The Solana leaves centralized exchanges narrative is gaining momentum. As of late May 2025, the amount of SOL held on CEX platforms has dropped to 27.01 million tokens, the lowest level since October 2022. This marks a 27.4% decline from 37.22 million in early March — and the reasons go far beyond simple speculation.
From institutional accumulation and the rise of staking on Solana to booming memecoin activity and DeFi adoption, the Solana supply on exchanges is drying up fast.
Institutional Demand Drives Cold Storage Shift
The institutional appetite for Solana skyrocketed following the March 20 launch of the first Solana-based futures ETFs. The move set the stage for even greater interest, with financial giants like Grayscale, Fidelity, and Franklin Templeton filing for spot Solana ETFs shortly after.
Bloomberg analysts estimate a 90% chance of approval in 2025, pushing institutions to shift assets into cold wallets or regulated custodians. This shift has pulled huge amounts of SOL out of exchanges, reinforcing the Solana leaves centralized exchanges trend.
“Institutions prefer compliance-friendly custody solutions,” says analyst James Murphy. “That means fewer assets on CEX and more in offline, secure environments.”
Staking on Solana and DeFi TVL Boom
Another major factor: the surge in staking on Solana. As of May 2025, around 64% of circulating SOL is staked across protocols like Raydium, Jito, and Marinade, reflecting deeper integration with on-chain validator ecosystems.
Meanwhile, Solana’s total value locked (TVL) has soared, with TVL rising 54% and DEX activity up 90% over the past month. This shift is pulling more SOL into protocol-level infrastructure and away from centralized exchanges.
Whale Movements Confirm Strategic Withdrawals
High-value transactions further validate the trend:
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April 21: 374,000 SOL moved off Binance to an unknown wallet
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May 2: 145,000 SOL exited Kraken and dispersed across multiple new wallets
Such large moves suggest strategic repositioning — either for enhanced security or for participating in on-chain activity like staking, liquidity farming, and DeFi diversification.
Memecoins Accelerate Solana’s On-Chain Economy
Perhaps unexpectedly, memecoins on Solana have become a major catalyst. Memecoin trading now accounts for over 92% of DEX volume on the network. This shift is not only speculative — it’s creating a new Solana economy fueled by farming, airdrops, and community-driven projects.
The result? A self-reinforcing cycle:
More memecoins → More SOL leaves CEX → Higher on-chain demand → More SOL needed for interaction.
This makes centralized exchanges increasingly irrelevant for day-to-day SOL use — users want their tokens in-wallet, ready to farm, stake, or swap on-chain.
