Solana risks transforming into a memecoin ‘nightmare’ similar to BNB Chain in 2021

Currently, Solana is a blockchain ecosystem heavily engaged in increased memecoin activity and market speculation.

The platform’s technical advantages, including sub-second finality and minimal transaction fees, have led to a rise in speculative projects, drawing parallels to the BNB Chain, which underwent a similar journey during the memecoin surge.

Tokens built on Solana have generated significant high-frequency trading activity, reminiscent of the initial days of BNB Chain when low fees and Binance’s infrastructure propelled rapid retail adoption.

BNB Chain, which gained recognition in 2021, took advantage of its low transaction costs and strong integration with Binance. Initiatives such as SafeMoon and Baby DogeCoin ignited retail interest, ultimately attracting criticism over scams, rug pulls, and unsustainable tokenomics.

Decentralized exchanges like PancakeSwap became inundated with memecoins and fraudulent tokens as the low economic risk of attempted scams became an opportunity for criminals.

Although BNB Chain has experienced a revival this year with viral tokens such as Broccoli and Check, its renewed activity has not completely erased the platform’s reputation, which is primarily fueled by speculative trading. Furthermore, BNB Chain’s resurgence relies on replicating the pump.enjoyable strategy seen on Solana rather than introducing innovative technology.

Solana, the new BNB

Solana’s development reflects some of these obstacles. Initially, the platform’s extremely low fees provided a strong incentive for traders, but network instability under heavy load has subsequently diminished market confidence.

Data from mid-February indicates that Solana’s active addresses plummeted from 18.5 million to 8.4 million, while daily DEX volumes fell from $35 billion to $2.4 billion. BNB Chain experienced new fee activity driven by renewed memecoin interest, but this is already beginning to decline. Such statistics point to networks under strain, where speculative trading may come at the cost of broader utility.

Dom Harz, co-founder of BOB (Build on Bitcoin), told CryptoSlate,

“The widespread appeal of meme coins is undeniable, but following some high-profile incidents, perhaps the memecoin frenzy has started to cool off.

This week’s rug-pull accusations involving Argentinian President Javier Milei’s $LIBRA token, along with previous controversies such as Donald Trump’s $TRUMP, $MELANIA, and $BARRON and Hawk Tuah Woman’s $HAWK, may have caused significant damage to the memecoin bull run.”

BNB’s total value locked (TVL) reached over $20 billion in 2021 but has since dropped to around $5 billion.

BNB Chain TVL (Source: DefiLlama)

Solana’s TVL also peaked at about $10 billion in 2021 before achieving a new all-time high of approximately $12 billion at the start of 2025. It has since fallen to $8 billion, while the SOL price has decreased by over 40%.

Solana TVL (Source: DefiLlama)

Developer sentiment for both chains has also been impacted. According to DefiLlama data, both BNB and Solana have experienced a significant decline in core developer contributions. In November 2021, Solana had over 160 core developers, but current figures show fewer than ten. BNB Chain reflects a similar trend, dropping from 115 to just 16.

Institutional interest in Solana diminished following the high-profile collapse of a memecoin—LIBRA—which wiped out billions in market value within hours amidst allegations of insider trading.

Memecoin hellscape on Solana

Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana Labs, acknowledged the severe challenges, characterizing the ecosystem as a “hellscape” in need of permissionless, fair launch solutions. This perspective contrasts with the approach taken by BNB Chain, which has seen a more measured acceptance of speculative tokens, despite occasional setbacks. Nevertheless, BNB Chain has remained indifferent to US regulations, focusing on the rest of the world, while Solana appears more concerned with gaining acceptance in the US.

With the President of the United States launching memecoins without any underlying utility for himself and his family on Solana, memecoins seem to be the low-hanging fruit. However, how long will it be before this fruit rots and Solana’s reputation aligns more closely with memecoins than with cutting-edge blockchain technology?

The similarity between Solana and BNB Chain lies in this tension between growth driven by the memecoin frenzy and the pursuit of sustainable utility. Solana must find a way to balance market excitement with a commitment to long-term network resilience.

At one point, Solana was regarded as a genuine competitor to Ethereum, with Saga phones promoting mass adoption and technical features promising a sophisticated implementation of Web3 for non-crypto users. However, the current zeitgeist is dominated by memecoins, which, while some argue will attract new users to the space, the history of BNB Chain tells a different tale.

When was the last time an innovative, fundamentals-based project launched on BNB, generating bullish headlines? I would contend that a clone of pump.enjoyable on BNB doesn’t count.

Memecoins are a player versus player gambling scenario, where each trader hopes to avoid being another’s exit liquidity. While I have no objection to responsible and informed gambling, does Solana aspire to be a gambling chain or one that onboard the next billion true DeFi users?

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