Lately, compared to ETH’s steady upward trend, SOL’s performance has been somewhat lackluster. $4,300 vs. $175—what’s the hidden story behind this price gap? In my opinion, the deeper layer is a silent battle over “who is the institutional favorite”:
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ETH has already secured its "passport" into the traditional financial world—with over $10B in cumulative net inflows after ETF approval, off-market capital can now enter compliantly, essentially opening a front door for institutions.
Meanwhile, SOL’s ETF application remains pending, creating a funding pipeline gap that directly impacts its price performance. Of course, this could also be interpreted as SOL having room for a catch-up rally, as its ETF isn’t completely off the table—it just needs more time for regulatory processes.
Crucially, ETH has already demonstrated institutional FOMO effects, driven by buying power from publicly traded companies like MicroStrategy, SharpLink, and BitMine. This will encourage more corporate treasury allocations, generating massive off-Wall Street capital momentum for ETH.
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The stablecoin gap between ETH and SOL is still stark—$137B vs. $11B. Many wonder: with its American "blue-blood" pedigree and "Nasdaq on-chain" branding, why has Solana fallen so far behind in this U.S. stablecoin policy-driven battle?
It’s not entirely SOL’s fault—this boils down to the ultimate test of chain infrastructure decentralization, security, and liquidity depth. Ethereum’s stablecoin market is dominated by the "big three" (USDC at $65.5B, USDT, and DAI), backed by institutional trust from Circle, Tether, and others.
While SOL’s VC backers are all U.S. investors, Wall Street’s new institutional buyers might not care—they just see the data gap, which SOL may struggle to close short-term. That said, SOL’s stablecoin growth is actually solid, with PayPal’s PYUSD also pushing heavily on Solana, offering future potential—just needs patience.
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There was a time when SOL’s on-chain economic activity was explosive—PumpFun’s daily volume exceeded $10M, and meme coins were rampant. But right now, we’re in an institutional accumulation phase, where big money prioritizes compliance, liquidity depth, and security track records over how many memes are PVPing on-chain.
In other words, this isn’t yet a retail-driven PVP narrative cycle. Conversely, SOL’s on-chain vibrancy is its unique edge. When the market cycle shifts and retail FOMO reignites, SOL’s accumulated innovations and user base could become the next rally’s catalyst.
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As SBF’s "brainchild," SOL might still be suffering from FTX’s collapse fallout—its crash from $260 to $8 remains fresh in memory. Technically, SOL has moved on, but institutional memory lingers like a scar, occasionally resurfacing in discussions.
That said, SOL’s rebound from $8 to $175 proves its ecosystem’s resilience. The teams that kept building during the darkest days are now SOL’s rebuilding force—this phoenix-like revival could be a long-term positive.
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ETH’s Layer2 scaling approach, though criticized for fragmenting liquidity, actually aligns with institutional risk isolation needs. Meanwhile, SOL’s high-performance monolithic chain—running everything on one layer—is seen by institutions as risk concentration.
Robinhood’s partnership with Arbitrum exemplifies this. From an institutional lens, ETH’s high gas fees (a retail pain point) become a filter for high-value transactions. While this contradicts mass adoption, the current meta isn’t about mass adoption—it’s about winning Wall Street’s favor.
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Finally, there’s the time and consensus gap—ETH has 9 years of history vs. SOL’s 4. Though native projects like Jupiter and Jito showcase world-class product strength, they still trail DeFi giants like Uniswap, AAVE, and MakerDAO in market education, ecosystem maturity, and trust accumulation.
In summary, ETH maximalists’ pain may breed SOL maximalists in the next FOMO wave. But ultimately, this showdown is just a temporary mismatch between institutional and retail narratives. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day—and SOL’s growth speed is already remarkable.
