The Metrics Gap: Uncovering Net-New Metrics in Solana's Ledger

With over 450 billion transactions processed and more than 400 terabytes of data generated since its genesis block, Solana stands at the frontier of blockchain data analysis—yet the industry is still using metrics borrowed from a different era. At Breakpoint 2025, Foundation Capital investor Alejandra Martinez delivered a compelling wake-up call about the urgent need for net-new metrics frameworks in crypto.

Summary

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Martinez, representing an early-stage VC fund that has backed Solana since 2018, drew powerful parallels between the current state of crypto metrics and the early internet era. She argued that the industry's fixation on "whatever number is currently going up" mirrors the ill-fated "eyeballs" metric that preceded the dot-com crash—a collapse that destroyed more than $5 trillion in value, exceeding today's entire crypto market cap.

The investor made a compelling case that structural differences between Web2 and Web3 demand entirely new frameworks. In closed systems, companies control their narrative through selective data disclosure. In crypto's open architecture, the challenge inverts: no one controls the full picture, users aren't necessarily unique, and wallet anonymity obscures critical insights. However, this openness also enables real-time querying across interconnected protocols, creating unprecedented analytical opportunities.

Martinez highlighted how Solana's metrics have already evolved naturally as the network matured—from TPS during its early days, to reliability metrics during performance challenges, to revenue metrics at both protocol and application layers. But she emphasized that what works for the base layer won't translate directly to applications building on top, and each project must surface metrics that authentically represent their unique business models.

The presentation concluded with an optimistic outlook: AI advancements and tools like Orb from Helius are making it possible to interpret on-chain data in natural language, democratizing access to blockchain analytics. Martinez predicted an "explosion of new data standards" emerging from Solana's rich data ecosystem.

Key Points:

The Lessons from the Dot-Com Era

Martinez drew direct comparisons between crypto's current metrics landscape and the internet boom of the late 1990s. The "eyeballs" metric—measuring raw website visitors—was inconsistent, unverifiable, and fundamentally disconnected from actual business success. The infrastructure to convert eyeballs into sales was still nascent, and these vanity metrics couldn't compensate for rising industry costs.

When the market crashed, it destroyed more than $5 trillion in value. The recovery brought marketplace giants like Facebook, Uber, and Airbnb, which couldn't rely on traditional metrics like revenue and EBITDA early in their lifecycles. Instead, they pioneered net-new metrics to demonstrate network efficiency—metrics that eventually became predictive of massive success and laid the groundwork for data-driven decision-making and early-stage valuations. By 2015, nearly 90% of public companies reported non-GAAP metrics, legitimizing activity-based valuation before profitability.

Structural Differences Between Web2 and Web3 Data

The fundamental architecture of blockchain creates both challenges and opportunities for metrics development. In traditional closed systems, companies generate their own data and selectively present what serves their narrative. Updates aren't real-time, and there's no visibility into broader ecosystem dynamics.

Crypto inverts these dynamics entirely. No single entity controls the full picture. Users aren't necessarily unique—one person can control multiple wallets. Anonymity obscures meaningful insights. Yet the open architecture enables unprecedented querying capabilities with real-time updates. State changes aren't isolated; Martinez illustrated this by describing how a buyback on Orca's AMM gets processed through Helius and bundled by Jito within seconds, packing tremendous data into near-instant transactions. The interconnected nature of protocols creates rich datasets that simply don't exist in traditional finance.

The Current State of Solana Data Analysis

Despite Solana's massive data generation—over 450 billion transactions and 400 terabytes of information—most users still encounter this data in its raw, nearly incomprehensible form through block explorers. Top holder lists rarely reveal whether holder number two is the same entity as holder number eight. The limited population capable of reading chain data natively means most rely on external dashboards and third-party interpretations.

Martinez likened the experience to viewing the Matrix before Neo's awakening—seeing raw numbers rather than people, relationships, and meaning. But with proper tools and analysis, teams can uncover whether they're "giving away free candy that nobody likes" or whether their biggest power user has defected to a competitor. The opportunity exists to perform transaction analysis at scale, similar to what Chain Analysis or TRM Labs do for compliance, but focused on user behavior and engagement patterns.

AI-Powered Blockchain Analytics

A significant breakthrough is occurring through AI integration with blockchain data. Martinez highlighted tools like Orb, a block explorer from portfolio company Helius, which can take a raw transaction and output its meaning in natural language. This democratization means non-technical team members can now engage with blockchain data directly.

The manual interpretation of high-throughput chain data would be physically impossible—the volume is simply too great for human analysis. AI removes this bottleneck, enabling teams to extract meaning from the massive datasets Solana generates. This capability is essential for the "explosion of new data standards" Martinez predicts will emerge from the ecosystem.

Examples of Net-New Metrics in Practice

Martinez provided concrete examples of how protocols are developing Solana-native metrics. Double Zero, which originated on Solana, initially measured adoption as percentage of stake on the chain. As their go-to-market motion expanded beyond Solana, they evolved to tracking "total connected value" as their primary adoption metric.

Bonk presented an even more interesting case study. The beloved Solana-native memecoin initially focused on price metrics, with partnerships and token burns serving as predictive indicators. But as Bonk transformed into an operating company connected to over 350 other protocols, new metrics became necessary. Martinez suggested Solana-native metrics like "ecosystem engagement depth" or "fees over programmatic incentives"—dynamic measurements that update as chain data evolves.

Facts + Figures

• Foundation Capital has been investing in the Solana ecosystem since 2018
• The dot-com crash destroyed more than $5 trillion in value, exceeding today's entire crypto market capitalization
• By 2015, almost 90% of companies reported non-GAAP metrics in their financial documents
• Solana has processed over 450 billion transactions since the genesis block
• Solana's ledger contains more than 400 terabytes of analyzable data
• Bonk is connected to over 350 other protocols on Solana
• The NASDAQ grew 500% in the five years following 1995 before the crash
• A buyback on Orca's AMM can be processed through Helius and bundled by Jito within seconds, demonstrating the speed of Solana's composable transactions
• Early 10K reports emerged from the industrial era and were designed for "widgets businesses," not modern software companies
• Foundation Capital was started in 1995, during the early internet era

Top Quotes

"Current consensus is that the most important metric in crypto is the one currently going up. It's only natural. We're still in the early stage of crypto and we're so largely momentum driven."

"Eyeballs measurement was inconsistent, unverifiable, and not tied to the success of a business model. The infrastructure to convert eyeballs into sales was still very nascent."

"The market crashed, destroying five trillions of value. That is more than the entire crypto economy today."

"Facebook and Uber didn't try to retrofit old metrics to apply to their own business models. And neither should new protocols on Solana."

"But with some work, we moved from seeing raw numbers to seeing people, relationships and meaning. And we can uncover whether we're giving away free candy that nobody likes or a biggest power user has started to see somebody else."

"It would be impossible to manually interpret the quantity of data that is generated in a high throughput chain manually."

"What determined the network's opportunity early on was its ability to scale. But what is determining the network's opportunity now is telling others we have built a platform here where others are making money."

"The question is, are you going to tell your story or are you going to let others tell it for you?"

"We're about to unlock an explosion of new data standards."

Questions Answered

Why are current crypto metrics inadequate for evaluating protocol success?

Current crypto metrics suffer from the same problems that plagued early internet measurements like "eyeballs." They're often gameable, inconsistently defined across protocols, and not meaningfully tied to business model success. The industry tends to celebrate whatever number is growing, leading to misinformation and endless debates on social media about definitions. Additionally, relying on external dashboards as the primary view into a company's data doesn't reveal how founders actually think about their businesses or what truly drives value creation.

How does blockchain data differ from traditional company data?

In closed Web2 systems, companies create and control their own data, selectively revealing what supports their narrative. Updates aren't real-time, and there's no visibility into broader ecosystem activity. Blockchain inverts this entirely—no single entity controls the full picture, updates happen in real-time, and state changes ripple across connected protocols instantly. However, blockchain data also presents unique challenges: users aren't necessarily unique due to multiple wallets, and anonymity obscures meaningful insights about user behavior.

How has Solana's own metrics evolved over time?

Solana's metrics have naturally progressed as the network matured through different phases. Initially, the focus was on TPS (transactions per second) to demonstrate scaling capability. As the network faced performance challenges, reliability metrics became paramount. Once performance stabilized, the conversation shifted to revenue at both the protocol and application layer. This evolution reflects the network's maturity: early metrics proved it could scale, while current metrics demonstrate that Solana has become a viable platform where builders can generate real revenue.

What role can AI play in blockchain data analysis?

AI is becoming essential for interpreting the massive volumes of data generated by high-throughput chains like Solana. Manual analysis of 450 billion transactions is physically impossible. Tools like Orb from Helius use AI to translate raw transactions into natural language explanations, meaning even non-technical team members can understand blockchain activity. This democratization of data access is enabling more sophisticated analysis and will likely catalyze the development of new metrics standards as more people can engage with on-chain data directly.

What are examples of Solana-native metrics that protocols are developing?

Double Zero, which started on Solana, initially tracked adoption as percentage of stake on the chain, then evolved to "total connected value" as they expanded beyond Solana. Bonk, connected to over 350 protocols, could potentially measure "ecosystem engagement depth" or track the ratio of fees to programmatic incentives. These metrics reflect the unique composability of Solana applications—measuring how deeply integrated a protocol is within the broader ecosystem rather than viewing it in isolation.

Why should Solana projects develop their own metrics rather than using existing frameworks?

Just as Facebook and Uber couldn't use traditional metrics like revenue and EBITDA to demonstrate their potential in early stages, Solana protocols have fundamentally different business models that require new measurement approaches. Retrofit metrics from Web2 or even other blockchains won't capture the unique value created by Solana's speed, composability, and interconnected protocol ecosystem. Projects that surface net-new metrics can better tell their story, make more strategic data-driven decisions, and potentially command better valuations by demonstrating value in ways that legacy metrics simply cannot capture.