Bitquery Flagged Billions in Solana Wash Trading
Data analysis reveals significant circular trading activity on the Solana blockchain network.
Updated on Sept. 25, 2026 in Investing
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Research firm Bitquery identified $117.7 billion in potentially circular or automated trades on Solana decentralized exchanges. This figure represents over half of the $201.4 billion in total trade volume analyzed between Aug. 24 and Sept. 22, 2026.
Why it matters
The findings highlight discrepancies between reported decentralized exchange volume and actual market activity, raising questions about the transparency of trading data on the Solana network.
Bitquery classified 58.4% of its analyzed $201.4 billion Solana trading volume as circular or bot-driven. Nearly $111.6 billion of this volume involved round-trip transactions occurring within a single trade.
The players
Bitquery
Bitquery is a blockchain data provider that offers analytical tools to track and screen transactions across various decentralized networks.
DefiLlama
DefiLlama is an open-source analytics platform that tracks decentralized finance protocols and total value locked across multiple blockchains.
The details
Bitquery utilized transaction screening and wallet behavior analysis to detect patterns where the same token was bought and sold in one transaction. Two specific wallet groups, consisting of 20 and 50 members respectively, were responsible for $26.3 billion of the flagged trade volume.
Timeline
Aug. 24 through Sept. 22, 2026: Bitquery analyzed Solana DEX trading volume.
Sept. 14, 2026: An example transaction between two wallets occurred.
Sept. 24, 2026: Bitquery released its volume reconstruction data.
Market Dynamics
This analysis mirrors increased scrutiny in the crypto industry, such as the 2026 Jump Crypto examination of Solana market fills, which sought to clarify trading quality in high-speed blockchain ecosystems. These reports continue to challenge market volume metrics often used to evaluate blockchain adoption.
Retail investors should be aware that high reported trading volumes on decentralized exchanges may not represent genuine market interest or liquidity. Traders should exercise caution when evaluating network activity metrics, as these figures may be inflated by automated wallet activity.
The takeaway
Blockchain users should look beyond headline volume figures when assessing the health of a decentralized exchange ecosystem. Verifying data through independent analysis helps investors avoid misleading signals in highly automated crypto markets.
Further reading
For more context on how market data is interpreted, visit the Investing section.
Live Poll
Do you trust the volume metrics reported by decentralized exchange platforms?
