Multicoin Capital co-founder Kyle Samani said more crypto companies are likely to build on Solana instead of Ethereum because he считает Solana easier to use and more functional. He told Cointelegraph during an episode of Trade Secrets that Solana could flip Ether during “this market cycle,” arguing that Ethereum may gradually lose its position as the default smart contract network for crypto companies. According to Cointelegraph, Samani said firms will “switch their default over to Solana” because it is “the most functional network” and makes it easier to consolidate operations around one chain. Samani and Multicoin built an early position in Solana, and he has backed the network for years. His forecast would require SOL to rise about fivefold from its $58 billion market capitalization to surpass Ether’s current market cap of $293 billion. Samani also said “today, no one really uses Ethereum,” adding that he believes the network remains relevant mainly because of stablecoins and stablecoins borrowed against Ether as collateral.

Samani’s comments came after a period in which SOL and ETH have moved closely in percentage terms during the recent market recovery. Over the past month, Ether rose 30%, while SOL rose 34%. Even so, Solana’s gains came from a smaller base after a deeper decline in the bear market. During the past year, SOL fell 59%, compared with Ether’s 45% decline, according to TradingView. Samani also said he is “bearish” on Ethereum’s ability to accrue value despite its position as the largest smart contract network. He described Ether as a “$400 billion to $300 billion asset” with “questionable value accrual, if any,” and said it is not growing at all. He added that he does not understand why investors would want to own Ether at its current valuation and said he sees other opportunities at “more reasonable prices.” He argued that more crypto companies will pivot to Solana because it is easier for firms to consolidate operations there. While SOL remains below one-fifth of Ether’s market capitalization, it has surpassed Ethereum in both weekly and monthly fees. Solana generated $23 million in fees over the past 30 days and ranked fourth in monthly fees, while Ethereum generated $12.6 million and ranked sixth, according to DefiLlama.