Solana Is the New Wall Street,’ Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan Explains
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan described Solana as the “new Wall Street,” highlighting its unmatched speed, throughput, and transaction finality as key advantages. He believes these features position Solana as a leading blockchain for institutions seeking efficient and scalable solutions in the evolving digital finance landscape.
Hougan emphasized that as global finance shifts toward tokenization and stablecoin adoption, Solana’s performance and reliability make it a prime choice for institutional use cases. His remarks came during an Oct. 2 discussion with Solana Labs’ Akshay Rajan, where he noted that Solana’s ecosystem is increasingly attracting real-world financial activity bridging traditional markets with on-chain innovation.CoinDesk
Why Matt Hougan says ‘Solana is the new Wall Street’
Hougan contends that as investors move from “why blockchain?” to “which blockchain?”, Solana’s technical profile high throughput, low latency, and rapid finality makes it “extraordinarily attractive.” He described the narrative as “really resonant” and predicted “substantial flows” into the ecosystem as the tokenization theme scales.
He pointed to measurable advances in settlement/confirmation speed and framed Solana’s role as an execution venue that feels familiar to market participants accustomed to low-latency trading environments. (See Clarifications Needed on timing units vs. milliseconds.)
Tokenization tailwinds and who’s saying what
Senior policymakers and asset-management leaders are publicly engaging with tokenisation:
BlackRock
CEO Larry Fink wrote, “Every stock, every bond, every fund every asset can be tokenized,” arguing it would “revolutionize investing.”Bank of England
Recent speeches and commentary highlight tokenised money (including stablecoins and tokenised deposits) as part of a multi-money future, with consultations on regulating systemically important stablecoins.U.S. SEC
Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda have discussed tokenized securities frameworks and potential liquidity/efficiency gains while reiterating that tokenized securities remain securities.
These signals help explain why Hougan’s thesis is resonating with investors exploring exposure paths to tokenized assets.
Speed, throughput and finality on Solana
Solana’s performance story centers on parallelization and rapid finality. The network’s Alpenglow upgrade approved by validators and progressing through the roadmap targets ~100–150 milliseconds finality to make confirmations feel effectively instant for users and applications. This is the backdrop for Hougan’s focus on execution-quality.
Why ‘Solana is the new Wall Street’ matters for market structure
If tokenized assets trade on chains with web-like responsiveness, order execution, settlement cycles, and collateral mobility could compress dramatically—unlocking new venues for payments, market-making, and primary issuance. That’s the crux of the “new Wall Street” framing: a performant base layer competing for the order flow of tokenized assets.
Investor flows: could ‘Solana is the new Wall Street’ drive allocations?
Flows typically follow clear narratives, usable infrastructure, and regulatory clarity. With BlackRock’s public stance on tokenization and tightening BoE/SEC guidance, Hougan argues the pieces are falling into place. Execution-sensitive strategies (RFQ markets, perps, on-chain treasuries) may favor chains with consistent finality and high throughput—features central to Solana’s roadmap.
SOL price action (model-based)
CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis model shows that from Oct. 3 (15:00 UTC) to Oct. 4 (14:00 UTC), SOL traded $228.19–$237.04 (narrow $8.40 range). After setting the high near 16:00 (Oct. 3), price faded toward $228–$229 support before breaking below it in the final hour; the busiest minute hit 18,011 units at 14:01, alongside a dip from $229.84 to $228.94 a bearish tell amid rising volume.
<section id=”howto”> <h3>How to evaluate exposure to Solana and tokenized assets</h3> <ol> <li id=”step1″><strong>Step 1:</strong> Define your thesis (payments, DeFi, RWAs) and risk budget.</li> <li id=”step2″><strong>Step 2:</strong> Map vehicles (spot tokens, ETPs, venture, validators, infrastructure equity).</li> <li id=”step3″><strong>Step 3:</strong> Check chain metrics (finality, throughput, uptime) and roadmap (e.g., Alpenglow milestones).</li> <li id=”step4″><strong>Step 4:</strong> Assess regulatory and custody options in your jurisdiction.</li> <li id=”step5″><strong>Step 5:</strong> Stage entries and set review triggers around major upgrades or policy events.</li> </ol> <p><em>Note: Process may vary by jurisdiction/provider. Confirm requirements before acting.</em></p> </section>
Context & Analysis
Hougan’s “new Wall Street” line is a narrative wrapper for measurable performance targeting sub-second finality. Public materials on Alpenglow cite milliseconds (100–150 ms), not microseconds; if his 400→150 microseconds remark was shorthand, the underlying point still aligns with the documented push to “web-speed” confirmations. Either way, investors should watch implementation timelines and any trade-offs (e.g., validator requirements, security assumptions) as upgrades move from vote to deployment.
Conclusion
As tokenization and stablecoins transition from theory to real-world use, execution and performance will become critical. Matt Hougan argues that Solana could emerge as a key player in this shift, attracting institutional order flow for tokenized assets provided its upgrades stay on track and regulatory frameworks continue to evolve favorably.
In the near term, attention will center on Alpenglow’s development milestones, upcoming policy consultations, and market signals from SOL’s current consolidation phase. If momentum returns, Solana could strengthen its position as a foundational network for next-generation financial infrastructure.
FAQs
Q : What does “Solana is the new Wall Street” mean?
A : It’s Hougan’s shorthand for a performant base layer competing to host tokenized assets, payments, and trading flows.
Q : Why do speed and finality matter for institutions?
A : Lower latency and fast, deterministic settlement can reduce slippage, counterparty, and funding costs key for market-making and payments.
Q : Did Solana really reach 150 microseconds finality?
A : Public materials reference a 150 milliseconds target under Alpenglow; the raw remark uses “microseconds,” which likely reflects a unit slip.
Q : Where do regulators stand on tokenization?
A : The Bank of England is consulting on stablecoins and tokenised money, while SEC Commissioners discuss tokenization within existing securities rules.
Q : What is the latest on SOL price action?
A : A CoinDesk model shows consolidation in a ~$8.40 range and a late support break between $228–$229.
Q : How can investors gain exposure?
A : Via spot tokens, ETPs, validators, or infrastructure plays subject to local regulation and custody options.
Q : Does the ‘Solana is the new Wall Street’ thesis imply less risk?
A : No. Execution gains don’t eliminate smart-contract, governance, or regulatory risks.