TLDR
- Cathie Wood of ARK Invest compared Hyperliquid to early Solana, calling it “the new kid on the block”
- ARK holds three main crypto assets: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana in its public funds
- Wood believes only a few dominant networks will survive, with Bitcoin leading the “pure cryptocurrency” space
- Decentralized exchanges are gaining traction among retail traders and quants due to airdrops and low fees
- Wood maintains Bitcoin remains at the core of ARK’s long-term crypto investment strategy
ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood has drawn comparisons between emerging protocol Hyperliquid and Solana’s early development phase. Wood made these comments during a recent appearance on the Master Investor podcast.
“It’s exciting. It reminds me of Solana in the earlier days, and Solana has proven its worth and is, you know, there with the big boys,” Wood stated. She described Hyperliquid as “the new kid on the block” in the crypto space.
ARK Invest currently maintains positions in three primary crypto assets through its public funds. These holdings include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The firm’s Solana exposure comes through Breera Sports, which Wood explained connects to the Solana treasury with backing from Middle Eastern investors.
Wood also mentioned advisory connections to the project through economist Art Laffer. However, she did not confirm whether ARK holds any position in Hyperliquid tokens during the interview.
The comments arrive as competition intensifies among perpetual futures decentralized exchanges. Aster recently launched its token earlier this month and experienced rapid growth in both trading volume and open interest, surpassing Hyperliquid’s metrics.
Bitcoin Maintains Central Position
Wood emphasized Bitcoin’s role as the dominant force in cryptocurrency markets. “We don’t think there are going to be very many cryptocurrencies,” she explained. “Bitcoin owns the cryptocurrency space when it comes to pure crypto.”
The ARK CEO highlighted Bitcoin’s monetary system properties, pointing to its fixed supply and demonstrated resilience over time. She positioned Bitcoin as fundamentally different from other crypto assets in the market.
Wood acknowledged Ethereum’s role in powering the decentralized finance ecosystem. She also noted the growing importance of stablecoins in the crypto landscape but maintained that Bitcoin forms the foundation of ARK’s investment approach.
The fund holds some derivatives including Uniswap and market protocols connected to Solana. Wood stated that this focused approach reflects deliberate strategy rather than broad market exposure.
DEX Adoption Among Different User Groups
Decentralized exchanges are attracting retail traders and semi-professional quantitative traders, according to Bitget Wallet chief marketing officer Jamie Elkaleh. These users are drawn by incentives such as airdrops, reduced fees, and rapid transaction execution.
Institutional users continue relying on centralized exchanges for specific needs. These include fiat currency access, regulatory compliance requirements, and brokerage support services.
The performance difference between DEXs and centralized platforms continues to narrow. Order-book DEXs like Hyperliquid and dYdX v4 now provide speed and liquidity levels previously available only through centralized exchanges.
Wood described the current landscape as featuring “the big three” crypto assets. This classification includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana as the primary networks in today’s market.
Bitwise recently filed for a spot Hyperliquid ETF as competition grows among perpetual DEX platforms.
