 
 
Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley believes Solana could gain a decisive edge over Ethereum in the staking ETF market, highlighting the network’s quicker withdrawal process as a key advantage for fund issuers.
Speaking during Token2049 in Singapore, Horsley highlighted Solana’s shorter unstaking period compared to Ethereum’s, noting that investors expect fast redemptions, which Ethereum has struggled to provide.
Ethereum’s withdrawal queue recently climbed to new highs, with millions of tokens awaiting exit, leaving some users waiting over a month to access their funds.
“It’s a huge problem,” Horsley said. “The ETFs need to be able to return assets in a very short time frame. So this is a huge challenge.”
While Ethereum remains the largest staking ecosystem, its longer withdrawal periods pose challenges for issuers trying to maintain liquid redemption windows. By contrast, Solana’s faster exit process may offer issuers a more seamless structure, especially as demand for staking-based ETFs grows.
 
Bitwise has previously worked around this issue in Europe with credit facilities for its Ethereum staking products. However, Horsley admitted such measures come with costs and capacity limits.
Horsley added that while alternatives such as liquid staking tokens, like Lido’s stETH, provide liquidity, they don’t fully solve the issue of redemption timing.
The SEC is expected to deliver decisions in October on several pending Solana and Ethereum ETF applications, including proposals with staking components. Bitwise, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, CoinShares, and VanEck are among the firms seeking approval.
Expanding Bitwise’s ETF strategy
Beyond the staking debate, Horsley has been vocal about the rapid rise of digital asset treasuries (DATs), calling them “one of the most important things” in the past year.
Under his leadership, Bitwise has also rolled out income-focused products such as the Bitwise Ethereum Option Income Strategy ETF ($IETH) and the Bitwise CRCL Option Income Strategy ETF ($ICRC), designed to deliver monthly returns during periods of heightened volatility.