Solana vs Ethereum: An Expert Analysis

Solana (SOL) and Ethereum (ETH), two prominent blockchain ecosystems, offer distinct features for dApp development. Jax Dwyer from Hivemapper Foundation evaluates their pros and cons as of 2025.

Solana or Ethereum? Expert Insights

Compared to Ethereum (ETH), the first smart contract platform, Solana (SOL) excels in transaction speed, user experience, and transaction costs. Jax Dwyer’s analysis on March 14, 2025, outlines these comparisons:

> ETH vs SOL :
> ➜ DeFi – ETH
> ➜ Speed – SOL
> ➜ Security – ETH
> ➜ Better UX – SOL
> ➜ Ecosystem – ETH
> ➜ Dev support – ETH
> ➜ Transaction cost – SOL
> ➜ Decentralization – ETH
>
> Which are you going for?
> — Jax Dwyer (@jaxxdwyer) March 14, 2025

Ethereum outperforms Solana in DeFi scale, security, developer support, and its larger ecosystem. However, both blockchains serve different purposes and communities within Web3.

According to DefiLlama, Ethereum (ETH) holds $46.11 billion in total value across 1,141 applications, while Solana (SOL) has $7 billion with 225 dApps. Recently, Ethereum generated $526,549 in daily fees, while Solana approached $1 million. Notably, Solana is relatively younger, launching in 2020, five years after Ethereum.

ETH/BTC Near Five-Year Lows

Participants in Dwyer’s tweet discuss the current poor performance of both Ethereum and Solana regarding crypto prices. Ethereum (ETH) is priced at $1,916, down 60.53% from its peak in November 2021. The ETH/BTC rate also experienced a significant drop, dipping below 0.0225, marking the lowest situation for Ethereum bulls in nearly five years. Meanwhile, Solana (SOL) trades at $133.28, down 54.65% from its all-time high just two months prior.