Big Money Pivots: Ethereum and Solana Steal Bitcoin’s ETF Thunder as Institutional Floodgates Open
Wall Street's crypto cravings are evolving—fast. While Bitcoin dominated the first wave of institutional adoption, fresh ETF momentum is fueling a sharp rotation into Ethereum and Solana. Here's why the smart money's diversifying.
The ETF effect: Not your 2021 bull run
Gone are the days when Bitcoin was the only game in town. With multiple Ethereum ETF approvals now in play and Solana products gaining traction, allocators are chasing higher-beta plays. The result? A quiet but seismic shift in crypto portfolios.
Gas fees vs. yield potential
Ethereum's staking rewards and Solana's speed are trumping Bitcoin's 'digital gold' narrative for growth-hungry funds. Never mind that most institutions still can't explain how proof-of-stake works—the yield looks prettier than Treasury bills.
The cynical take
Watch Wall Street firms FOMO into altcoins just in time for the next regulatory crackdown. Some things never change.
ETF momentum and the corporate treasury effect
ETH ETFs have drawn more than $2.27 billion in net inflows in July alone, with daily inflows peaking at $726 million.
Solana, once seen as a retail-dominated chain, is also riding this wave. The REX-Osprey solana + Staking ETF, while not yet SEC-approved, saw $73 million in early allocations from U.S. institutions. Regulatory watchers now peg the odds of a spot SOL ETF approval at 99%, driven by a favorable shift in the SEC’s ETF evaluation framework.
Corporate treasuries are another new force behind this momentum. As of July 18, more than 825,000 ETH worth approximately $3 billion and 2.95 million SOL worth about $531 million have been acquired by 14 institutional entities, per Coinbase data.
Many of these corporate players are not only holding ETH and SOL, they’re staking them to earn yield. This marks a departure from the short-term, speculative nature of past crypto treasury plays and signals a fundamental shift toward long-term allocation strategies.
The yield generation potential of both assets, particularly when coupled with the rising media attention around stablecoins and tokenized securities, has made them ideal candidates for corporate balance sheets.
Technicals dominate, fundamentals lag
While Ethereum’s tokenomics and real-world asset (RWA) integrations, including recent upgrades like EIP-9698 and EIP-7983, are important, they have yet to materially impact price performance.
Instead, technical flows are taking center stage. In May, Ethereum experienced one of its largest short squeezes in over a year, with $897 million in ETH shorts liquidated. This technical unwind triggered a rapid rally, highlighting how market structure rather than development roadmaps now drives performance.
Ethereum’s beta to the crypto market (proxied by the COIN50 index) has also climbed, hitting 0.92 in July, a sign that ETH now moves almost in lockstep with the general market, reinforcing its use in barbell strategies that balance riskier altcoin exposure.
Solana’s price movement follows a similar logic. While it has gained headlines for memecoin trading dominance, thanks to platforms like Pump.fun, and LetsBonl, Coinbase predicts that its price action in Q3 will be increasingly linked to liquidity flows from ETFs and corporate allocations.
New narratives, shared tailwinds
Ethereum is consolidating its role as an infrastructure LAYER for tokenized real-world assets, payments and stablecoins, a theme boosted by the recent passage of the GENIUS Act in Washington.
Solana, meanwhile, is showcasing real throughput, with over 44% of meaningful blockchain activity, according to Dune Analytics data.
Institutional eyes are now on Solana’s upcoming Alpenglow upgrade, which aims to transform its consensus layer by speeding up finality and cutting validator costs. Yet Coinbase’s report argues such fundamental changes are unlikely to affect short-term price.
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