the NFT space.
- Offers support for Ordinals, Ethereum, Polygon, Base.
- Largest NFT marketplace on Solana.
Solana’s non-fungible tokens space has been booming since 2021 and one of the largest marketplaces and the go-to platform for many NFT traders and investors is Magic Eden.
Magic Eden was launched in September 2021, and it quickly became dominant in the broader Solana ecosystem.
The platform is primarily known for providing users with a means of trading non-fungible tokens, but it’s also a place where one can launch their own collection. Magic Eden charges a certain tax on each NFT transaction.
It started as a Solana-focused NFT marketplace but later expanded to other networks. Although far from being as popular as the ETH-based NFT platform OpenSea, Magic Eden does offer support for Ethereum.
The project is also known for the team’s ability to adapt, launching support for trending networks quicker than many others. Some of these networks include Bitcoin (Ordinals and Runes), Polygon, and Base.
Founders
The founders of Magic Eden are:
- Jack Lu – who currently serves as the CEO
- Sidney Zhang – who currently serves as the CTO
- Zhuoxun Yin – who currently serves as the COO
- Zhoujie Zhou – who currently serves as the Chief Engineer
Funding
Magic Eden has had three funding rounds:
- Seed – raised $2.5 million in October 2021.
- Series A – raised $27 million in March 2022.
- Series B – raised $130 million in June 2022.
Some of the notable investors include Paradigm, Solana Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Electric Capital, 6th Man Ventures, and others.
Notable Milestones
- Raised $130 million at a $1.6 billion valuation in June 2022.
- Extended support for Bitcoin Ordinals in March 2023.
- Surpassed OpenSea and Tensor in terms of transaction volume in April 2024 (temporary).
Dogwifhat (WIF): The Biggest Meme Coin on Solana
Quick summary:
- The dog still has its hat.
Meme coins on Solana became one of the hottest topics in late 2023 and early 2024. Trading volume on the protocol exploded, causing the network itself to experience clogging issues and even downtime.
One of the most impactful meme coins in the entire industry, not just Solana, has undoubtedly been Dogwifhat (WIF).
The name describes a dog belonging to the corgi breed wearing a simple pink hat – hence, dog wif (with) hat. It became popular within tighter Solana-focused communities in December 2023 but exploded into the mainstream in the months that followed. By March, WIF was already trading at multi-billion dollar market capitalization, venturing into the top 50 cryptocurrencies in this list.
The coin has absolutely no utility or purpose beyond being funny. The joke is that no matter what happens, the dog will still have its hat.
Founders
The founders of Dogwifhat are anonymous, and they are known to have sold their tokens well before it became a popular meme coin.
Funding
Dogwifhat has received no funding – it’s a meme coin.
Notable Milestones
- Went parabolic in 2024.
- The community raised $650K to put the dog on the popular Las Vegas Sphere.
- The dog still has its hat.
Render Network – Decentralized Physical Infrastructure (DePIN)
Quick summary:
- Occupies the DePIN Narrative
- Focuses on decentralizing GPU cloud rendering
- Multiple applications in various fields
Render Network (RNDR) is one of the most popular projects in the Solana ecosystem. It aims to decentralize GPU cloud rendering through a marketplace linking users in need of on-demand rendering with high-performance GPU owners. This model empowers artists, individuals, and businesses to efficiently scale rendering tasks at a lower cost and faster pace compared to centralized GPU cloud systems.
The business model relies on two main actors: creators, who submit rendering jobs, and node operators, who leverage spare GPU capacity to fulfill tasks and earn RNDR as compensation. However, Render Network is capable of much more. Tasks within the platform range from simple rendering assignments for gaming, entertainment, or art to more intricate requests for artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) applications.
Founders
Jules Urbach founded Render Network in 2017. Urbach is also the founder of OTOY, a cloud GPU rendering service for content creation and delivery media. He’s considered a pioneer in computer graphics, streaming, and 3D rendering with over 25 years of industry experience.
Other notable team members are Bitcoin investor and tech entrepreneur Kalin Stoyanchev, who’s Render Network’s Project Lead, and CTO Charlie Wallace, a renowned software engineer.
Render Network also boasts a notable advisory team composed of high-profile names in multiple industries, including the well-known cineast J.J. Abrams; Jennifer Zhu Scott, a deep tech-focused entrepreneur from Hong Kong; and Ariel Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment company.
Funding
Render Network completed one round of fundraising. According to CoinCarp, the protocol brought in $30 million from a Seed round on December 21, 2021, from venture capital firms like Multicoin Capital and Solana Foundation and angel investors like Vinny Lingham.
Notable Milestones
Render Network was one of the best-performing DePIN projects of 2023. That year, the protocol witnessed a notable surge in demanding rendering tasks. This surge, fueled by advancements in next-generation projection mapping and immersive rendering projects, led to the highest workload volumes since the Render Network’s inception.
Render Network is now the largest DePIN project, with a market capitalization of over $3.3 billion (as of April 2024).
Ondo Finance – Real-World Assets (RWA) on Solana
Quick summary:
- RWA narrative on Solana.
- Institutional-grade on-chain products.
- Focus on compliance.
Ondo Finance is an RWA protocol that brings institutional-grade products on-chain. This means securities like bonds and treasury are tokenized on the blockchain to provide multiple benefits to investors, such as the ability to trade on secondary markets without typical wait times and bureaucratic hurdles, hence enhancing efficiency and liquidity.
Ondo provides a compliant and regulated trading avenue for investors who wish to engage with tokenized assets. However, it requires users to undergo KYC (Know Your Customer) procedures before joining the network. This is to ensure compliance with regulatory laws.
Operating on the principle of self-sufficiency, Ondo achieves this through partnerships and integrations with asset managers, custodians, lawyers, and other entities necessary for on-chain asset management.
Founders
Ondo was founded in 2021 by Nathan Allman, who previously worked on Goldman Sachs’ digital assets team. Other members include former Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Co. executives, such as Ian De Bode.
While it deviates from the usual anonymity and privacy-focused DeFi protocols, Ondo and other RWA protocols are one of the main drivers of blockchain adoption and economic growth for blockchain ecosystems. By logic, Ondo wouldn’t be able to offer tokenized bonds, which are securities, if it doesn’t provide the necessary steps to comply with regulatory laws.
Funding
Ondo Finance has raised around $46.4 million in one public sale ($22.4M) and a Series A ($24M) funding round.
Notable Milestones
Ondo Finance moved $95 million into BlackRock’s tokenized fund, BUIDL, on April 2024. This will enable instant settlements for Ondo Finance’s OUSG, which are tokens backed by short-term government treasuries.
Another recent milestone for the project is partnering with the Cosmos-based Nobloe chain to bring tokenized products to the Cosmos blockchain. The first asset that Ondo plans to issue through Noble on the Cosmos platform.
Wrap up!
In conclusion, Solana’s ecosystem has witnessed remarkable growth and innovation across various sectors, with decentralized exchanges, lending protocols, NFT marketplaces, meme coins, DePIN projects, and RWA protocols playing pivotal roles in driving the network forward. Projects like Jupiter, Marinade Finance, Magic Eden, Dogwifhat, Render Network, and Ondo Finance showcase the diversity and depth of the Solana ecosystem, offering users a wide range of opportunities and functionalities.
As Solana continues to evolve and attract attention within the crypto space, the importance of these projects in shaping the future of decentralized finance cannot be overstated. With Solana’s scalability, speed, and cost-efficiency, coupled with the ingenuity and dedication of these projects’ founders and teams, the future looks promising for the Solana ecosystem and its role in the broader crypto landscape.
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