MetaMask Brings Solana to over 100 Million Web3 Users
On May 27th, 2025, MetaMask announced native support for the Solana blockchain within its browser extension, marking a significant technical and symbolic milestone for both the wallet and the Solana ecosystem. As one of the most widely used multi-chain wallets in the Web3 space, MetaMask, used by over 100 million users annually, has long served as a foundational interface for interacting with Ethereum and other Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible networks. By integrating Solana, a non-EVM chain with a distinct architecture, MetaMask has taken a major step toward supporting broader blockchain interoperability beyond the EVM paradigm.
The addition of Solana is groundbreaking because it is the first non-EVM network to be supported natively within MetaMask’s interface. Historically, users had to manage separate wallets and workflows to interact with Solana-based applications, creating friction for those who engaged with both ecosystems. With this update, users can now send, receive, swap, and bridge Solana assets within the same environment as their Ethereum accounts. This convergence reduces the complexity of multi-chain participation and signals a move toward more unified user experiences in the Web3 space.
From a strategic standpoint, this integration serves as a form of legitimisation for Solana within the broader multi-chain landscape. MetaMask’s support carries weight, not only due to its extensive user base but also because of its role in setting standards for wallet design, access, and security across Web3. The inclusion of Solana affirms its status as a major blockchain with enduring developer and user interest, and it opens the door for deeper cross-chain activity between EVM and non-EVM ecosystems, particularly through functions like bridging and token swaps.
The announcement also reflects MetaMask’s longer-term intent to expand beyond EVM-compatible networks. By beginning with Solana, MetaMask is laying the groundwork for further support of non-EVM chains, which could help address longstanding fragmentation issues across the decentralised web. Although Solana mobile support is still pending, the browser extension update already marks a practical improvement for users and developers seeking to operate across chains without relying on multiple wallet solutions. This development not only enhances convenience but may also shape the direction of future wallet architecture and interoperability across the blockchain ecosystem.
Has Solana Become Ethereum’s “Misfit Baby Brother”?
Solana’s recent surge in usage and ecosystem activity has positioned it as the only so-called “Ethereum killer” to meaningfully challenge Ethereum’s dominance in Web3. While many alternative Layer 1 chains have emerged over the years claiming to offer superior performance, few have sustained growth or community traction. Solana, however, has proven to be a notable exception. Its high throughput, low fees, and rapid ecosystem development have helped it carve out a substantial user base across key Web3 sectors such as DeFi, NFTs, tokenisation, and, more recently, the viral proliferation of meme coins. At various points, Solana has even surpassed Ethereum in transaction count and active address metrics at times, highlighting its growing relevance in the Web3 landscape.
This ascent has led to a dynamic where Solana is increasingly seen not as a rival or replacement, but as Ethereum’s “Misfit Baby Brother”, a blockchain with different design priorities but overlapping ambitions. Solana’s architecture favours high-speed execution and minimal latency, which contrasts with Ethereum’s layered modularity and decentralisation-first culture. Despite facing challenges such as past network outages and validator concentration concerns, Solana continues to draw developers and users with its performance-driven user experience. Its growing traction has been particularly visible in segments where transaction volume and user onboarding speed matter more than base-layer decentralisation, as can be seen in the numerous gaming, micro-trading and meme coin projects that have been built on Solana.
What makes Solana’s current position especially noteworthy is its increasing ability to compete head-to-head with Ethereum across metrics traditionally used to measure blockchain success. In recent months, Solana has narrowed the gap in Decentralised Exchange (DEX) volume, aided in part by its meme coin ecosystem and rising liquid staking activity. Although Ethereum still holds a commanding lead in Total Value Locked (TVL) and protocol revenue, indicators often tied to institutional preference and network security, the pace at which Solana is closing the distance suggests a growing user shift towards faster, lower-cost alternatives. At the same time, Solana’s improved infrastructure, including validator client upgrades and enhanced wallet compatibility, has made it more viable as a long-term platform for serious application development.
In this evolving context, Solana no longer fits the mould of a challenger chain defined by its opposition to Ethereum. Instead, it increasingly serves as a complementary network with its own identity and use case strengths. Its growing adoption by major infrastructure players, most recently exemplified by MetaMask’s support, further legitimises its place in the multi-chain future of Web3. Whether Solana can eventually rival Ethereum in market capitalisation remains uncertain, but it has already secured its place as a core part of the next generation of blockchain applications. The current trajectory suggests a future where users and developers shift between chains not based on ideology, but based on needs, costs, and context, a reality in which Solana and Ethereum coexist as pillars of a diverse and maturing decentralised ecosystem.
In an Ever-Changing Crypto Market, Is Solana Ethereum’s Litecoin?
The comparison between Solana and Ethereum has long been framed in terms of rivalry, but in light of MetaMask’s adoption of native Solana support, a more nuanced analogy is beginning to take shape: “is Solana becoming to Ethereum what Litecoin once was to Bitcoin?”, a faster, lighter counterpart that carves out its own space without threatening the incumbent’s dominance? Litecoin earned this reputation by offering lower transaction fees and faster confirmation times while remaining structurally similar to Bitcoin. Likewise, Solana offers high throughput and low-latency execution, standing apart from Ethereum’s modular, security-prioritised architecture. With MetaMask’s integration signaling cross-compatibility and legitimacy, Solana now occupies a structural position similar to Litecoin’s: a complementary chain rather than an existential competitor.
However, there are critical differences that challenge a direct equivalence. Unlike Litecoin, which closely mirrored Bitcoin’s codebase and remained largely a derivative network, Solana is architecturally distinct from Ethereum. It uses a combination of Proof-of-Stake and Proof-of-History to achieve sub-second block finality and high transaction volumes, creating a vastly different technical environment for developers. Solana has also developed a thriving ecosystem in areas like DeFi, NFTs, and meme coins, sectors where Litecoin never gained meaningful traction. Therefore, while the analogy captures Solana’s role as a performance-oriented counterpart to Ethereum’s secure, decentralised backbone, it risks understating Solana’s innovation and growing influence in Web3.
MetaMask’s support for Solana reinforces the idea that Solana is no longer seen as a mere competitor but as a necessary part of the evolving multi-chain Web3 environment. Just as Litecoin found a stable, albeit limited, role in crypto as a transactional layer for certain users, Solana may now be viewed as the chain optimized for mass adoption, consumer-facing DApps, and high-volume activity. But unlike Litecoin, which gradually settled into a niche, Solana is still aggressively expanding its capabilities and user base. Its increasing overlap with Ethereum in terms of decentralised exchange usage, tokenisation platforms, and application-layer development suggests that its trajectory may be more intertwined, and potentially more influential, than Litecoin has been relative to Bitcoin.
Ultimately, the Solana-as-Litecoin analogy reveals as much about Ethereum’s evolving role as it does about Solana’s. Ethereum, like Bitcoin, has become an infrastructure layer, robust, secure, and slower to change. Solana, in contrast, represents the high-speed frontier of blockchain experimentation, appealing to users who value performance and low costs. MetaMask’s adoption doesn’t just validate Solana, it acknowledges the multi-chain future paradigm playing out and the need for diverse chains to meet different use cases. Whether Solana becomes Ethereum’s “Litecoin” or breaks into a category of its own will depend on whether it remains a complement or grows into a contender, something Litecoin hasn’t quite managed to achieve yet.
The post appeared first on Bitfinex blog.
