Grayscale warns investors may overlook Ethereum and Solana in crypto cycle

Crypto has a short attention span. Grayscale’s head of research thinks that could cost investors.

Zach Pandl cautioned that market participants may be overlooking Ethereum, Solana and BNB Chain. Meanwhile, newer narratives around assets like Zcash and Hyperliquid are soaking up the spotlight. His argument: the established smart contract platforms are positioned to anchor a coming tokenization wave. That wave could involve trillions in on-chain assets.

What Pandl actually said

Pandl made the remarks in an interview at the TOKEN2049 conference in Singapore. The comments were published on October 13, 2026.

His core point was about distraction. Privacy features and perpetual futures platforms are captivating a lot of investors right now. Pandl doesn’t dispute the excitement. He just thinks it risks pulling focus from the infrastructure Wall Street will need.

Pandl tied this to an expected tokenization boom. Tokenization means representing real-world financial assets as tokens on a blockchain. He pointed to three categories in particular:

• Stablecoins, the dollar-pegged tokens already used widely across crypto
• Tokenized deposits, which put bank deposits on-chain
• Tokenized securities, such as stocks or bonds issued in blockchain form

Pandl also flagged something about crypto culture itself. Many enthusiasts, he noted, seem to prioritize projects that generate high revenue. That creates an environment where steady long-term bets on established platforms can slip through the cracks.

He was candid that Grayscale’s view isn’t universally shared. The firm believes smart contract platforms are essential to a robust crypto portfolio. Pandl acknowledged that this position is not a consensus among crypto natives.

The scoreboard problem

Zcash posted a +389% increase over the past year. Hyperliquid rose +100% over the same stretch. Both outpaced ETH and SOL.

Zcash is a privacy-focused coin. Hyperliquid is a platform built around perpetual futures, a type of derivative contract with no expiry date that lets traders bet on price moves with leverage.

Background: why Grayscale cares about the base layer

Grayscale has long positioned itself as a bridge between crypto and traditional finance. From that vantage point, Pandl’s comments are consistent. When Wall Street adopts blockchain technology, it will want platforms with deep developer ecosystems, established track records and the ability to handle assets like stablecoins and tokenized securities at scale.

Ethereum, Solana and BNB Chain fit that description in Grayscale’s view. They are among the most widely used smart contract networks. Stablecoins and tokenized assets are expected to improve transaction efficiency and cut costs. Any platform hosting a large share of that activity could become a central piece of a diversified crypto portfolio, according to the research findings accompanying Pandl’s remarks.

What this means for investors

Pandl’s argument is essentially a reminder about time horizons. Short-term returns have favored the newer narratives. His thesis is about where value may accrue if tokenization scales the way proponents expect.

There’s also the competitive question. Pandl grouped Ethereum, Solana and BNB Chain together, but they compete with each other for the same institutional activity. A tokenization boom wouldn’t necessarily lift all three equally.

What to watch: whether stablecoin and tokenized securities activity actually grows on these networks, and whether institutions start announcing products built on them. Until then, Pandl is making a contrarian call in a market that currently prefers the sizzle to the steak.

Pandl himself admits plenty of crypto natives would bet against him.