Solana (SOL) outperformed Ethereum (ETH) in September, rising 4.06% while ETH fell 5.68%, driven by institutional inflows, tokenized asset growth, and key network upgrades like Alpenglow and Firedancer.
Institutional Flows and DAT Growth
According to VanEck, 65% of major blockchain tokens declined in September, but Solana bucked the trend. The network saw $2 billion in new stablecoin inflows, boosting total value to $14.3 billion, and now holds a 60% share in tokenized stocks.
Solana’s Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) surged 233%, holding 2.5% of total supply, driven by firms like Forward Industries ($1.5 B) and Helius ($500 M). By contrast, Ethereum’s DAT growth stood at 35%, highlighting Solana’s momentum.
Network Upgrades Fuel Adoption
Solana’s Alpenglow upgrade—approved by 99% of validators—reduced block finality to 150 milliseconds, while Firedancer aims to lift compute unit limits per block. These improvements have strengthened institutional confidence, with Solana’s RWA (real‑world asset) sector up 40% month‑on‑month, triple Ethereum’s growth rate.
Meanwhile, Ethereum’s Fusaka upgrade, planned for December 2025, targets Layer‑2 scalability and lower transaction costs, signaling an ongoing L2‑focused strategy.
Q4 Outlook: SOL/ETH Ratio Watch
SOL’s strong fundamentals helped it close September at a 10.6% gain against ETH, breaking above the 0.05 support with higher lows forming. Analysts now eye a breakout above 0.055, potentially revisiting Q2 highs and cementing Solana’s Q4 dominance.
Conclusion
With institutional flows, DeFi expansion, and faster network upgrades, Solana appears poised for continued Q4 strength, challenging Ethereum’s leadership in Layer‑1 performance and investor sentiment.