Solana’s Trenches Slow Down, Launchpad Activity Drops as BNB Gains Steam

After months of frenzied token creation, the trenches on Solana are finally cooling off.

Since mid-August, activity across Solana launchpads has slowed sharply, and the numbers show it.

Launchpad Volume Takes a Hit

According to data from Pine Analytics, daily token deployments on Solana launchpads have fallen from their peak of roughly 25K–40K per day in mid-August to just 10K–13K per day now.

That’s a drop of nearly 70%.

Graduations, the number of tokens reaching liquidity thresholds, tell a similar story.

They’ve plunged from 150–300 per day during the summer frenzy to about 70 per day now.

The slowdown marks the first major cooldown in Solana’s hyperactive memecoin season that began in early Q3 2025. It’s not just fewer launches, revenue and competition are consolidating, too.

Consolidation in the Launchpad Sector

While the number of new tokens has declined, the launchpad market itself is consolidating.

In July and August, multiple new platforms were competing aggressively with @pumpdotfun, each trying to capture a share of Solana’s booming memecoin economy.

But as of October, Pump has reestablished dominance, now accounting for ~90% of all Solana token deployments.

Most competitors have lost traction, unable to sustain volume or attract consistent liquidity.

This consolidation mirrors what’s happened in Solana’s NFT sector before, a few winners dominate while others fade into niche corners.

Revenue Reflects the Same Trend

Launchpad revenues have followed the same downward slope.

Back in mid-August, Solana launchpads were generating between $1.5 million and $2.5 million per day in fees.

Now, that figure sits between $600K and $800K daily, a steep decline but still notable for an ecosystem that runs almost entirely on-chain.

The combination of fewer token launches and heavier platform concentration paints a clear picture:

Solana’s retail-driven minting mania is cooling, at least for now.

But the story doesn’t end there, because while Solana’s launchpads are slowing, another chain is heating up.

BNB Chain Picks Up the Slack

Over on BNB Chain, activity has been trending the opposite direction.

Combined launchpad and memecoin-related fees on BNB have climbed to between $2 million and $4 million per day, according to ecosystem trackers.

That’s roughly double the current daily revenue on Solana launchpads, a sign that the retail crowd is rotating rather than exiting.

This shift also highlights how BNB’s meme season and the rise of Four.meme are absorbing trader demand that once lived almost entirely on Solana.

Interestingly, Solana’s slowdown aligns almost perfectly with the period BNB Chain activity began to spike, suggesting a broader redistribution of speculative energy across blockchains.

Solana Price Action Mirrors Onchain Trends

While the trenches slow, Solana’s native token, $SOL, has faced its own turbulence.

After weeks of strong performance, $SOL fell 22%, slipping below the $200 mark during the recent market shakeout.

According to CoinMarketCap, Solana trades around $195 at the time of writing, down 15% on the week with a market cap near $105 billion.

Despite the correction, Solana remains one of the strongest-performing assets of 2025.

It reached $295 earlier this year, surpassing its 2021 bull run high of $260, an important milestone that reaffirmed the network’s staying power.

Still, the question now lingers across the market:

Can $SOL reclaim its momentum and push toward $500 this cycle, or will that rally belong to the next bull run?

A Cooling-Off Period or Just a Reset?

Some analysts argue this slowdown isn’t necessarily bearish.

Instead, it may be a natural correction following months of overextension.

During peak season, many tokens launched on Solana’s memecoin platforms had little liquidity or lifespan, leading to widespread “rug fatigue” among retail users.

The drop in new launches could therefore reflect a market cleansing, where only committed teams and legitimate projects remain active.

Pump’s near-total dominance also hints that the sector is maturing.

Rather than dozens of new platforms fragmenting liquidity, activity is consolidating under one ecosystem leader, which could improve user experience and reduce fragmentation in the long run.

BNB Chain and the Battle for Retail Liquidity

BNB’s recent rise shows how quickly retail capital moves across ecosystems.

In just weeks, Binance’s chain has grown from a secondary memecoin hub to a dominant retail venue.

Platforms like Four.meme, which simplifies token launches and burns fees back into BNB, have driven the chain’s onchain revenue to multi-million-dollar daily levels.

This new cycle of retail rotation between Solana and BNB could define how memecoin seasons evolve, not by disappearance, but by migration.

What Comes Next for Solana

For now, Solana remains one of the most vibrant chains in crypto.

Even with declining launchpad activity, its DeFi and NFT sectors continue to expand, while developers push upgrades to improve scalability and user experience.

The slowdown may simply mark the end of a speculative phase, and the beginning of a more sustainable one.

If $SOL can stabilize above key levels and retail interest returns later in Q4, the network could be primed for another wave of onchain momentum.

But for now, the data is clear:

Solana’s trenches are quieting, and BNB is making noise.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

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