Solana liquidity shrinks over 28% since 2025 as MEXC leads market depth

Solana’s order books are noticeably thinner than they were a year ago. According to a CoinGecko Research report published on September 30, 2026, the median market depth for SOL fell from about $28 million per side in 2025 to roughly $20 million per side in 2026.

That works out to a decline of over 28.5%. For a network that markets itself on speed and scale, the trading pipes around its native token have gotten a bit narrower.

What CoinGecko measured

Market depth measures how much buy and sell interest sits in an order book close to the current price. CoinGecko tracked the amount resting within ±2% of SOL’s price, on both the bid and ask side.

The study covered eight centralized exchanges. Data ran from July 6 to September 3, 2026.

Across that window, median depth landed at about $20 million per side. In 2025, the comparable figure was approximately $28 million.

The daily medians also hide some rougher moments. During price breaks in the study period, depth on most platforms often sank to the $3 million to $4 million range.

MEXC tops the leaderboard, with caveats

MEXC led SOL liquidity at the immediate market price, with around $934,000 available. That put it ahead of Binance and Coinbase.

The picture shifted further out in the order book. Bitget and Coinbase showed stronger depth in the wider range beyond ±$0.20 from the price.

MEXC’s strength was not limited to Solana. The report found it also led Dogecoin market-price depth, with more than $443,000.

Shallower, but more evenly spread

Even as total depth declined, SOL liquidity in 2026 was distributed more evenly across exchanges than before. No single venue dominates the way it might have previously.

The market backdrop

The study period was far from calm. CoinGecko’s research points to substantial market stress, including sharp price swings and shifting exchange-traded fund flows.

SOL briefly climbed above $100 on August 25, a move the research ties to notable ETF inflows.

Solana’s experience also diverged from the market’s largest asset. Bitcoin saw depth gains of nearly 50% over the comparable comparison, according to the research. Ethereum, meanwhile, showed similarly thinner relative depth.

What this means for traders and the Solana ecosystem

With median depth down to about $20 million per side, large orders are more likely to move SOL’s price than they were in 2025. The research suggests this could encourage more conservative strategies.

The episodes where depth fell to $3 million to $4 million deserve particular attention. Thin books during price breaks can amplify moves in both directions, turning ordinary selling into sharper drops and modest buying into outsized rallies.

For exchanges, the report is something of a scorecard. MEXC’s lead at the market price, combined with its Dogecoin numbers, gives it a talking point against larger rivals. Bitget and Coinbase can point to their deeper books further from the price.

ETF inflows helped push SOL above $100, yet centralized exchange depth still shrank by more than a quarter.