Ethereum vs. Solana: The Complete Guide (2025)

Ethereum and Solana are Among The World’s Two Most Popular Layer-1 Blockchains

Other than Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana are by far the two most popular Layer-1 blockchains today. While Ethereum has consistently had a much larger market cap, Solana has grown significantly faster when we look at metrics like new users and new dApps deployed. In addition, compared to Ethereum, Solana is significantly faster when we look at various core metrics, including new network addresses. 

As of the writing of this article, the only non-Etheruem Layer-1 blockchain with a higher market cap than Solana is Ripple (XRP), though Ripple does not currently support smart contracts and, by most measures, is not decentralized, with the majority of validators being controlled by Ripple Labs. 

In this article, we’ll discuss some of the key aspects of both the Ethereum and Solana blockchains, including their founders and history, token and tokenomics, scalability and performance, architecture and consensus, programming languages, DeFi TVL, GameFi and SocialFi use cases, and NFT implementations. 

Founders and History 

Ethereum

Ethereum was founded in 2013 by Vitalik Buterin. The project’s co-founders included future crypto heavyweights Gavin Wood, Charles Hoskinson, and Joseph Lubin, who would respectively go on to found Polkadot, Cardano, and Consensys. Ethereum, which launched its mainnet in 2015, was the first blockchain to offer smart contracts, meaning that decentralized applications (dApps) could be built on it rather than just permitting payments, as Bitcoin had. In this way, Ethereum revolutionized the crypto and blockchain industry by transitioning the focus away from digital payments to a global, decentralized internet. 

Like Bitcoin, Ethereum was initially a proof-of-work blockchain, requiring energy-intensive miners to validate transactions. However, in September 2022, Ethereum transitioned its consensus mechanism to proof-of-stake (PoS) in a process known as “The Merge,” reducing the blockchain’s energy usage by more than 99%. 

Solana

Solana was created by Solana Labs, founded by developers Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal in 2018. The company’s founding was partially inspired by a 2017 whitepaper published by Yakovenko, which outlined a new type of consensus mechanism for transaction ordering called “proof-of-history” (PoH). 

Yakovenko and several other Solana co-founders were longtime veterans of the software giant Qualcomm, which was located in Solana Beach, California, which inspired the name. From April 2018 to July 2019, Solana Labs raised approximately $20 million through multiple private token sales. Solana released its finalized whitepaper and testnet in 2018. Solana launched its mainnet and released its native token (SOL) in March 2020. 

Token and Tokenomics 

Ethereum (ETH) 

Ethereum’s native token is ETH. The ETH token is utilized for purposes including transaction fees, staking, and protocol governance. ETH does not have a maximum supply. As of the writing of this article, 120.57 million ETH were in circulation. New ETH is created to reward validators, but to reduce the total supply, a part of each transaction fee is burned by sending it to a designated address where it cannot be retrieved. As of late February 2025, the annual inflation rate for ETH was approximately 0.35%. 

Solana (SOL)

Solana’s native token is SOL. Much like the ETH token, the token is utilized for transaction fees, staking, and governance. As of the writing of this article, Solana had a total supply of 594.83 million and a circulating supply of 495.31 million. Like ETH, SOL has an unlimited token supply. Information from the Solana Foundation suggests that SOL’s current inflation rate is about 8% per year, with most new SOL being issued to stakers. As more SOL is issued, the Foundation plans for inflation to drop by 15% annually until SOL reaches a long-term inflation rate of approximately 1.5%. 

Scalability and Performance

Ethereum

Ethereum TPS, Jan. 2016 to Jan. 2025. Source: Dune Analytics. 

While it may have been the first popular blockchain for smart contracts, Ethereum’s main issue has been its speed and scalability. 

According to data from Blockworks and Dune Analytics, Ethereum has had an average TPS of about 13 during the first few months of 2025. Ethereum.org says that Ethereum blocks reach finality in around 15 minutes, though other sources claim finality is slightly faster, averaging about 13 minutes. 

These incredibly slow speeds have led to an explosion in Ethereum Layer-2s, which operate on top of the main Ethereum blockchain and inherit its security but use various methods to increase the speed and scalability of transactions. Popular Layer-2s include Optimism, Arbitrum, and Base, which are much faster than the Ethereum mainnet. 

However, Ethereum itself has a long-term plan called “The Surge.” Much like “The Merge” changed the blockchain by reducing its energy usage by more than 99%,  “The Surge” would radically revamp parts of Ethereum’s network architecture to allow Ethereum L2s to reach 100,000 TPS or more. However, it’s unclear exactly when this plan will be implemented. 

Solana

According to the official Solana Explorer, as of early to mid-2025, Solana averaged a maximum real-world TPS of around 4,700. This makes Solana one of the fastest blockchains in the world by real-world TPS. 

A 2023 report from Visa claims that Solana can achieve finality in as little as 400 milliseconds, though the real-world finality of Solana is often closer to 500-600 milliseconds. 

Network Metrics

According to recent data from Messari covering the first few months of 2025, Solana is seeing significantly higher network activity than Ethereum. Core metrics include: 

Ethereum

• Daily Active Addresses: Ranges from 343,271 to 500,985 
• Daily Transaction Fees: Fluctuates between $588,083 and $12,671,443
• Daily Transaction Count: Ranges between 1,121,706 and 1,356,631

Solana

• Daily Active Addresses: Ranges from 2,705,031 to 5,641,706 
• Daily Transaction Fees: Fluctuates $1,981,484 and $10,689,443
• Daily Transaction Count: Ranges between 85,104,066 and 109,002,695 

Therefore, we can safely say that, recently, Solana has had around 10x the daily active addresses of Ethereum and 80- 100x the transaction count. 

However, it’s essential to realize that this only looks at the Ethereum mainnet, not the vibrant system of L2s that have sprung up around the Ethereum ecosystem. For example, L2BEAT, a popular data aggregation website for Ethereum L2s, lists more than 146 L2s, including 59 rollups, 87 validiums, and optimiums. Combined, Ethereum and these L2s have maintained a daily transaction count of nearly 30 million over the last few months, indicating that the entire Ethereum ecosystem doesn’t lag as far behind Solana as one might think. 

Architecture and Consensus  

Ethereum

Ethereum is a monolithic, Layer-1, proof-of-stake network. Ethereum validators use the network’s native ETH token to pay network transaction fees, earn staking rewards, and vote on decisions. 

There are currently more than 1 million Etheruem validators around the world. An Ethereum validator is a Beacon Chain address with a balance equal to or greater than 32 ETH at the execution layer that is responsible for proposing and verifying blocks of transactions. 

In contrast, a node operator runs the infrastructure of the Ethereum network, helping manage nodes. According to Etherscan’s Ethereum Node Tracker, as of the writing of this article, there are currently 5,935 Ethereum nodes distributed around the world, with 60% of them in the U.S. 

Solana

Solana is a high-performance blockchain that uses proof-of-stake consensus through a practical Byzantine Fault Tolerant (PBFT) method called Tower BFT.  

Like most proof-of-stake chains, Solana’s validators are incentivized through the network’s native $SOL token, earning rewards from transaction fees, staking, and block rewards.  

However, unlike most other chains, Solana’s Tower BFT consensus method incorporates a new technology called proof-of-history (PoH). Proof-of-history allows the various nodes on the Solana blockchain to agree on the timestamping of the blockchain in a centralized fashion, without the individual nodes having to interact with each other to verify timestamps themselves.  

By using PoH, Solana can significantly increase the efficiency of its core Tower BFT proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.  

According to the official Solana documentation “PoH is used as the network clock, arranging the order of blocks, transactions, and data.”  

For those who may not know, a blockchain timestamp is a record that describes when a specific transaction or event occurred, and is essential to the blockchain record-keeping and transaction process. Timestamps are essential to avoid “double spending” (i.e., spending the same crypto twice) and ensuring that records are kept accurate.  

For an in-depth discussion of Solana’s consensus methods, you can check out this article from Helius.   

Programming Language 

Ethereum

Ethereum uses the Solidity programming language as its primary language. Solidity is similar to JavaScript, though there are slight differences. 

Solana

In comparison to Ethereum, Solana is written directly in Rust. It does support some coding in Python, C, and C++, though using these languages isn’t recommended, especially for beginning developers.  

DeFi TVL 

Ethereum

Ethereum TVL, Feb. 25, 2025: Source: Defillama. 

As of late February 2025, Ethereum supported a wide array of DeFi dApps and had over $131 billion of DeFi TVL (total value locked). The top protocols by TVL included AAVE, Lido, and EigenLayer. 

• AAVE is a highly popular decentralized lending protocol that allows people to borrow, lend, and earn interest on crypto, all without a middleman. The popular AAVE token governs AAVE. As of the writing of this article, AAVE had more than $31 billion in TVL, with around $27 billion of that being on the Ethereum blockchain. 
• Lido is a liquid staking protocol allowing users to earn staking rewards on ETH. Lido used to allow staking for Polygon’s MATIC token, but this has been phased out. Lido is governed by the protocol’s native token, LDO. 
• EigenLayer was the first popular Ethereum protocol to introduce restaking. Restaking lets users stake the same tokens on the main blockchain and other protocols, securing multiple networks simultaneously. This increases staking rewards, though it can also increase slashing risk. EigenLayer is governed by the protocol’s native token, EIGEN. 

Solana

Solana TVL, Feb. 28, 2025: Source: Defillama. 

As of late February 2025, Solana supported a wide array of DeFi dApps and had more than $16.8 billion of DeFi TVL (total value locked), with some of the top protocols by TVL including Jito, Jupiter, and Raydium. 

• Jito is a decentralized liquid staking protocol on the Solana blockchain created by the Jito Foundation. Jito is governed by the protocol’s native token, JTO. As of late January 2025, there was $3.45 billion in $SOL staked via Jito. 
• Jupiter is an extremely popular decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator on Solana. Jupiter is governed by the protocol’s native token, JTO. As of late January 2025, Jupiter had $2.7 billion in TVL. 
• Raydium is a decentralized exchange (DEX) and automated market maker (AMM) on the Solana intended to provide fast and low-cost trading for users. Raydium is governed by the protocol’s native token, RAY. As of late January 2025, Raydium had $2.6 billion in TVL.

GameFi

Decentraland, one of the most popular games on the Ethereum blockchain. 

Ethereum

Ethereum is one of the most popular blockchains for virtual games and hosts multiple popular GameFi dApps, including CryptoKitties, The Sandbox, and Decentraland. 

• CryptoKitties is a highly popular NFT-based collectible game. According to the official website, “CryptoKitties is a game centered around breedable, collectible, and oh-so-adorable creatures we call CryptoKitties! Each cat is one-of-a-kind and 100% owned by you; it cannot be replicated, taken away, or destroyed.” 
• The Sandbox is a viral land-based NFT game. According to the official website, “The Sandbox is a virtual Metaverse built on the Ethereum blockchain, where players can build, own, and monetize their gaming experience.” The Sandbox gaming ecosystem is governed by the $SAND token. 
• Decentraland is another popular virtual land game and a competitor to The Sandbox. According to the official website, “Decentraland is a social virtual world where you can connect, explore, and create. Meet new friends, join events, and make memories—no matter where you are.” Decentraland is managed by the Decentralized Foundation, which is governed by the $MANA token. 

Despite the popularity of games on Ethereum, speed and graphics issues have been a problem. In recent years, many games have shifted to Ethereum sidechains like Polygon, as well as Layer-2s and non-Ethereum Layer-1s. 

Solana

Solana also hosts many popular GameFi dApps, such as StepN, Star Atlas, and Genopets. 

• StepN: StepN is a blockchain-based fitness app that allows users to track their activity and earn crypto while doing it. Users equipped with StepN NFTs can earn the game’s native STEPN token by walking, jogging, and running outdoors. 
• Star Atlas is a futuristic metaverse RPG game set in the year 2620 that allows players to explore the cosmos with virtual experiences while interacting with both human space travelers and exotic alien races. 
• Genopets is a free-to-play, fitness-focused mobile game that allows users to summon Genopet NFTs. Like StepN, players are rewarded when they walk and move, getting special food and toys for their pets if they log more than 1,000 steps daily. Players can nurture their Genopets with these food and toys while engaging in battles and other challenges. 

SocialFi

Ethereum

Some of the top SocialFi apps on Ethereum include Friends With Benefits, Lens Protocol, and Roll. Friends With Benefits (FWB) is a token-based social network that blends community engagement with decentralized finance. By leveraging Ethereum’s smart contracts, FWB rewards members with native tokens for participating in exclusive events and collaborative projects. 

Lens Protocol offers a decentralized social graph that empowers users to fully own their digital identity and data. It enables creators to publish, interact, and curate content without intermediaries, ensuring secure and censorship-resistant social networking. Similarly, Roll facilitates the creation and management of social tokens, allowing influencers and communities to directly monetize engagement through blockchain-based rewards. 

Solana

Solana also has quite a few social dApps. Some of the most popular social dApps on Solana include Clout, which lets users buy tokenized versions of social media profiles, Twetch, a social media app with a native NFT marketplace, and iMe, an intelligent, AI-powered focused, Telegram-based messaging platform that allows users to send and receive messages with Solana-enabled wallets. 

NFTs 

Ethereum

Total sales volume and sales for Ethereum NFTs as of Q2 2025. Source: CoinMarketCap. 

Ethereum birthed the NFT craze in 2017 when popular collections like CryptoKitties were launched. By 2022, NFT sales and transaction volumes on Ethereum had peaked. Famous sales at the height of the NFT craze included the $23 million sale of CryptoPunk #5822 in February 2022. 

With the crypto bull run of 2024 and early 2025 leading to massive surges in crypto prices, interest in NFTs (and NFT prices) has rebounded somewhat, though overall volume still isn’t anywhere near where it was back in 2021 and early 2022. 

Ethereum still dominates the market for high-value NFT sales, though Solana has been catching up with (and occasionally beating) Ethereum in specific metrics. 

Solana

Total sales volume and sales for Solana NFTs as of Q2 2025. Source: CoinMarketCap. 

Since Solana launched its mainnet several years after Ethereum, the first NFT collection on Solana launched much later, in March 2021. Solana NFTs caught a fraction of the hype of Ethereum NFTs during the NFT bull run, with SMB #1355 selling for $2.1 million in October 2021. 

Today, Solana still lags behind Ethereum in most major NFT metrics. However, it has occasionally beaten Ethereum on certain days in overall NFT sales volume and currently beats Ethereum in specific other metrics, like the number of active traders. 

Ethereum vs. Solana: Where to Buy Tokens 

If you want to participate in the future of either the Ethereum or Solana blockchains, you can easily buy their native tokens from several major exchanges. 

ETH tokens are currently available on nearly all centralized exchanges, including Binance, Bybit, Coinbase, OKX, Cetus, Upbit, Bitget, Kraken, and Kucoin. They are also available on DEXs, including Curve, Pancakeswap, Osmosis, and Pangolin. 

SOL tokens are also available on nearly all centralized exchanges, including the aforementioned Binance, Bybit, Coinbase, OKX, Cetus, Upbit, Bitget, Kraken, and Kucoin exchanges. SOL tokens are available on DEXs such as DeGate, DeFi Chain DEX, Saber DEX, and Raydium. 

FAQs:

1. Ethereum vs. Solana: Which is Better? 

Ethereum and Solana are powerful and popular blockchain ecosystems, but each has benefits and drawbacks. 

Ethereum is a better-known and well-established blockchain with a significantly larger developer and user community and more live dApps. 

Despite this, Solana is significantly faster and more scalable. Due to its smaller market cap, it will likely grow much faster than Ethereum, at least from a token investor’s perspective. 

2. What are the main differences between Ethereum and Solana?

The main differences between Ethereum and Solana lie in their speed, architecture, programming languages, and consensus mechanisms. For example: 

• Ethereum has an average of 13 TPS, while Solana has an average closer to 4,700 TPS. 
• Ethereum uses the Solidity programming language, while Solana uses Rust. 
• Ethereum uses a traditional proof-of-stake (Pos) mechanism, while Solana combines its proof-of-stake (Pos) mechanism with other ancillary technologies, such as proof-of-history (PoH). 

3. What challenges do Ethereum and Solana face?

Ethereum may face challenges due to its low speeds, high gas fees, and slow finality times. In comparison, Solana may face ongoing security issues due to introducing malicious code and potential backdoors into the Solana network ecosystem, as evidenced by a recent December 2024 attack on one of Solana’s developer libraries. 

4. What are the pros and cons of the Ethereum and Solana blockchains? 

Ethereum and Solana each have various pros and cons, which we’ll detail below. 

Ethereum Pros:

• Higher market cap and more established ecosystem  
• Better name recognition 
• Largest developer community in blockchain 
• More institutional investment (i.e., Ether ETFs)  

Ethereum Cons:

• Slower user base growth 
• Speed issues, significantly lower TPS, and finality 
• High gas fees make transactions expensive 

Solana Pros:

• Faster-growing user base 
• Highest (or second-highest) real-world TPS of any real-world blockchain 
• Often considered easier to build on 
• Possibility of faster token value growth for investors due to smaller market cap 

Solana Cons:

• Somewhat more volatile token price  
• Security concerns due to recent breaches 
• Higher level of token inflation 

5. Can SOL flip ETH? 

With Solana’s SOL token growing so quickly, some wonder whether SOL could flip ETH to become the largest non-Bitcoin Layer-1 blockchain by market cap. While a SOL/ETH flip is certainly possible due to Solana’s rapidly increasing user base and rapid growth in market cap, it would likely take at least 1-2 more market cycles for this to happen– or quite a few years– if it ever occurs. This is because ETH’s market cap is currently more than 4x larger than SOL’s, so SOL would have to grow incredibly rapidly if it is to unseat Ethereum anytime soon. 

6. Which blockchain network token is better for investors, ETH or SOL? 

While we can’t give specific investment advice, and all crypto investing is risky, many crypto analysts would suggest that ETH may be a more secure but lower-growth token due to its long history and relatively large market cap. In contrast, many analysts would suggest that SL has higher growth potential due to its relatively smaller market cap. Still, investors may experience higher volatility if they invest in SOL. Either way, investors should not place money into cryptocurrency investments they cannot afford to lose.