Matt Hougan, Bitwise’s chief investment officer, says his bullish outlook on layer 1 blockchain Solana comes from two main factors that set it apart from competitors like Ethereum.
“I like investments that give me two ways to win,” Hougan said in an
“I think people significantly underestimate how much and how quickly these technologies will reshape markets. It’s easy for me to imagine this market growing 10 times or more,” Hougan added.
“I’m very bullish on Ethereum and other blockchains. But I like Solana’s chances of gaining a larger share of this market. It offers fast, user-friendly technology, backed by a large community with a can-do attitude.”
Hougan also sang Solana’s praises earlier this month, predicting that the blockchain would become Wall Street’s network of choice for stablecoins, while Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley also blasted it, arguing that Solana could win over Ethereum in the exchange-traded fund market, citing its design as more investor-friendly.
Solana is far from competing with Ethereum for the moment
Ethereum remains the market leader by a significant margin, with the largest stable market capitalization of over $163 billion and total value locked exceeding $85 billion, according to data aggregator DefiLlama.
Solana is well below, with a stable market cap of over $14.9 billion and a total value locked of over $11.3 billion for Solana.
However, Hougan said Tron, Solana and BNB Smart Chain were among the “primary challengers” for the crown.
Solana gains ground with institutional interest
He also believes institutional interest in Solana is growing, with deals such as financial services firm Western Union adopting the Solana blockchain for its stablecoin settlement system on Tuesday.
“This is a newer asset that is catching up to its peers in winning institutional mandates, but it is gaining traction,” Hougan said.
“If I’m right, the combination of a growing market and growing market share will be explosive for Solana. Just like it is for Bitcoin.”
Related: Can Solana compete with Wall Street? Kyle Samani thinks so
Bitwise offers Solana-related products, such as its Staking ETF, which launched on Tuesday.
Bitcoin also has two ways to earn
Alongside Solana, Hougan said Bitcoin also has two ways to win, betting that the market’s global store of value will expand and Bitcoin (BTC) will take an increasing share, which only requires one for me to succeed.
“A mistake many investors make is focusing too much on capturing Bitcoin market share and not enough on growing the market. The global store of value market has grown 10-fold over the past 20 years, from less than $3 trillion in 2005 to $27.5 trillion today.”
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