Ethereum News: Ethereum Reclaims DEX Dominance from Solana for First Time Since September Amid Memecoin Cooldown

Ethereum has once again secured its position as the leading blockchain for decentralized exchange (DEX) trading, overtaking Solana in March for the first time since September 2024. The shift comes amid a broader market downturn and a sharp decline in memecoin-driven activity on Solana.Ethereum Leads with $64.6B in DEX VolumeAccording to DefiLlama data, Ethereum-based DEXs recorded $64.616 billion in trading volume in March, outpacing Solana’s $52.62 billion by more than 22%. The return to the top spot comes after a seven-month streak of Solana dominance, fueled largely by its memecoin ecosystem.Solana, once the go-to chain for high-frequency memecoin trading, saw usage falter as bearish sentiment gripped crypto markets, leading to diminished speculation across decentralized platforms.Solana DEX Activity Tumbles with Memecoin MarketRaydium, Solana’s top DEX, failed to surpass $1 billion in daily volume throughout March, a stark contrast to the $13 billion daily peak on Jan. 18.Memecoin launchpad Pump.fun also saw average daily volume drop below $100 million, down from $390 million in January — a sign that retail speculation has cooled significantly.The debut of the Trump-themed TRUMP token in January had briefly revived Solana’s DEX volumes, but the momentum quickly faded.Uniswap Powers Ethereum’s DEX DominanceEthereum’s DEX surge was primarily driven by Uniswap, which accounted for over $30 billion in trading volume alone. Fluid ranked second on Ethereum with $9 billion, contributing to Ethereum’s dominance despite the broader market correction.Ether (ETH) Underperforms Solana (SOL) Despite Ecosystem StrengthDespite reclaiming DEX leadership, Ethereum’s native token ETH fell 18% in March, closing at $1,822, compared to Solana’s 15.8% decline. Analysts attribute ETH's underperformance to:Inflationary tokenomics: Concerns over Ethereum's issuance model persist.Layer 2 competition: Increased adoption of Layer 2 scaling solutions like Arbitrum and Optimism may be diverting activity and value away from the mainnet.Market OutlookThe broader crypto market capitalization dropped 4.2% in March to $2.63 trillion, following a 20% decline in February. Contributing factors include macroeconomic uncertainty and disappointment over the U.S. strategic reserve’s inactivity in BTC purchases, which pressured Bitcoin below $80,000, according to CoinDesk.