Solana maintained its stronghold as the #2 DeFi ecosystem throughout the year, outpacing fierce competition from Bitcoin, BNB Chain, and Tron. The network's TVL trajectory tells an interesting story: starting at $8.52B on January 1st, it steadily climbed to $8.8B, eventually smashing through to an all-time high exceeding $13.2B. But here's what really stands out—Solana's DEX dominance. The network generated $1.5T in trading volume year-to-date, leaving Ethereum's $938B in the dust. That's not just a lead; it's a statement about speed, efficiency, and where traders are increasingly parking their volume.