In 2025, the Solana ecosystem saw a mix of hype, hardware, and high-impact upgrade activity, marking one of the channel’s most memorable years to date.
The year started with a memecoin craze, where speculative energy and hype sparked on-chain activity. This wave follows the rise of BONK in late 2024, which boosted memecoin activity after some arbitrage traders appeared to be chasing the token airdrop given to every Solana mobile owner.
This feature is part of CoinDesk 2025 Most Influential List.
In early 2025, the memecoin trend exploded further when the memecoin named after and financially linked to US President Donald Trump (TRUMP) flooded the trading apps of X and Solana. This momentum, which was both humor and community spectacle, helped propel Solana into the mainstream narrative once again. (The TRUMP token ultimately collapsed and is down 87% from its all-time high.)
Shortly after, the memecoin craze reached a turning point in February after a huge international scandal (exposed by CoinDesk) revealed that the co-creator of the LIBRA token, Hayden Davis, had bribed the sister and close advisor of Argentine President Javier Milei to convince Milei to promote the token on social media, thus bringing the entire memecoin ecosystem into a phase of reflection.
Against the backdrop of the LIBRA chaos, Solana’s developer ecosystem has moved forward with tangible innovation. The Solana Mobile team has rolled out its second generation crypto phone, the Seeker, designed specifically for on-chain trading and Web3 usage. With built-in wallet integration, a dApp store, and DeFi support, the Seeker reflected Solana’s goal of merging crypto functionality with mainstream technology, expanding accessibility and usability for traders and developers.
Looking ahead, the highly anticipated Alpenglow upgrade looms large. Expected to reduce transaction finality to sub-second speeds while reducing validator costs, Alpenglow could significantly improve scalability and reliability. With almost unanimous approval from the community, it is expected to solidify Solana’s position as one of the most successful and developer-focused crypto ecosystems.
From memecoin chaos to true hardware innovation and cutting-edge upgrades, Solana 2025 has proven that its builders and culture continue to keep its ecosystem in the crypto cultural zeitgeist.
