In a recent thread on X, crypto researcher Gunkan from Messari highlighted the impressive performance of Shadow Exchange on the Sonic Labs network. Shadow, a decentralized exchange (DEX) built with concentrated liquidity, has been making waves since its launch, and these latest stats show just how dominant it's become.

Shadow has racked up a staggering $11.4 billion in cumulative trading volume since going live. That's no small feat, especially on a network like Sonic Labs, which is known for its speed and low fees—perfect for the fast-paced world of meme tokens. With over 24,000 token holders, Shadow isn't just attracting traders; it's building a solid community around it.

One standout metric is Shadow's share of Sonic's overall activity. It accounts for 47.3% of the chain's total on-chain volume since launch, and that jumped to 53.4% in Q2 2025. Even more telling, 36.7% of Sonic's daily active addresses (DAAs) are using Shadow. DAAs are basically the unique users interacting with the blockchain each day, so this means a big chunk of Sonic's users are funneling through Shadow for their trades.

Even as Sonic Labs has seen some contraction—meaning a dip in overall network activity—Shadow keeps chugging along as one of the most active protocols. They've rolled out a 3.0 million S incentive program to reward users, which ties into Sonic's broader ecosystem rewards. S here refers to Sonic's native token, used for incentives across the network.

On the feature side, Shadow has added limit orders and Time-Weighted Average Price (TWAP) executions. Limit orders let you set a specific price to buy or sell at, while TWAP spreads out large trades over time to avoid slamming the market and getting a bad price. These tools make it easier for traders, especially those dealing with volatile meme tokens, to execute strategies without the usual headaches.

They've also updated their emissions—that's how they distribute rewards—to hand out liquid SHADOW tokens directly. No more vesting periods or penalties for early exits, which makes it more appealing for liquidity providers (LPs). LPs are folks who add funds to pools to enable trading, and in return, they earn fees and rewards.

What does this mean for meme tokens? Sonic Labs has been a hotbed for meme coin launches, with initiatives like the Meme Mania competition offering prizes to top holders. Shadow, as the go-to DEX, plays a crucial role here. It even gives a percentage of trading fees back to memecoins that launch on the platform, directly benefiting projects and their communities. This setup encourages more meme token activity, as better liquidity and rewards draw in traders looking for the next big pump.

All in all, Shadow's growth underscores why it's a top app on Sonic Labs. For anyone diving into meme tokens or DeFi on this chain, keeping an eye on Shadow is a must. Check out the full Messari report here for a deeper dive into the numbers and future outlook.