Solana perps volume hits record $147B in Q2 as DeFi share expands

Solana's perpetuals market recorded $147 billion in trading volume during the second quarter, cementing the blockchain's position as the dominant venue for on-chain derivatives.

Solana perpetuals trading volume reached $147 billion in Q2 2026, a record for the blockchain, data published July 2 shows.

"Solana's perps market has crossed an inflection point where liquidity begets liquidity — the network now handles more derivatives volume than most centralized exchanges," Pedro Miranda, Head of Consumer at the Solana Foundation, said.

The quarterly figure represents a significant increase from prior periods, driven by growing adoption of in-wallet trading products and new prediction market infrastructure. Phantom, the largest Solana wallet with roughly 20 million monthly active users, added perpetual futures in July 2025 and has since surpassed $10 billion in cumulative perps volume, the company said. The wallet recently hired the founders of Ventuals, a Hyperliquid-based pre-IPO perps platform that recorded more than $650 million in lifetime volume before winding down in June.

The record volume positions Solana to capture a larger share of the on-chain derivatives market, where total open interest across all chains reached $1.48 billion in June. World, a prediction market built on Solana and integrated into Phantom, launched July 1 with Bitcoin up-or-down contracts and 2026 FIFA World Cup markets, adding another volume driver for the network.

Phantom's Derivatives Push Fuels Growth

Phantom's expansion into derivatives has been central to Solana's perps growth. The wallet's perps product, powered by Hyperliquid, lets users trade with leverage directly from their self-custodial wallet. The Ventuals team — co-founders Alvin Hsia and Emily Hsia, plus engineer Aris Samad — joined Phantom in late June, bringing expertise in deploying and operating perpetual-futures markets through Hyperliquid's HIP-3 framework.

World Brings Prediction Markets to Phantom

World launched July 1 as a non-custodial prediction market on Solana, accessible inside Phantom. It uses Chainlink oracles to settle trades automatically in the CASH stablecoin, replacing Kalshi as Phantom's prediction market provider. World lists short-duration Bitcoin up-or-down contracts and markets on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with plans to add sports, politics, and macro markets through July.

Rival Venues

The record volume puts Solana in direct competition with Ethereum-based perps venues and centralized exchanges. Polymarket, the prediction market leader, expanded onto Solana in February through a Jupiter integration. Kalshi, a US-regulated exchange, is reportedly weighing a $40 billion valuation. Solana's advantage lies in its high throughput and low transaction costs, which enable real-time settlement that mirrors centralized exchange speed.

SOL rose more than 5% on the day and about 16% over the week, according to BeInCrypto data.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.