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Video breakdown
Phil walks through the DEX volume review.
Spot DEX · Solana · Ethereum · Base · BSC
DEX volume review: Solana leads the sample while Base gains weekly momentum
Solana still trades the most. But across these four chains, weekly DEX volume fell 7%, and Base was the only one to grow, taking share from everyone else. Scale and direction are two different findings.
DefiLlama chain pages · spot DEX volume
Base only grower
| Chain | 24h | 7d | Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solana | $2.045B | $13.271B | −14.84% |
| Ethereum | $1.377B | $9.416B | −3.68% |
| Base | $1.212B | $7.660B | +6.08% |
| BSC | $0.716B | $5.812B | −8.68% |
TL;DR
- Solana leads on scale: $2.05B in a day and $13.27B in a week. But its weekly volume fell 14.84%.
- Base was the only chain to grow, +6.08%. Its share of the four chains' weekly volume rose from about 18.5% to 21.2%; Solana's fell from about 40% to 36.7%.
- Base's daily volume is 88% of Ethereum's, on about one-eighth of the DeFi capital.
- A strong latest day isn't a trend. Solana's day was 7.9% above its weekly average, Base's 10.8%, BSC's 13.8% below. And none of this measures execution quality.
Dashboard 01
DEX activity at a glance
DefiLlama chain pages · 1 Oct 2026 · prior-week values derived from displayed % change
Solana, 7d
$13.27B▼ 14.84%
≈ −$2.31B vs prior weekEthereum, 7d
$9.42B▼ 3.68%
≈ −$0.36BBase, 7d
$7.66B▲ 6.08%
≈ +$0.44B · only growerBSC, 7d
$5.81B▼ 8.68%
≈ −$0.55BFour chains, 7d
$36.16B▼ 7.2%
≈ $38.94B the week beforeBase share of the four
21.2%▲ 2.6 pts
From ≈ 18.5%Base vs Ethereum, 24h
88%
$1.21B vs $1.38BExecution quality
n/aNot measured
Slippage, depth, spread01 / Scale vs direction
The biggest chain shrank most; the third grew
Solana records the largest DEX volume in this sample: $2.045B in 24 hours and $13.27B over seven days. Its weekly volume also fell the most, −14.84%, about $2.3B less than the week before. Ethereum dipped 3.68%, BSC 8.68%. Base is the only chain here that grew, +6.08%.
Together the four traded about $36.2B this week against about $38.9B the week before, down roughly 7%. Base gained share in a shrinking market: from about 18.5% of the four chains' volume to 21.2%, while Solana slipped from about 40% to 36.7%.
Dashboard 02
Volume by chain
DefiLlama chain pages · USD B
Last 7 days
Dashboard 03
This week vs last week
Prior week = 7d ÷ (1 + weekly change) · derived · USD B
Prior weekThis week
Weekly change, %
Weekly change, USD B
Dashboard 04
Who gained share in a shrinking market
Share of the four chains' weekly DEX volume · prior week derived
SolanaEthereumBaseBSC
02 / The latest day
A strong day can sit inside a weak week
Seven-day volume divided by seven gives the average day. Solana's latest day ($2.045B) is about 7.9% above its weekly average ($1.90B), even though the week as a whole was down nearly 15% on the one before. A stronger latest day can sit inside a weaker week, so a one-day rebound shouldn't become a headline about sustained growth.
Base's latest day was even further above its average, about +10.8%, on top of a growing week. BSC went the other way: its latest day was about 13.8% below its weekly average.
Dashboard 05
Latest day vs the week's average day
Average day = 7d ÷ 7 · USD B
7-day daily averageLatest 24h
03 / Volume vs capital
Trading flow and deposited capital are different things
Base's daily DEX volume is about 88% of Ethereum's, yet DashMode's TVL review (26 Sep) put Base's DeFi capital at about one-eighth of Ethereum's. Against those TVL figures, Solana trades about 2.1× its DeFi TVL every week, Base 1.25×, BSC 1.0× and Ethereum just 0.18×. Trading flow and deposited capital describe different characteristics of an ecosystem; neither is "better".
Dashboard 06
Weekly DEX volume ÷ DeFi TVL
Cross-referenced with DashMode's 26 Sep TVL review · separate retrievals · approximate
How many times each chain's DeFi capital turns over in DEX trading per week.
04 / Quality
Volume isn't the same as a usable market
A venue can produce huge turnover without offering deep liquidity for the pair you actually want to trade. Slippage at set trade sizes, spreads, depth and the number of unique traders would show whether growing activity makes the market more usable.
Composition matters too. Stablecoin swaps, speculative token trading and repeated arbitrage all add to the same dollar total. A chain-level figure can't say which one is driving a change. And none of these readings are adjusted for wash trading; gross turnover is not net investment.
Dashboard 07
Same volume, different execution
Illustrative · two hypothetical venues with identical daily volume
Deep venueThin venue
✕ Not measuredSlippage
Price impact at fixed trade sizes.
✕ Not measuredSpread
Gap between best bid and ask.
✕ Not measuredDepth
Liquidity within ±1–2% of price.
✕ Not measuredUnique traders
How many participants make up the volume.
Dashboard 08
Same $1B, three different markets
Illustrative · hypothetical composition of one day's volume
Stablecoin swapsVolatile-token tradingArbitrage loops
Identical headline volume; very different stories about who is trading and why.
Dashboard 09
Evidence scorecard
What the snapshot supports today
Solana has the largest DEX volume in the sample
● Established$2.05B daily, $13.27B weekly.
Base is the only chain with weekly growth
● Established+6.08%; the other three fell.
Base gained share as total volume fell
◐ Derived≈18.5% → 21.2%; derived.
Solana is recovering
✕ Not supportedOne strong day inside a −14.84% week.
More volume means better markets
✕ Not establishedNo slippage, depth or spread data.
Volume reflects real, non-wash trading
✕ Not establishedNo wash-trading adjustment applied.
05 / DashMode's assessment
Who's biggest and who's growing are separate answers
Solana leads on DEX scale; Base leads on weekly momentum and gained share while total volume fell. Neither tells you whether these markets are getting deeper or more useful.
The next layer is execution quality and composition: slippage at real trade sizes, unique traders, and how much of the volume is stablecoin flow, speculation or arbitrage.
Dashboard 10
DashMode's DEX review method
For a recurring volume report
One source, one timePull all chains from the same page at the same moment.
Scale and directionLevel, weekly change and share together.
Day vs weekLatest day against the weekly average.
Execution qualitySlippage, spread, depth and unique traders.
CompositionStablecoin, speculative and arbitrage flow separated.
Sources
Methodology and limits. Uses spot DEX figures and displayed weekly changes from separate DefiLlama chain pages retrieved on 1 Oct 2026; pages can refresh at different times, so small gaps should be rechecked. These chain-page readings can differ from the rankings-page figures used in other DashMode posts. Daily averages are 7-day volume ÷ 7; prior-week volumes and shares are derived as 7d ÷ (1 + weekly change). The TVL turnover ratio uses DashMode's separate 26 Sep TVL review and is approximate. No wash-trading adjustment was applied; gross turnover is not net investment. Dashboards 07 and 08 are illustrative. Dated research, not a live feed. Not investment advice.