Solana Headed For ‘Epic End-Of-Year Run’ On SOL ETF Launches, Treasury Inflows, Bitwise Says

Solana is poised for “an epic end-of-year run” as possible Solana ETF launches and a $1.65 billion corporate treasury commitment provide the firepower for a rally.

That’s according to Bitwise’s Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Matt Hougan, who said in a Sept. 9 memo to investors that “Solana season” could echo the dynamics that drove Bitcoin and Ethereum to multiple new all-time highs.

“When demand exceeds supply, prices typically go up,” he wrote.

Several major issuers, including Grayscale, VanEck, Fidelity, and Franklin Templeton, have filed for spot Solana ETFs, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rulings due by October 10.

At the same time, Galaxy Digital, Jump Crypto, and Multicoin Capital have pledged $1.65 billion to Forward Industries, a new publicly traded Solana treasury company that will buy and stake SOL at scale.

Forward Industries has also named Multicoin co-founder Kyle Samani as chairman, positioning him to champion SOL publicly as one of its “most articulate and consistent promoters,” similar to what Michael Saylor has done for Bitcoin and Tom Lee for Ethereum, Hougan said.

With Solana’s $121 billion market cap a fraction of BTC’s $2.2 trillion and Ethereum’s $529 billion, even modest inflows could move the needle on SOL in outsized fashion, he suggested.

Largest cryptos by market cap (Source: CoinMarketCap)

He estimated that Forward Industries’ planned $1.65 billion SOL buy would have the same effect as buying $33 billion worth of Bitcoin.

“My suggestion? Keep your eye on Solana in the coming months,” he said. 

The Recipe That Propelled BTC And ETH

Bitcoin soared from around $40K in January 2024, when spot Bitcoin ETFs were launched, to a new all-time high of almost $125K, he said, before adding that the ETH price also almost tripled between April and August this year under the same circumstances.

There was a surge in demand during that period as well. In those months, the Bitcoin network produced 322,681 BTC, while ETPs (exchange-traded products) bought over 1.1 million BTC.

Meanwhile, the Ethereum network produced 388,568 ETH, while ETPs and corporations acquired 7.4 million ETH, the Bitwise CIO noted.

“It’s no surprise that the recipe works,” he said. “It’s classic supply and demand.” 

But Solana May Need A Catalyst To Match Bitcoin And Ethereum

Hougan warned though that corporate SOL purchases and possible ETF launches alone won’t be enough to propel the altcoin’s price to new all-time highs.

“There has to be a fundamental reason for investors to be interested in those vehicles,” he wrote.

Hougan said Ethereum only took off when it became clear that its network would be the main beneficiary of the stablecoin boom.

Stablecoin market share by chain (Source: DeFiLlama)

For Solana, Hougan believes the major draw will be its much higher speeds and substantially lower fees compared to both Bitcoin and Ethereum.

He called the Solana blockchain a programmable network built for stablecoins, tokenized assets, and decentralized finance (DeFi).