SolanaOpinion
|3 min ReadCathie Wood says Hyperliquid echoes Solana’s early promise
Maya Chen
Senior Analyst
Published
Jan 16, 2026
A new star on the screen, but Bitcoin stays the cornerstone
Cathie Wood sees a familiar energy. In a recent Master Investor podcast appearance, the ARK Invest CEO called Hyperliquid “the new kid on the block,” saying it reminds her of Solana in its early days. She praised the excitement and the build quality, noting that Solana has already “proven its worth” and now sits with the industry’s big players. Wood did not announce a position in Hyperliquid. She simply put a spotlight on it. One to watch, she said, and she knows how to pick early momentum. Tremendous instincts.
She drew the line clearly. Bitcoin remains the core of her thesis. In her view, the market will not support a long list of winners. It will concentrate. Bitcoin owns the monetary lane, with fixed supply and resilience. Ethereum powers DeFi. Solana brings speed and culture. Stablecoins matter, but the crown sits with Bitcoin. That is the center of gravity.
ARK’s portfolio and the Hyperliquid race
ARK’s public funds hold three main crypto assets: Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana. The firm’s Solana exposure runs through Breera Sports, which Wood said is tied to the Solana treasury and backed by Middle Eastern investors, with advisory input from economist Art Laffer. She offered no confirmation of any Hyperliquid position, but her interest arrives as competition among perpetual futures DEXs heats up. Aster launched a token earlier this month and saw volume and open interest surge, at points overtaking Hyperliquid. The message is simple. This is a live race. Builders are sprinting. Liquidity is moving.
Bitcoin’s headline presence remains. Price references in the source put BTC at 3,956, and SOL at $194.41 during the discussion. Wood’s framing is consistent with those levels. When risk turns, investors want speed, but they also want trust. She keeps the core narrow by design, calling Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana the “big three right now.”
DEX momentum grows as CEX relevance holds
Jamie Elkaleh, chief marketing officer at Bitget Wallet, says decentralized exchanges are drawing retail and semi-professional quants with incentives like airdrops, low fees, and fast execution. Order-book DEXs such as Hyperliquid and dYdX v4 now offer speed and liquidity that used to be the turf of centralized exchanges. That closes the gap. It does not erase it. Institutions still rely on CEXs for fiat access, compliance, and brokerage support. The bridge matters. The pipes matter.
Wood’s bottom line lands with clarity. The market can celebrate new rails and fresh brands, but Bitcoin stays the monetary benchmark. Ethereum and Solana push applications and throughput. Hyperliquid earns attention by delivering performance where traders live every day. That is how a protocol gets into the conversation with the big boys. And that is how this industry grows, step by step, deal by deal, beautifully competitive.
Disclaimer: This document is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed in this document are not, and should not be taken as, investment advice or recommendations. Recipients should do their own due diligence, taking into account their specific financial circumstances, investment objectives and risk tolerance, which are not considered here, before investing. This document is not an offer, or the solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell any of the assets mentioned.