Ethereum Is Pumping, But Solana Will Still Outperform: 21Shares

Daily Debrief

Cryptocurrencies: Ethereum & Solana Battle Heats Up

Despite Ethereum’s recent market strength, 21Shares’ Adrian Fritz argues that the cryptocurrency will be surpassed by Solana this year.

In brief

• According to 21Shares’ Adrian Fritz, Solana will outperform Ethereum this year, despite recent shifts in momentum.
• Fritz noted Ethereum’s ecosystem is mature but Solana showed promise due to a burst of meme coin activity and a community focused on “better execution.”
• ETH’s price has nearly doubled over the past month, but Fritz predicts it will still lag behind Solana’s expected 89% climb.

“Ethereum was almost on a pedestal, looking down at other layer-1 chains, and they kind of got lazy,” said Adrian Fritz. “Solana is way more commercially minded.”

Ethereum’s price has indeed jumped 43%, hitting $3,600—a 26% increase—over the last month. This surge occurred as investor concerns over the Ethereum Foundation’s perceived lack of engagement eased, and the potential utility of layer-2 scaling networks gained more traction.

However, Fritz believes this outperformance will be temporary. “Solana is more centralized, but it’s way faster and cheaper,” he added. “For anything involving trading, institutions are likely to lean towards Solana.”

Fritz sees Solana’s meteoric rise following the debut of President Donald Trump’s meme coin as a “perfect battle test.” The January activity, he explained, demonstrated the platform’s capacity to handle high-volume trading.

“At the same time, Fritz acknowledged that many mainstream investors don’t fully understand Solana’s value proposition as a faster network capable of low-cost expansion.”

Fritz believes Solana will set a new all-time high this year, climbing from its current $178 price to $337—a significant increase. He characterized it as “becoming a blue-chip altcoin.” This contrasts sharply with his bearish view on Bitcoin’s future prospects.

Recent catalysts highlight the growing institutional adoption of both networks. Robinhood’s efforts to build an Ethereum layer-2 scaling network and Kraken’s development of so-called xStocks on Solana and other layer-1 networks are key developments in this space.

The analysis comes as nearly 60% of Myriad Markets users predict Ethereum will reach a record high—though experts at 21Shares believe the cryptocurrency’s ceiling is significantly lower than recently touted $10,000 targets.

“Within the team, it’s kind of a hot debate,” Fritz said, referring to his colleagues. “The rivalry between the two chains is definitely on.”

Industry experts anticipate further network growth once pending stablecoin legislation is passed into law. This could significantly alter the dynamics between the two chains as companies determine which platform best suits their tokenization needs.