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There’s a new market update from BlockWorks Research, but if it’s clear what it is, it’s this: March was not kind to Solana.
Revenue cratered 87% from its January history high, with Dex volume down 74%, and SIMD 228 failed to pass.
The loss of SIMD 228 was not due to lack of effort. This proposal led to the highest share participation of the vote in Solana’s history (74.3%). It’s the first time I’ve pulled input from players at institutions like Coinbase, Kraken and Bybit.
And while small validators largely opposed it, native builders like Helius, Jupiter and Zito overwhelmingly supported the change. A kind of philosophical split between those pulling out today’s yield and those betting on Solana’s long-term sustainability.
Small validators (S <0.05%) voted with a large margin of "no". The larger ones (0.5% to 1.0%) were 85%. Strategic abstaining has become a weapon. The vote "no" counted in quorum, so many enemies waited until the last moment.
However, SIMD 123, which introduces protocol-level revenue sharing, has been a success. SIMD 248 proposes TPU feedback to reduce spam and improve UX, and is discussed by SIMD 268 to increase the nesting limits of CPI and deepen complexity.
Turning to Defi, the Solana app has earned $131 million, keeping its lead across all chains, setting a record revenue to REV ratio of 1.84. The institutional momentum has not faded. Sol’s open interest in CEXS is the highest ever. CME launched Sol Futures in March Often, the prelude Go to the spot ETF. Meanwhile, bridge influx from other ecosystems reached $158 million despite overall market cooldowns.
remove: March was painful, yes. But the pressure test also – one Solana failed. Engagement is growing, institutional interest is sticky, and apps are still built. If this looks like a poor moon, the ecosystem will be in much better shape than the chart suggests. SOL prices remain unstable at the time of publication, hovering around $118.
