A recent interesting phenomenon has emerged in the DeFi space: the top platforms Metis, Jupiter, and Uniswap all surpassed $100 million in fee revenue in 2025. What does this data reflect?



**Has the era of trading volume truly arrived?**

In the past, users mainly chose DeFi platforms based on APY returns. Now, what are they turning to? The answer is trading experience. Platforms that offer fast speeds, low slippage, and strong aggregation depth are capturing an increasingly larger share. Take Jupiter on the Solana chain as an example; by integrating multiple liquidity sources, it allows traders to execute large orders more conveniently, leading to rising fee income.

**A new dimension in liquidity competition**

Previously, L2s competed over TVL (Total Value Locked). Now? Leading projects are beginning to compete on trading throughput and optimized trading experiences. Those who can enable users to complete trades at lower costs and higher efficiency will benefit from fee distribution. This shift indicates that protocol design is also evolving — no longer just stacking liquidity pools, but building trading infrastructure.

**Risks to be cautious of**

It should be noted that one year's data can indicate a trend but cannot guarantee the future. Several variables may emerge in 2026: First, centralized exchanges are also optimizing their fee systems, which could intensify competition; second, if new L2 solutions achieve breakthroughs in trading speed, they could reshape the landscape; third, if market sentiment reverses, trading volume itself could face pressure.

**Key points for future focus**

It is recommended to closely monitor projects that are upgrading Layer 2 trading capabilities, optimizing aggregator depth, or innovating fee distribution mechanisms. These are the critical indicators of whether a project can maintain competitiveness in the next phase. Simply chasing hot trends often leads to becoming a target for 'fee harvesting' — the smart approach is to understand the direction of product iteration rather than just following past data.
METIS0.97%
JUP-0.58%
UNI0.67%
SOL-1.27%
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CryptoTherapistvip
· 01-06 11:38
Wait a moment... Let me diagnose everyone's trading mindset. Friends who start FOMOing at a fee income of 100 million USD, are you aware that you're chasing past data? This is a typical case of rearview mirror trading.
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BearMarketMonkvip
· 01-06 01:33
Well, a $100 million fee sounds really impressive, but I think it's mostly due to explosive trading volume rather than any revolutionary innovation. Jupiter's liquidity integration, to put it simply, is just about staying alive a bit longer than others. What's truly interesting is that, in the past, everyone was hyping TVL to the skies, and now they’re turning around to compete on trading experience. What does this shift indicate? It shows that locked-up funds are not making money. However, I have to pour cold water on this. If by 2026 CEXs really optimize their fees, the advantage of DeFi will be gone in an instant. And as soon as the market cools down, trading volume becomes a paper tiger. Projects that chase after one-year data are almost certainly going to be harvested as fee-grabbing leeks.
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TopBuyerBottomSellervip
· 01-06 01:28
Haha, it's that season again for fee harvesting. This time it's Jupiter and Uni. Oh my god, if the slippage is low enough, you can make a billion? Why am I still losing money? Jupiter really went all out this time. As the Solana ecosystem grows, the fees just keep rising... Wait, if centralized exchanges also start competing on trading experience, it will be even harder for us small retail investors. The era of TVL is dead. Now it all depends on who has the better trading infrastructure. Made so much in fees, when will it be my turn to earn... That's quite right, chasing data will definitely lead to losses. It still depends on what the protocol is doing. Another new trend is emerging... Never mind, I'll wait for the next more obvious opportunity.
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VitaliksTwinvip
· 01-05 10:53
靠,Jupiter真的起来了啊,之前根本没想到Solana这条链能打成这样 --- 1亿美刀说实话有点夸张,但确实说明交易体验变成了新的护城河 --- 还是得看2026咋走,CEX要真发力DeFi可能又是另一个故事了 --- 手续费收入破亿≠项目真的赚钱,别忘了还要分给流动性提供者们 --- 聚合深度这事儿听起来简单,真正做好的也就那么几个,Jupiter属于前列吧 --- 我就想知道下一个被收割的会是谁,反正肯定有人跟风买底部的L2币
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ser_ngmivip
· 01-03 14:52
Really? 100 million USD in a year? How much trading volume does that require? It feels like CEX should be panicking.
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GateUser-beba108dvip
· 01-03 14:49
Speaking of which, CEXs are not fools either. They've been quietly optimizing their fee structures for a while... It seems the window for DeFi might not be as long as expected.
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ColdWalletAnxietyvip
· 01-03 14:49
100 million USD in fees sounds great, but dare to bet your life on whether 2026 will still be like this? Not convinced --- Jupiter is indeed fast, but I haven't really felt any real advantage from low slippage yet --- Here we go again, this year's liquidity competition, who knows about next year... Anyway, I’m not chasing the trend --- Honestly, it still depends on who can survive to the next round; these data are not very reliable --- Wait, if centralized exchanges really get serious, what advantages does DeFi still have? --- Handshake to those working on Layer2 optimization, I think everything else is just fleeting --- People chasing the trend are probably all at a loss now... I’ll just wait and see
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probably_nothing_anonvip
· 01-03 14:44
Jupiter's move was indeed fierce, but honestly, CEXs won't just sit and wait. The competition is just beginning. If centralized exchanges really lower their fees, the good days for these DeFi projects might be over. We'll have to see how 2026 unfolds. Hitting over a billion in a year is definitely a peak, but what's the next step? When new L2s emerge and take a share, it might be time to run. Honestly, it still depends on who can optimize the trading experience to the extreme. Looking at historical data and chasing the trend will only lead to being cut off sooner or later. The era of TVL is over; now it's about trading throughput. This shift is actually quite interesting. But as the old saying goes, past data is just an illusion; market reversals can make everything worthless in an instant. How about Metis? Is anyone optimistic about it? It seems Jupiter has overshadowed them. Aggregator strategies indeed solve the pain points of large orders. That's true innovation, not just hype.
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BearMarketMonkvip
· 01-03 14:42
Breaking 100 million in data in one year is often the beginning of the next round of harvesting.
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