If Experts Had $1M Today… Would They Buy Ethereum or Solana?
Speakers
Summary
- Ethereum and Solana remain the dominant Layer 1 networks, with Ethereum capturing serious institutional flows and Solana benefiting from a larger developer talent pool due to its use of Rust.
- Ecosystem and infrastructure platforms are favored over highly concentrated application-layer tokens ahead of expected regulatory clarity in the next 6 to 12 months.
- Ethereum and Solana currently offer better multiple expansion opportunities than Bitcoin because they are trading near their 2024 lows.
- On-chain perpetual platforms like Hyperliquid present a massive value proposition by enabling 24/7 out-of-hours trading for traditional assets, though US regulatory risks remain a hurdle.
Trade Ideas
I would say ETH and Salana are probably better bets than Bitcoin at this moment in time from a pure multiple basis. Ethereum and Solana are currently sitting near their 2024 lows, whereas Bitcoin is trading above its 2024 low. Because upcoming regulatory clarity will likely favor broad infrastructure platforms over niche applications, buying these major Layer 1s at cyclical support levels offers superior multiple expansion and risk-adjusted upside compared to Bitcoin. LONG ETH and SOL as foundational ecosystem bets with favorable relative valuations. Regulatory clarity could unexpectedly penalize these networks, or Bitcoin could continue to absorb all market liquidity, leaving altcoins stagnant.
They have a really cogent and like very thoughtful approach to how to engage on the kind of more institutional adoption. Institutional capital is the next major growth vector for crypto markets. Layer 1 networks that proactively build compliant, institution-friendly infrastructure will capture outsized inflows once regulatory frameworks are established, allowing them to steal market share from older networks. LONG SUI as an emerging Layer 1 ecosystem positioned specifically for institutional capital. The network fails to attract sufficient developer activity or user liquidity to compete with entrenched incumbents like Ethereum and Solana.
I think creating trading windows where onchain rails can provide validated and verifiable truth of activity taken outside of normal windows is a very very exciting principle and big big value ad. Traditional markets are restricted by standard trading hours, leaving risk managers unable to hedge exposure during weekend geopolitical events (like trading oil during a conflict). On-chain perpetual platforms that offer 24/7 liquidity solve this massive institutional pain point, positioning them to generate massive cash flows. WATCH HYPE as a highly profitable cash-flow business pioneering out-of-hours trading for traditional assets. US regulatory agencies could crack down on decentralized perpetual exchanges, restricting access for US participants and severely limiting trading volume.
Up Next
This Milk Road Daily video, published March 14, 2026, features Nick Ducoff discussing ETH, SOL, SUI, HYPE. 3 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.
Speakers: Nick Ducoff · Tickers: ETH, SOL, SUI, HYPE