Scaling on-chain: Can Solana and Revolut beat Ethereum in 2026?

Past institutionalizing crypto belongings, 2025 has formed as much as be a bullish 12 months for bringing blockchain use-cases into the mainstream. Assume integration into the funds market or partnerships with monetary companies.

No shock that L1s are racing to seize adoption. Developer exercise has jumped this 12 months, too. On-chain metrics present whole month-to-month lively builders at 30,000, with a double-digit improve in full-time devs.

Among the many prime chains, Ethereum [ETH] leads with 3,778 full-time devs, whereas Solana [SOL] ranks second with 1,276. That mentioned, with ETH’s Fusaka improve making headlines, SOL isn’t precisely standing nonetheless both.

Revolut partnership highlights Solana’s real-world use case

The funds market has been the hotspot for use-cases this 12 months.

Take Ripple [XRP], for instance. It’s been signing massive partnerships with companies, promising near-instant transactions. With McKinsey projecting this sector to hit $3 trillion by 2029, these strikes make good sense.

Consequently, extra L1s at the moment are leaping into the area, with DeFi turning into a significant income engine. Solana isn’t any exception. Its current partnership with Revolut has pushed it into the funds ecosystem.

Supply: X

For context, Revolut is Europe’s leading neobank, with over 65 million customers and 15 million crypto accounts. By integrating with Solana, Revolut customers can now transfer crypto extra cost-effectively throughout SOL rails.

From a strategic standpoint, this transfer highlights Solana’s “actual” use case in banking, displaying off its on-chain strengths: Excessive throughput, low charges, excessive TPS, and bigger block limits.

Nevertheless, the timing is attention-grabbing too. It’s been lower than 48 hours since Ethereum’s Fusaka improve went dwell. On this context, is the Solana–Revolut partnership actually only a coincidence?

Solana widens its utilization lead as Ethereum ranges up

Ethereum upgrades have traditionally boosted its on-chain usability.

The post-Pectra rally confirmed up each in worth motion and on-chain exercise. Notably, we’re seeing the same response with Fusaka as nicely.

It’s nonetheless early for significant conclusions, however the pre-upgrade buildup is already seen.

On-chain data reveals Ethereum’s 7-day shifting common of transactions leaping by 180k within the last week of November. Solana, in the meantime, continues to carry its lead with 74 million non-vote transactions.

Supply: The Block

In essence, even with two main back-to-back upgrades for Ethereum in 2025, Solana continues to be dealing with about 47× extra each day transactions, underscoring its “comparatively” stronger network fundamentals.

Seen in that mild, the Solana–Revolut partnership appears like greater than a coincidence. As a substitute, it displays Solana’s rising credibility and the boldness main fintech gamers now place in its efficiency.

Nevertheless, this divergence nonetheless isn’t displaying up in worth motion. So does that make SOL undervalued in comparison with ETH? And with Ethereum’s Fusaka improve now dwell, is that this hole solely set to develop as we head into 2026?

2026 outlook: SOL’s fundamentals vs. ETH valuation

2025 has additionally introduced a key valuation query again into the highlight.

Solana and Ethereum sit proper on the heart of it. Each chains have robust use instances, stable on-chain fundamentals, and lively communities. And but, ETH nonetheless holds a transparent valuation edge over SOL.

The SOL/ETH ratio makes this hole apparent. The pair is down round 20% this 12 months, marking its weakest annual stretch because the 2022 bear market, when the ratio noticed a staggering 80%+ pullback.

Supply: TradingView (SOL/ETH)

Heading into 2026, this divergence appears set to take heart stage.

As famous earlier, Solana’s current string of bullish occasions (like ETF launches and key partnerships) is being pushed by its strengthening fundamentals, displaying a community that’s scaling quicker than the market appears to comprehend.

That mentioned, subsequent 12 months might lastly see this hole begin to shut. 

With Solana’s Alpenglow improve set for Q1 2026, it is likely to be the chain’s defining second, kicking off a valuation cycle that higher displays its on-chain efficiency and rising adoption versus Ethereum.

Ultimate Ideas

• Solana’s rising on-chain fundamentals and key partnerships (like Revolut) spotlight its scaling potential.
• The SOL/ETH divergence, coupled with the upcoming Alpenglow improve in Q1 2026, could mark a pivotal second for Solana’s valuation.