In the past week, the total sales of the NFT market reached $206.8 million, a weekly increase of 35%. The Ethereum chain led with $142 million (+47%), while the Solana chain followed closely with a growth rate of 57%, becoming one of the most active public chain competitors this summer. Cardano With the DeFi and governance upgrades, the ADA token saw a rise of over 53% in July, becoming another focal point in the market.
Solana: An NFT Engine Amidst Controversy and Growth
- Data Explosion and Ecological Contradictions
- As of July 28, the total sales of NFTs on the Solana chain have exceeded $6.4 billion, with a cumulative transaction volume of over 65.95 million and the number of buyers reaching 6.42 million.
- However, co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko publicly criticized NFTs and Memecoins as "digital slop," arguing that they lack intrinsic value. This statement sparked strong backlash from the community, particularly ironically—Memecoins contributed to Solana 62% of DApp revenue, with a total of 1.6 billion dollars generated in the first half of the year.
- The rise of new forces: SLERF’s NFT experiment
- The recently focused Memecoin project SLERF announced the launch of an NFT series to raise refund funds, with its donation address having received over 4,004 SOL (approximately 750,000 dollars), attempting to rebuild trust through artist collaborations and high-quality content.
Cardano: Governance Upgrades and Airdrop Strategies Driving the Ecosystem
- Technical Upgrades Propel ADA Surge
- The surge of Cardano in July is attributed to three core developments:
- Chang hard fork (launching in Q3): Achieves on-chain governance, allowing ADA holders to vote on network upgrades;
- Hydra Layer 2 scaling solution: Increases transaction speed and reduces Gas costs;
- TVL surpasses $412 million, a 20% increase since the beginning of the year, with the DeFi ecosystem continuing to expand.
- Analyst Paul Barron predicts that if the momentum continues, ADA could reach $1.50 in August and potentially hit $3 by the end of the year.
- Airdrop Plan Captures Cross-Chain Users
- The privacy sidechain Midnight has announced an airdrop of governance token NIGHT and privacy token DUST to 37 million users across 8 blockchains, excluding institutional shares and focusing on retail coverage, in preparation for the mainnet launch at the end of 2025.
Comparison of Dual-Chain Technology Routes: Performance VS Governance
- Solana: Low gas fees and high throughput make it a hotbed for Memecoin and NFT high-frequency trading, but excessive reliance on speculative assets raises sustainability concerns;
- Cardano: Known for its phased academic development, it transfers ecosystem control to the community through on-chain governance, attracting long-term institutional holdings.
Market Controversy: The Debate on the Nature of Value
The debate between Solana founder Yakovenko and Base chain creator Jesse Pollak reflects the division in the industry:
- Opponent (Yakovenko): NFTs are like mobile game lottery mechanisms, relying on speculation rather than real value;
- Proponent (Pollak): NFTs carry cultural and artistic attributes, analogous to physical painting collections.
Despite ongoing debates, Blue Chip NFT trading on Solana continues to grow strongly:
- CryptoPunks weekly sales reached $21.53 million, capturing the highest single transaction in the entire market ($906,000);
- Milady Maker rose 118% weekly, Moonbirds increased by 61%.
Emerging Ecological Forces: DeFi Innovative Projects Entering the Market
The emerging project Mutuum Finance (MUTM) raised over $13.7 million during its presale stage, attracting 14,500 investors. Its "dual lending model" (P2P and P2C) combines the compliance framework of Cardano with the low-cost advantages of Solana, signaling a trend of integration for the next generation of DeFi infrastructure.
Conclusion: The Divide Between Technology and Culture
In the summer of 2025, Solana’s raw vitality driven by Meme culture stands in stark contrast to Cardano’s robust system built on governance upgrades in the battlefield of NFT and DeFi. While Solana reaps growth dividends amid controversy, Cardano is trying to redefine the rules of the next cycle through airdrops and governance reconstruction. The outcome of the game between the two may determine the path of blockchain applications from "digital goods" to "value tools.
