The payments sector naturally takes center stage whenever DeFi is mentioned.
Over the years, payments have become one of the biggest use cases for blockchain, helping bridge the gap between TradFi and enabling on-chain transactions across the Layer 1 ecosystem. In this context, Solana looks like it is making a push into this growing sector, putting its expanding DeFi ecosystem under the spotlight as it heads deeper into Q3.
In a post on X, Solana mentioned its partnership with MoneyGram, one of the world’s largest payments networks, with 60 million customers, 500k retail locations, and a presence across 170+ countries. Looking at the on-chain data, the impact could be meaningful for Solana, especially given its recent network activity.
As the chart above shows, Solana recorded a new all-time high of over 171 million daily non-vote transactions. Real-user TPS has also surged to a new peak of 2,000 transactions per second, showing that network activity continues to pick up.
Against this backdrop, MoneyGram’s launch on Solana doesn’t look like a random move. Instead, it looks like a “strategic” partnership, allowing the network to leverage Solana’s fundamentals, while potentially driving even more on-chain activity for the L1. With network activity already hitting new ATHs, the odds of Solana setting another transaction milestone by the end of Q3 therefore look increasingly likely.
In this context, the DeFi sector naturally becomes a key area to watch for Solana [SOL] throughout the rest of the quarter. Notably, liquidity on the network has already started to shift, suggesting that top-tier issuers are positioning themselves to capitalize on this growing momentum.
Solana’s liquidity shift puts DeFi and payments in focus for Q3
Increasing liquidity across Solana is already translating into key on-chain milestones.
According to SolanaFloor, tokenized supply on the network has hit a new all-time high, with Tesla (TSLA) and Circle (CRCL) remaining the largest tokenized equities by supply. This shows that tokenized assets are adding another layer to Solana’s on-chain activity, alongside rising daily transactions and growing crypto payment card usage.
Notably, crypto payment cards processed $759 million in July, up 2.5x year-on-year, with nearly 9 million purchases made using stablecoins. This clearly shows the growing link between blockchain and the payments sector, making Solana’s partnership with MoneyGram even more relevant. Looking at the chart below, it looks like major market participants are already positioning to capitalize on this momentum.
According to DeFiLlama, Tether’s USDT supply on Solana is up nearly 19% over the past 30 days, compared with a -4.6% decline in Circle’s USDC supply. This comes despite Circle minting another $500 million in USDC on the network, highlighting the growing traction of USDT within Solana’s liquidity landscape.
From a structural lens, this shift doesn’t look like a fluke. With Solana hitting a new transaction milestone, tokenized equities reaching a new all-time high, and MoneyGram further expanding its payment footprint, it looks like Tether is already positioning itself to capitalize on Solana’s growing on-chain momentum.
That, in turn, puts Solana’s DeFi sector in focus as a key catalyst for its Q3 cycle. With liquidity shifting and payment activity picking up, the big question now is whether this momentum can translate into technical upside for SOL this quarter, making it a key trend to watch.
Final Summary
- Solana’s payment sector is growing fast, with MoneyGram, rising transactions, and more tokenized assets boosting network activity.
- Liquidity is also moving higher, making DeFi and payments key catalysts for SOL in Q3.
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