Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at crypto asset management firm Bitwise, believes Solana will emerge as the preferred network on Wall Street for stablecoins and real-world asset tokenization.
“I consider Solana the new Wall Street,” stated Hougan in a conversation with Akshay Rajan from Solana Labs on October 2. He noted that Wall Street professionals view Bitcoin (BTC) as “very ephemeral” and “challenging to grasp.”
They recognize the significance of developments in the stablecoin and tokenization sectors, understanding that it will be “tremendously impactful,” he mentioned, adding, “Key figures are asserting that stablecoins will transform payments and tokenization will revolutionize stock, bond, commodity, and real estate markets.”
When considering investment opportunities, they find solutions in the blockchain realm, and when analyzing the blockchain landscape, “the speed, throughput, and finality of Solana appear exceptionally appealing.”
Hougan highlighted advancements in settlement speeds from 400 microseconds to 150 microseconds, remarking that this aligns with their trading preferences.
Ethereum remains the stablecoin leader
Stablecoin reserves on Solana have reached $13.9 billion, securing a 4.7% market share in stablecoin tokenization, as reported by RWA.xyz.
However, it still lags behind industry frontrunner Ethereum (ETH), which boasts $172.5 billion in on-chain stablecoin value and a significant market share of 59%. This figure climbs to 65% when including Ethereum layer-2 solutions like Arbitrum, Base, and Polygon.
AJ Warner, Chief Strategic Officer at Offchain Labs, compared the total value locked in Solana and Ethereum, stating, “TVL is certainly not everything, but it’s hard to deny the best platform for launching new stablecoins is within the EVM.”
Bitwise optimistic about Solana
This isn’t the first time executives from Bitwise have championed Solana (SOL). At Token2049 in Singapore last week, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley indicated that Solana might have an advantage over Ethereum in the staking exchange-traded fund (ETF) sector, citing its more investor-friendly design.
He emphasized that Solana’s unstaking period is considerably shorter than Ethereum’s, a crucial aspect because “ETFs need to return assets quickly. This poses a significant challenge.”
Related: Can Solana rival Wall Street? Kyle Samani believes it can.
Bitwise Solana ETF decision imminent
Bitwise offers a fund called the Bitwise Physical Solana ETP, providing investors exposure to SOL through a fully-backed, physically held structure with institutional-grade custody. Interest in this fund has been relatively low compared to BTC or Ether-based ETFs, with only $30 million in assets under management, according to Bitwise.
The firm also awaits SEC approval for a spot Solana ETF, with a final decision expected by October 16.
SOL was trading down 2% at $227 at the time of this writing, remaining over 22% lower than its all-time high from January 2025.
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