Bitwise Says Institutions Treat Ethereum, Solana As Venture Bets They Will Sell If Adoption Stalls

• Some institutions said that they would exit Ethereum and Solana in the next few years if growing network use fails to push up token prices.

• None of the institutions interviewed by Bitwise cut their crypto allocations during the roughly 50% market drop between October 2025 and April 2026.

• Ethereum fell 25.4% in the second quarter, compared with Bitcoin's 14.2% drop, according to a CoinGecko report.

Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) are among the world's largest institutional holdings but according to a Bitwise report on Wednesday, institutions could sell their stakes in the next few years if the growing use of the networks fails to push token prices up.

Bitwise's Institutional Crypto Adoption report found that Bitcoin (BTC) is the crypto asset institutions agree on. Ethereum and Solana are treated differently. Institutions that own them treat them as early-stage tech bets, Bitwise said. The report draws from 15 interviews conducted in late March and April 2026 and said that Ethereum and Solana lack "a clear value-accrual thesis." Institutions value both tokens for their real-world use, not as rivals to Bitcoin, Bitwise said.

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