CryptoSlate
Bitquery flagged $117.7 billion of $201.4 billion in priced Solana DEX trades from Aug. 24 through Sept. 22 as circular or botlike. About $111.6 billion of the flagged activity involved buying and selling the same token through the same pool in one transaction. The analysis challenges treating gross turnover as a measure of independent trading demand.
Why it matters
A Sept. 14 example shows how recorded volume can grow without demonstrating meaningful outside demand: two wallets bought and sold nearly the same amount of a token through one PumpSwap pool in a single transaction, recording about $2,000 in trades. Bitquery also identified groups of 20 and 50 wallets with similar trading patterns, together accounting for $26.3 billion of flagged volume. The firm grouped wallets by volume and token counts, but did not trace their funding.
The result is a warning about interpreting DEX rankings, not a measure of all Solana trading. Bitquery's screen covers indexed pools and trades priced in SOL, USDC or USDT, and its rules leave some venues and quote assets outside the sample. Activity not flagged by the screen is not necessarily independent-user demand either.
Market impact
The report does not establish how much an independent trader could execute at a useful price. Bitquery counted $83.7 billion in trades outside its flagged category during the sample window, while DefiLlama counted $78.8 billion across Solana for the same dates. The figures are not directly comparable because the services cover different pools and venues, and the close totals may be coincidental.
A pool's recorded history and trader count do not reveal its available depth or the price impact of a particular order. The execution question requires pair-, size- and time-specific evidence, including reserves and realized fills. Bitquery's $117.7 billion is a screen of activity under its rules, not a measure of spendable liquidity across Solana DEXs.
Frequently asked questions
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How much Solana DEX volume did Bitquery flag as circular or botlike?
Bitquery flagged $117.7 billion of $201.4 billion in priced trades across indexed Solana pools from Aug. 24 through Sept. 22.
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What made up most of Bitquery's flagged Solana trading?
About $111.6 billion, or 95% of the flagged amount, involved buying and selling the same token through the same pool in one transaction.
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What did Bitquery's wallet groups contribute to flagged volume?
Two groups of 20 and 50 wallets with similar trading records together accounted for $26.3 billion. Bitquery grouped them by volume and token counts without tracing their funding.
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Why are Bitquery's and DefiLlama's Solana volume figures not directly comparable?
They cover different pools and venues. For Aug. 24 through Sept. 22, Bitquery counted $83.7 billion outside its flagged category, while DefiLlama counted $78.8 billion across Solana.
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Does Bitquery's analysis show how much liquidity Solana DEX traders can access?
No. The flagged-volume total does not measure executable depth or price impact. That requires evidence tied to the trading pair, order size and execution time.
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