Matt Hougan of Bitwise compares Solana's potential to that of Bitcoin.
- Bitwise sees Solana repeating Bitcoin's initial trajectory.
- Solana grows with stablecoins and institutional tokenization.
- Western Union adopts Solana in new stablecoin project.
Bitwise's chief investment officer, Matt Hougan, expressed strong optimism regarding Solana (SOL), comparing the project's current stage to the early growth phase of Bitcoin (BTC). In a post on X, the executive highlighted that the best cryptocurrency investments offer "two ways to win"—through market growth and increased market share.
1/ The best crypto investments give you two ways to win. A thread exploring one reason I'm so bullish on Solana.
ðŸ§μ
— Matt Hougan (@Matt_Hougan) October 30, 2025
According to Hougan, Bitcoin has appreciated not only due to the expansion of the global store of value market, but also due to its increasing dominance over the years. He argues that Solana presents similar potential, especially within the stablecoin and real-world asset tokenization (RWA) ecosystem, sectors that have been attracting growing institutional interest.
“If I’m right, the combination of a growing market and increasing market share will be explosive for Solana. Just like what happened with Bitcoin,” stated the CIO of Bitwise, reinforcing his double valuation thesis.
Solana has established itself as one of the leading layer-1 blockchains, competing directly with Ethereum, which still dominates the tokenization market. Currently, the network represents about 14% of the global cryptocurrency market, in a sector valued at over US$768 billion. For Hougan, this proportion indicates significant room for expansion.
The executive also pointed to institutional adoption as one of the main drivers of Solana's growth. He mentioned Western Union's recent decision to develop a stablecoin project on the network, highlighting the growing confidence of traditional companies in its technology.
Hougan's positive assessment comes at a strategic moment for Bitwise, which recently launched the first Solana spot ETF in the United States, registering over $69,4 million in inflows on its first day. The product has expanded institutional exposure to SOL, reinforcing the network's role in the global blockchain infrastructure landscape.
Even with this boost, Solana is still far from matching Bitcoin's market capitalization. While BTC totals around US$2,19 trillion, SOL's capitalization is around US$102 billion, with the token trading near US$190. Still, Bitwise sees Solana's trajectory comparable to that followed by Bitcoin in its early years.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
The AI boom may follow the path of the 19th-century railway bubble, and builders may not be the ultimate winners
Goldman Sachs analyst Bobby Molavi compared the current situation to the 19th-century British railway mania: 500 companies spent more than the nation's annual income building 8,000 miles of railway, with most early investors losing out, while the real beneficiaries were the later "passengers." He pointed out that the current AI craze is driven by both debt and momentum, and that the S&P 500’s forward P/E ratio of 18x is only "a bit cheaper." Whether the builders can retain value is uncertain, and history does not offer an optimistic answer.
If Anthropic's IPO goes smoothly and the stock price rises next week, then everything remains the same for AI. Otherwise, some companies will go bankrupt.
The shrinking valuations of two major giants have triggered a chain reaction—investors are adopting more conservative revenue multiples for AI startups and are directly halting high-valuation financing for companies with zero revenue. Multiple venture capital firms have advised their portfolio companies to lower valuation expectations and to quickly build up cash reserves. Market participants warn that the outcome of Anthropic’s IPO will be a barometer for the industry: if successful, the boom will continue; if it fails, some companies may face elimination.
After the Brazilian election, political discount deepens; Morgan Stanley remains bullish on Petrobras (PBR.US), focusing on fuel pricing and dividends
Morgan Stanley still maintains its most optimistic "Overweight" rating, but has lowered its year-end 2027 target price from $31 to $25.
Corning (GLW.US) receives initial "Buy" rating from Jefferies! AI factories driving a fiber optic rush, with a potential global supply gap of up to 30%
For Corning, the recent profit growth mainly comes from the expansion of AI clusters. As the number of optical links crossing cabinets and campuses increases, customers need to deploy more optical fibers within limited conduit and cabinet space, thus driving demand for high-density optical cables and connection systems.
Crypto prices
More
