In 2025, with institutional funds withdrawing, Solana lost 97% of traders. Solana network activity collapsed by 97% from its peak in November 2024, while retail investors continued to buy, and institutional wallets exited. This cryptocurrency reached a historic high of $296 in November 2024 but has since fallen nearly 58%, with on-chain data revealing a clear divergence between wallet size and trading behavior. What happened: Institutional Exit Crypto trader Ardi revealed that since Solana peaked in November, buying pressure mainly came from retail-sized wallets, with purchase amounts between $0 and $1,000. Distribution began before the all-time high, and selling accelerated in the months leading up to October 10, 2024, indicating that major participants had planned to exit before the decline. Mid-sized wallets handle $0 to $100,000, while institutional wallets managing $100,000 to $10 million have been steadily decreasing for about 13 months. Retail wallets showed continuous growth during the same period, suggesting small investors still believe SOL is undervalued despite institutional withdrawals. On-chain data reveals an almost perfect correlation between Solana demand and memecoin activity on the network. Also read: Dogecoin Surge After Election: $1 Why the Theory Is Wrong Why This Matters: Revenue Collapse Investors and traders Jas reported that the number of active monthly traders on Solana dropped from about 30 million in 2025 to less than 1 million, representing a 97% decline in network activity. On-chain revenue fell fivefold year-over-year, from $2.5 billion in 2024 to $500 million in 2025. Ethereum generated $1.4 billion in revenue this year, surpassing Solana by 56% year-to-date. "The future of SOL may no longer rely on memes but more on their subsequent performance," Jas said. Read next: Is Bitcoin's Rebound Losing Momentum? Analysts point to supply risks as Ethereum stabilizes