Solana Derivatives Market Volume Hits $65B Record Month, Setting New All-Time High

For a long period, Solana’s perpetual futures market was defined by a familiar rivalry between Jupiter and Drift. Starting in early September, a third protocol named Pacifica began altering the competitive structure in a noticeable way. According to onchain data, Pacifica has grown from a secondary participant into the leading source of weekly perpetual trading volume on Solana. This change represents a notable development in the network’s derivatives sector.

This transition has unfolded during a period of exceptional derivatives activity. In October, Solana-based perpetual trading volume surpassed $65B, which set a new all-time record. The week of October 6 alone recorded more than $17.9B in trading volume, representing the highest weekly total observed to date.

Rapid Redistribution of Market Share

The entrance of Pacifica has changed the volume distribution across Solana’s perpetual platforms in a short period of time. In early August, Jupiter accounted for approximately 61% of weekly trading volume, and Drift held around 36.6%. By mid November, neither protocol maintained its previous share.

Based on recent onchain observations:

• Jupiter’s share declined to 31%

• Drift’s share dropped to below 14%

• Pacifica’s share exceeded 54%, placing it first in weekly trading volume

The speed of this change is observable. Within roughly two months, Pacifica transitioned from a smaller venue to a leading venue for perpetual trading on Solana.

Divergence Between Volume and Open Interest

Open interest levels indicate notable differences in how capital is allocated among Solana’s major perpetual platforms. Drift holds the highest estimated open interest at approximately $516M, suggesting comparatively deeper and longer-held positioning. Jupiter follows with an estimated $344M, retaining a significant share of the market despite its decline in overall trading volume. Pacifica shows an estimated $50M in open interest, which is substantially lower than both Drift and Jupiter.

The disparity between Pacifica’s trading volume leadership and its relatively low open interest suggests that a considerable share of activity on the platform may involve shorter-duration trades or frequent position turnover rather than long-term exposure. While additional data is needed for firm conclusions, factors that may contribute to this pattern include trading fee incentives, reward or point systems, and potential participation from automated strategies.

In other words, the activity suggests that traders may be prioritizing high transaction counts and volume, potentially driven by airdrop farming incentives, rather than maintaining open positions for extended timeframes.

TVL Trends Show A Different Narrative

Despite the increase in trading volume, total value locked (TVL) across major Solana perpetual protocols has experienced a decline.

Approximate TVL levels based on onchain data:

• Jupiter: $892M TVL with around 30 percent attributed to $BTC

• Jupiter TVL declined from approximately $1.34B in mid September, which equals a reduction of around 33.4%

• Pacifica: above $40M TVL, stabilizing after growth in early October

The contrast between rising volume and falling TVL indicates that collateral capital might be rotating more frequently rather than being deposited for long periods.

Adrena Moves to Maintenance Mode

Adrena announced that it would transition the protocol into maintenance mode after determining that funding was insufficient to support continued development. 

Onchain data indicates that the platform’s TVL declined from $12.1M to below $4.6M following the update. The protocol remains operational, although both liquidity and trading activity have continued to decrease.

Outlook

The future of Solana’s perpetual futures market will depend on how sustainable Pacifica’s growth proves to be. Several factors will likely influence the next phase of competition:

• Continuation and structure of incentive programs

• Ability to sustain liquidity depth as open interest grows

• Long-term alignment between trading volume and revenue generation

Jupiter and Drift remain essential components of Solana’s derivatives landscape, especially due to their higher levels of open interest and deeper capital engagement. However, Pacifica’s recent activity illustrates that competitive dynamics can change when user behavior and trading incentives shift.

This piece is part of our Solana Data Insights series. Make sure to subscribe to Solana Data Insights for weekly onchain analysis.

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