Banking Group Sygnum Declares victory in the Solana vs. Ethereum battle
Rebel Report: Sygnum's Unfiltered Take on Solana and Ethereum's Battle for Supremacy
SOL Anarchy or ETH Empire?
Hot off the heels of their latest digital drop, Sygnum, the Swiss-Singapore beast of digital-asset banking, is stirring up the crypto community with their scorching hot opus: Is Solana dethroning Ethereum? This explosive report puts the world's two leading smart-contract platforms head-to-head, with the controversial question: Is Solana taking over Ethereum?
Solana vs. Ethereum
Diving into the nitty-gritty, Sygnum's research squad acknowledges Ethereum's undisputed lead in dough and institutional muscle. However, they suggest the poker hands have turned in Solana's favor, so dramatically that Sygnum claims the upstart is now "pushing Ethereum aside” — at least in terms of public appeal if not pure fundamentals.
"Ethereum's strategic shift [...] has led to a 5-10% outperformance of Ether over Solana," the report observes, citing Ethereum's revamped roadmap focusing on main-net scalability and user experience. Nonetheless, the authors admit Ethereum's reputation has taken a beating for now, despite its "continued leading position and still superior revenue generation."
ETH Price Rebound: The Roar of the Bull
Sygnum's analysts don't pull any punches, dissecting the complex metrics of fees, revenue, and token worth. Solana has recently "wrecked havoc" on fee generation, they say. But when it comes to protocol income, Solana "seriously lags Ethereum (except for that brief period surrounding the issue of the Trump family tokens on Solana)." The bank estimates the gap at around 2-2.5 times in favor of ETH — a lead that remains even after Solana's wild run-up in retail transaction volumes.
Layer-2 Rumble: The Fight Club of Scalability
Layer-2 dynamics on Ethereum, long accused of draining vitality from the main chain, get a measured assessment in the report. Sygnum reaffirms that roll-ups have "taken Ether's value hostage,” but throws a surprising twist: a comparable issue is affecting Solana's tokens, a fact often overlooked. Because most of the fees are going to validators rather than bolstering the value of the Solana token, Solana's token premium may be just as vulnerable.
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Monetary self-help isn't an immediate option: a community proposal to tweak Solana's inflation schedule — a move Sygnum considers "equally effective” to Ethereum's fee-burn mechanism — "was decisively voted down recently."
Ethereum's Night-Time Shadows: Compression Zone
Looking at the valuation game, market capitalization tells a different story. With Solana valued at less than a third of Ether but already generating half its revenues, Sygnum predicts "plenty of room for Solana to outshine — especially with the wind at its back from a more favorable narrative and sentiment." However, the bank cautions that Solana's income stream is "highly focused” on memecoins and thus judged by investors as "less stable."
Money Talks: Ethereum's Iron Grip on Institutions
Ethereum's tight hold on regulated institutions provides the counterbalance. "Tokenization, stablecoins, and DeFi" are the use-cases showing "lively signs of traction and have the backing of governments, regulators, and traditional financial institutions," Sygnum writes, noting Ethereum's 57% share of tokenized assets plus a further 20% on its Layer-2 brother zkSync.
By comparison, Solana's slice of the tokenization pie "stays timid” below 3%, and its doubling of stablecoin share leaves it "just above 5%, still an order of magnitude behind Ethereum." The area where Solana has made the most notable strides is DeFi TVL: its share has climbed from 9.5% to 11.5% against Ethereum's slide from 63.5% to 55% since January.
The Narrative War
"The sentiment continues to strongly favor Solana," Sygnum concedes, even after Ethereum's internal reshuffle and public pledge to "fine-tune its go-to-market strategy and clarify its value proposition." Still, "the market has zeroed in on Solana's higher transaction volumes,” despite "protocol revenues still lagging Ethereum significantly.”
In conclusion, Solana may enjoy the upper hand in the headlines, but Ethereum still holds the higher ground when it comes to solid gold fundamentals. Whether Solana is truly dethroning Ethereum or merely dancing in its shadow will depend on which chain can win over the global finance world in the "medium-term.”
For now, as Sygnum diplomatically puts it, "the market has placed its bets on Solana's heavier transaction volumes," even if "protocol revenues continue to lag Ethereum significantly.” In the scorecard of 2025, Solana may lay claim to the crowd, but Ethereum still holds the trophy.
At press time, ETH traded at $2,344.
Editorial Process
Enrichment Data:
Overall:
The clash between Solana and Ethereum in terms of revenue generation, institutional adoption, and market sentiment, as reported by Sygnum and other sources, can be boiled down to the following insights:
Institutional Adoption
- Ethereum currently enjoys overwhelming support from regulated institutions. Its mature ecosystem, established infrastructure, deep liquidity pools, compliance, robust governance, upgradability, ecosystem maturity, interoperability, and liquidity make it the preferred choice for institutional use and integration[3].
- Solana's improving platform capabilities and shifting focus towards institutional integration are slowly piquing institutional interest. Institutions are moving beyond casual speculation and beginning to ask how to use Solana's infrastructure instead of whether to invest in it[1]. However, Ethereum's stronger position on non-technical, institutional criteria leads Sygnum to remain doubtful about Solana overtaking Ethereum in institutional adoption in the near term[3].
Revenue Generation
- Exact revenue figures aren't specified, but Sygnum implies Ethereum's mature ecosystem and liquidity enable stronger and more stable revenue streams, essential for institutional trust and long-term usage[3].
- Solana is working to strengthen its network stability, security, and ecosystem tools with a focus on increasing its revenue potential, but it still falls behind Ethereum in these areas[1][3].
Market Sentiment
- Both Ethereum and Solana draw positive market sentiment due to the potential for tokenization of securities and real-world assets. Regulatory developments, particularly in the U.S., are expected to favor platforms that support tokenization by providing greater legal clarity and efficiency[5].
- Both platforms stand to gain significantly from increasing tokenization activities. Projects like Open Bell are launching on both blockchains, facilitating the tokenization of shares and aligning with institutional demand for regulated digital asset infrastructure[5][1].
Summary Table
| Aspect | Ethereum | Solana ||----------------------|--------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|| Institutional Adoption | Stronger institutional support due to maturity, compliance, governance, interoperability, and liquidity[3] | Emerging institutional interest shifting from speculation to strategic integration; working on network and ecosystem improvement[1][3] || Revenue Generation | Stronger and more stable revenue streams thanks to mature infrastructure and liquidity[3] | Focusing on increasing revenue potential, but still trailing Ethereum significantly[1][3] || Market Sentiment | Positive, driven by tokenization of assets and regulatory shifts; seen as top altcoin for institutions[2][5] | Also positive, endorsed by tokenization trends and regulatory changes; projects like Open Bell are bolstering Solana's security tokenization prowess[5][1] |
To sum up, while both Ethereum and Solana stand to benefit from upcoming regulatory and technological trends, Ethereum remains the dominant choice for institutional adoption and revenue stability. Solana is gradually gaining ground with institutions and advancing its technology and ecosystem to close the gap, but it still lags behind Ethereum on vital institutional criteria as noted by Sygnum[3][1][5].
- Solana and Ethereum, both leading smart-contract platforms, are competing for supremacy in the finance sector, with Solana challenging Ethereum's dominance.
- According to Sygnum's report, Ethereum still holds a leading position in terms of institutional muscle and revenue generation, but Solana has been outperforming Ethereum in public appeal and transaction volumes.
- The report predicts that Solana has plenty of room to outshine Ethereum in the medium-term, especially with the wind at its back from a more favorable narrative and sentiment. However, Solana's income stream is highly focused on memecoins, making it less stable in the eyes of investors.
- Ethereum maintains a tight hold on regulated institutions due to its mature ecosystem, established infrastructure, deep liquidity pools, compliance, robust governance, upgradability, ecosystem maturity, interoperability, and liquidity, making it the preferred choice for institutional use and integration.