Solana is a high-performance blockchain platform that is generally described as the ‘Ethereum Killer’. Solana ecosystem offers a wide range of projects and applications, including decentralized apps, DeFi platforms, NFT marketplaces, etc. Here you can find the top Solana projects to watch in 2025.
Key Takeaways
- Solana is a cutting-edge and high-performance decentralized blockchain platform.
- This article mentions top Solana projects, including DEXs, lending protocols, memecoins, and NFTs.
- Key features of Solana, the Layer 1 project, offer a high-throughput and low-transaction-fee system for transactions.
- Solana ecosystem projects are actively growing and are expecting enhanced adoption in 2025.
Introduction to Solana Projects
Solana is a blockchain project that hosts decentralized, scalable applications, which was founded in 2017 and is well known for the number of transactions it can process and the lower transaction fees it imposes on users. Solana, being one of the fastest blockchain projects, expects 2025 to be a notable year in their entire history.
The ecosystem has already become the top choice for launching meme coins. In 2025, the top and viral meme coins like TRUMP and PENGU have chosen Solana for their launch, which clearly indicates how important Solana is for decentralized products and finance.
This article discusses the top Solana projects in 2025, or projects that have enough gunpowder to redefine the entire ecosystem. Solana ecosystem offers various projects like Marinade Finance, STEPN, Jupiter, Mad Lads, etc, which are highly rated and are expected to be the top performers in 2025.
Let us move on to the core part of the article and check out the top Solana projects to watch in 2025.
What is Solana (SOL)?
Solana is an open-source project founded in 2017 by Anatoly Yakovenko, who was a former engineer at Qualcomm, and is currently managed by the Solana Foundation based in Geneva. Solana Labs, a San Francisco-based firm, developed the Solana blockchain network. Solana is a high-performance public blockchain platform that equips developers and users with high-speed transactions and low transaction fees.
The unique feature that separates Solana from other blockchain projects is that it combines proof-of-stake (PoS) and proof-of-history (PoH). $SOL is the native cryptocurrency of the blockchain network. It can be used for paying transaction fees, staking, and the token holders will get voting rights within the network.
Solana is a programmable blockchain that is similar to Ethereum. Users and developers can create, upload, and deploy smart contracts, and can create and publish decentralized applications. Now, Solana has become more than that and evolved into a marketplace where users can access decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and even games.
Top Solana Projects To Watch In 2025
Solana delivers a fierce fight for Ethereum and maintains the top position by hosting decentralized, scalable applications. It managed to begin the year with a whopping launch of the newly elected U.S. president Donald Trump’s TRUMP meme coin. This article will comprehensively analyze the highly rated and top Solana projects to watch out for in 2025.
1. Jupiter (JUP)
Jupiter is a Solana-powered decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator launched in 2021. It equips the users with minimal slippage and faster token execution through its distinct routing across various decentralized exchanges on the Solana network. Jupiter has become one of the top-tier platforms within a short period of time.
Jupiter’s improved adoption is because it provides diverse features like token launches, perpetual trading, exclusive portfolio viewer, token terminals, etc. Jupiter has made some notable acquisitions in recent times, which have made it one of the prolific and strategic contenders in DeFi.
The investments include Coinhall, Solana.FM, SonarWatch, DRiP Haus, etc. According to the latest information, they are planning to launch their own NFT marketplace in the future, and it will make the platform stronger and bigger. These factors can drive Jupiter forward and make it one of the top performers in 2025.
2. Raydium
Raydium is a Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX) and automated market maker (AMM) platform. It is the largest DEX on the Solana network and provides advanced features to its users at a rapid speed. Features like token swaps, concentrated liquidity pools are the ones that distinguish Raydium from the rest.
Raydium started 2025 with a celebrated launch of its own perpetual exchange in January, and the recent studies indicate that the launch was bullish for the project. Raydium has recently launched LaunchLab, its memecoin-making protocol. LaunchLab was launched on April 16, which is a notable event in the project’s history and could fuel it to make it one of the leading Solana-based projects in 2025.
3. Mad Lads
Mad Lads is an NFT collection that has an attractive number of 10,000 unique artworks featuring humanoid characters. Mad Lads is developed by Coral, a Solana-based company, and has become one of the most reliable NFT platforms. The latest statistics display that around 9,966 Mad Lads have already been minted, and those NFTs are distributed among 4200 NFT collectors on the network.
The recent market evaluation states that the Mad Lads price floor has reportedly increased by over 19% in a single day in January 2025. This indicates the potential of the NFT project and how big it can perform this year.
4. TRUMP
TRUMP is the official memecoin launched by Donald Trump in January 2025. The token was launched on Solana and became the world’s largest meme coin that gaining over $13 billion in market capitalization within two days after its launch.
The TRUMP token launch significantly affected the Solana network and made a huge impact on the network activity, such as taking SOL to an all-time high of over $293. TRUMP is one of the highly rated meme coin projects for 2025, and is likely to be the best in the Solana network.
5. PENGU
PENGU is the official meme coin of the Pudgy Penguins NFT collection. In 2025, PENGU became Solana’s largest memecoin, reportedly crossing over 2.5 billion in market capitalization. The token was launched in December 2024 and was rewarded to NFT holders and Solana ecosystem users.
This year, the project developers have taken another initiative of linking the token to the Abstract Chain, and the team has recently mentioned that the PENGU token will be available on the Abstract Chain sooner than they expected.
6. StepN
StepN is a web3 lifestyle app commonly known as a ‘move to earn’ platform that rewards users with their native cryptocurrency tokens (GST & GMT) for engaging in activities like running, walking, jogging, etc. users will get Green Satoshi Token (GST) and Green Metaverse Token (GMT) as rewards for participating in in-network activities.
To participate in the StepN, you can choose a sneaker according to your fitness level to earn. If you are outside the required range of the sneakers’ km per hour, your earnings will be less. You will get four levels of exercise for the game:
- Jogger: 4 to 10 km per hour
- Walker: 1 to 6 km per hour
- Runner: 8 to 20 km per hour
- Trainer: 1 to 20 km per hour
A healthy lifestyle has become a necessary part of our lives recently, which is where the importance and significance of StepN come. StepN will become one of the important projects in 2025, as more people are seriously concerned about a healthy lifestyle and passive income.
7. Solanium
Solanium is an advanced fundraising platform and crypto launchpad built on the Solana blockchain. The platform has already hosted and completed multiple IDOs. SLIM is the native cryptocurrency of the project, and users who wish to participate in IDOs need to stake these tokens.
The SLIM tokens’ default lock period is 365 days, and you can choose shorter lock-up periods; the shorter the period, the fewer rewards you will get. Solanium is a highly rated project in the Solana ecosystem, which will flourish this year and attain true potential. SLIM currently trades at $0.04988 and is showing an 84% bullish trend in the market.
8. Kamino Finance
Kamino Finance is a Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocol built on the Solana blockchain. The 2024-launched lending protocol automates and optimizes concentrated liquidity management for market makers on mainstream decentralized exchanges.
Kamino Finance has emerged as the most successful lending protocol in 2025 within a short period of time. According to the recent statistics, Kamino’s total value locked (TVL) has grown from $200 to $2 billion by 2025, which is a notable growth for a DeFi protocol like Kamino. ‘The Vault Layer’ and ‘Scam Wick Protection’ are some of the highly advanced features of Kamino that distinguish it from the others.
9. Sanctum
Sanctum is a liquid staking protocol on the Solana blockchain. The protocol facilitates the creation, trading, and management of liquid staking tokens and allows users to utilize them within decentralized finance applications. Sanctum offers various liquid staked providers like Drift, Jupiter, Jito, etc.
Sanctum recently developed an ‘Infinity Pool’, a multi-asset liquidity pool that contains various liquid staking tokens and facilitates efficient token swaps with minimal slippage. It currently has a $1 billion total value locked (TVL) and is one of the important projects in the Solana ecosystem.
Sanctum launched CLOUD staking in February 2025, with which they aim to merge and use the Active Staking Rewards system (ASR) of Jupiter. One of the highly potential projects to watch out for this year.
10. Lifinity Flares
Lifinity Flares is an NFT collection developed by Lfinity DEX in 2021. The Lifinity Flares NFT collection had 10,000 animated items at the launch. It was available at a mint price of 1.5 SOL, which sold out within 2 hours of its launch.
The recent market analysis explains that Lifinity Flares NFT’s price has risen to 12 SOL in March 2025 and is currently the fourth biggest NFT collection on Solana.
The Bottom Line
These are the top 10 Solana projects in 2025 that have enhanced potential and might be the biggest things in the blockchain arena. Solana is an ecosystem that fosters advanced technology and is always open to new challenges. The recent developments and implementations within the ecosystem indicate that the best of Solana is yet to arrive.
These advanced features and technology-embracing emphasize the prominent description of Solana, the Ethereum Killer. We can see a number of advanced Solana projects in various sectors like gaming, DeFi, NFTs, etc. Solana’s high-speed and low-cost blockchain offers novel applications that can redefine the entire crypto arena.