Solana Sees 82% DEX Volume Drop: Meme Coin Mania Halts

Solana's been in the spotlight, but not for reasons traders like. JUST IN: DEX trading volume on the Solana network plunged about 82% over a two-week stretch. From $104.3 billion on May 11 to a mere $18.8 billion by May 25, the drop is brutal. At the heart of it's Meteora, which alone lost over $80 billion in volume. That's no small potato. It points to a significant cooling in speculative trading flows that previously fueled this blockchain.

So, what's going on? The meme coin hype train seems to have hit the brakes. In 2026, the launch of new meme coins nearly halved. These coins are the juicy bait for speculative traders, and their decline dried up the trading frenzy. Look, no fresh coins mean no new stories to chase. This shrinks the speculative volume that used to make Solana look like a high-flyer.

As if that wasn't enough, here's the kicker: a key group of holders started selling right when things went south. Glassnode's data shows that from May 21 to June 1, the 1-year-to-2-year holders trimmed their SOL stash from 16.049% to about 15%. These are the folks who bought into Solana’s 2024-2025 boom, and now they're cashing out. This changes things. Whether the volume drop triggered the sell-off or they're just symptoms of the same ailment, they're definitely linked.

The market's verdict: Solana's got some explaining to do. As meme coin launches fade, and holders ditch, the next few weeks will be telling. Will Solana adapt or sink further? Traders are watching closely.