Matt Hougan, the chief investment officer at crypto asset management firm Bitwise, believes Solana will become the preferred network for stablecoins and real-world asset tokenization on Wall Street.
“I consider Solana to be the new Wall Street,” noted Hougan during a discussion with Solana Labs’ Akshay Rajan on Oct. 2. He mentioned that Wall Street experts find Bitcoin (BTC) to be “very ephemeral” and “difficult to comprehend.”
They recognize the importance of developments in stablecoins and tokenization, understanding that it will be “immensely significant,” he added, stating, “Key figures are claiming that stablecoins will revolutionize payments, and tokenization will transform the markets for stocks, bonds, commodities, and real estate.”
When contemplating investment options, the blockchain space stands out, and upon analyzing this space, “the speed, throughput, and finality of Solana appear incredibly appealing.”
Hougan highlighted improvements in settlement speed, decreasing from 400 microseconds to 150 microseconds, noting that this is attractive to them due to their trading preferences.
Ethereum remains the stablecoin leader
As of now, stablecoin supplies on Solana have surged to $13.9 billion, giving it a stablecoin tokenization market share of 4.7%, according to RWA.xyz.
However, it still lags far behind Ethereum (ETH), which boasts $172.5 billion in on-chain stablecoin value and a dominant market share of 59%. This figure rises to 65% when accounting for Ethereum layer-2 networks like Arbitrum, Base, and Polygon.
On Saturday, AJ Warner, Chief Strategic Officer at Offchain Labs, compared the total value locked between Solana and Ethereum, stating, “While TVL isn’t everything, it’s hard to argue where the best environment for new stablecoins is. Build within the EVM.”
Bitwise has faith in Solana
This isn’t the first instance of Bitwise executives praising Solana (SOL). During an interview with Cointelegraph at Token2049 in Singapore last week, CEO Hunter Horsley mentioned that Solana might surpass Ethereum in the staking exchange-traded fund (ETF) market due to its more advantageous design for investors.
He pointed out that Solana’s unstaking period is considerably shorter than that of Ethereum, which is crucial because “ETFs must return assets quickly. This presents a significant challenge.”
Related: Can Solana rival Wall Street? Kyle Samani thinks so
Bitwise’s Solana ETF decision on the horizon
The firm provides a fund known as the Bitwise Physical Solana ETP, enabling investors to gain exposure to SOL through a fully backed, physically held structure with institutional-level custody. Interest has been relatively low compared to BTC or Ether-based ETFs, with only $30 million in assets under management, according to Bitwise.
The company is also awaiting SEC approval for a spot Solana ETF, with a final decision expected on Oct. 16.
SOL was trading down 2% at $227 at the time of this writing, remaining over 22% below its all-time high from January 2025.
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