Uniswap founder Hayden Adams is doubling down on Ethereum's L2 strategy, while Solana secures half of the DEX volume.

ETH is experiencing its worst price performance in nearly a decade, and Solana is eating Ethereum's lunch at a rate that’s now impossible to ignore. 

The creator of DeFi's original swap protocol thinks everyone just needs to calm down and trust the plan that has been unfolding since 2020.

The Solana Situation

Solana surpassed Ethereum in DEX volume dominance in January, capturing nearly half of all trading.

Those 65,000 transactions per second and sub-penny fees are proving more attractive to traders than philosophical debates about decentralization.

Protocols like Raydium are feasting on this surge while Ethereum L2s are still trying to convince users to bridge their assets.

It's like watching one chain process transactions at the speed of light, while the other sends them via horse and buggy.

The L2 Copium

Adams is urging the Ethereum community to hold the line and stick with the L2 scaling roadmap they have been working on for over five years.

"You want to throw this away at the final stretch for what reason?" he asked critics who enjoy watching their bags bleed out.

His argument boils down to the classic "it's not about speed, it's about decentralization" defense, which is becoming increasingly difficult to sell as traders migrate to chains that work.

Adams warns that constant strategy pivots would just set Ethereum back further, though it's hard to see how they could lose more market share than they already have.

The Painful Price Action

ETH is stuck around $1,600, down a brutal 47% year-over-year, while SOL has managed to stabilize at $142.

The former DeFi king hasn't reclaimed $2,000 in months, and network activity is so low that gas fees have dropped to 2020 levels.

That's the awkward part about fee markets – when they're low, it means nobody's using your network.

Even Tron founder Justin Sun is trying to inject some hope, pledging not to sell his ETH, which is either bullish or the ultimate sell signal, depending on your view of Sun.

The Hard Numbers

Ethereum's share of DEX volume has dropped to approximately 44% compared to Solana's approximately 46% – a shift that would have been unthinkable a year ago.

Transaction fees tell the story: $0.16 on Ethereum L1 versus less than a penny on Solana.

One chain handles 30 transactions per second, while the other handles over 65,000, and traders are voting with their wallets.

Uniswap did hit $500 billion in cumulative L2 volume in 2024, but even Adams can't deny that most of their volume still comes from expensive L1 transactions.

Uniswap's Own L2 Play

Uniswap launched its L2 called Unichain, built on Optimism's OP stack in the most predictable pivot of 2024.

The protocol aims to become the liquidity hub across all Ethereum L2s, which is akin to trying to herd cats across multiple bridges.

Unichain aims to optimize DeFi performance and reduce costs; however, it is unclear whether anyone will use it when Solana offers the same benefits without the bridging headaches.

It's the classic "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" approach, except they're joining their own ecosystem rather than admitting Solana might be onto something.

The Real Stakes

Ethereum's next major upgrade, Pectra, is scheduled for May 2025 and may give the chain a fighting chance to reclaim some market share.

However, Solana has shown that most traders care more about execution than theory – they want fast, cheap transactions now, not promises about the future.

Adams insists Ethereum must "pick a lane" and stick with it, though it seems like the market has already picked a lane for them.

The debate ultimately comes down to whether users care about decentralization enough to pay a premium for it, and so far, the data suggests they don't.

The DeFi Dilemma

Ethereum's community faces an awkward reality – maybe being right about decentralization doesn't matter if your chain is too slow and expensive to use.

The next year will determine whether Ethereum's L2 strategy was visionary patience or stubborn refusal to adapt.

Solana has proven that performance trumps purity when actual trading is involved.

But in crypto, the narrative can flip faster than a leveraged trader during a liquidation cascade – Ethereum just needs its L2s to deliver before everyone finally gives up waiting.