Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan Explains Why Solana Has “Two Ways to Win”

Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan shared why he’s betting long-term on Solana, calling it a project that gives investors “two ways to win.”

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Hougan said Solana is positioned to benefit from two major trends. First, the rapid growth of the stablecoin and tokenization markets. Second, Solana’s ability to capture a larger share of that expanding ecosystem.

2/ I love investments that give me two ways to win.

Take bitcoin. When I invest in bitcoin, I’m betting:

1) The global “store of value” market will grow.

2) Bitcoin will take an increasing share of that market.

Only one of these things needs to happen for me to do well.

— Matt Hougan (@Matt_Hougan) October 30, 2025

Hougan highlighted Solana’s speed, user-friendly experience, and active developer base, adding that its “move fast” culture gives it a major advantage over slower competitors.

Ethereum still leads, but Solana’s gaining momentum

To be fair, Solana still trails Ethereum by a wide margin.

According to DeFiLlama, the market capitalization of stablecoins on Ethereum exceeds $163 billion, with more than $85 billion in total value locked (TVL).

Solana’s ecosystem remains smaller — its stablecoin market cap stands at around $14.9 billion, and its TVL is just over $11.3 billion.

Stablecoins Circulating on Solaan. Source: DefiLIama

Still, Hougan sees Solana as one of the top contenders alongside Tron and BNB Smart Chain.

Institutional interest builds

Hougan also pointed to growing institutional adoption. On October 28, Western Union announced plans to use the Solana blockchain for its stablecoin settlement system, marking a significant vote of confidence in the network’s capabilities.

14/ It’s a newer asset and is playing catch-up against its peers in winning institutional mandates, but it’s gaining ground: Just this week, when Western Union announced it was building a stablecoin, it chose Solana as the underlying blockchain.

— Matt Hougan (@Matt_Hougan) October 30, 2025

Bitwise has already launched Solana-related products, including a staking ETF introduced on October 28, signaling the company’s confidence in Solana’s long-term growth potential.

Bitcoin and Solana share the same logic

Hougan drew parallels between Solana and Bitcoin, noting that both assets are positioned to benefit from market growth and increasing market share simultaneously.

8/ If bitcoin also gains market share, the upside compounds. If the market grows by 10x and bitcoin ends up matching gold (i.e., taking 50% of the market, which I’d argue is a reasonable scenario over the next 20 years), every bitcoin would be worth $6.5 million.

— Matt Hougan (@Matt_Hougan) October 30, 2025

His broader thesis: financial innovation moves faster than most expect — and Solana, with its technical strength and fast-growing community, could be one of the biggest winners in the next phase of blockchain adoption.