Solana ranked first among all blockchains in May by app revenue.

According to blockchain outlet Cryptopolitan on June 2, Solana's May app revenue was tallied at $90.62 million. Still, SOL closed the month with a negative candlestick for an eighth straight month, extending the longest monthly decline in the token's history.

The key was that network usage and token prices did not move in the same direction. Solana traded at about $220 in October last year, but its May close fell to about $82. Market capitalisation shrank by about $78 billion to about $47 billion.

The figure is based on app revenue data from DefiLlama. Unlike transaction counts or total value locked, app revenue refers to the portion of fees paid by actual users for using products that applications take. The original report described it as "the metric closest to product-market fit" in the crypto market. It said it more directly shows real demand than trading volume that can be inflated by bots or total value locked that fluctuates with token prices.

A large share of Solana app revenue came from trading and token launches. In particular, Pump.fun accounted for about 42 percent of Solana app revenue through the first quarter of this year. But this revenue does not flow to SOL holders and instead accrues to the app's operating team. The original report said, "usage only showed that people wanted the product, not proof that they wanted SOL." It said the eight-month decline on charts reflected that disconnect.

Institutional flows sent a different signal. In SoSoValue's tally, spot Solana exchange-traded funds recorded cumulative inflows of $115.34 million in May, with no net outflows on any day. Over the same period, bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of $2.43 billion, and ethereum ETFs also saw $540.88 million leave. Spot Solana ETFs have maintained net monthly inflows since their launch in October last year.

Broader market weakness also played a role. Bitcoin posted its third monthly decline in 2026 and started trading in early June below $72,000. Ethereum slipped below $2,000, and total crypto market capitalisation stayed around $2.46 trillion.

A June variable is that bullish catalysts and risk factors are building at the same time. Solana is targeting finality of about 150 milliseconds through the "Alpenglow" upgrade. At the same time, spot ETF inflows are continuing, and the value of Solana-based real-world assets was tallied at about $2 billion, up 43 percent in the first quarter.

In that situation, SOL began new monthly trading in early June around $80. The original report said holding that level could stop the streak at eight months, while a break could open the possibility of a ninth straight monthly decline.