Advisors’ view: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, BNB, Hyperliquid

A recent advisory framework for financial advisors lays out distinct roles for several major digital assets to support portfolio construction. The framework compares Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain and Hyperliquid by function and market metrics.

The framework describes Bitcoin as a store of value. It notes an anonymous creator, a hard supply cap of 21 million coins with about 95% already in circulation, and protocol halvings every four years that reduce new supply. Bitcoin uses a proof-of-work consensus mechanism and is characterized in the framework as energy intensive. The framework records roughly $174 billion in global Bitcoin ETF assets under management and cites growing corporate treasury holdings, with one firm reported to hold more than 687,000 BTC. It also notes interest from some sovereign reserve strategies.

Ethereum is presented as an infrastructure and settlement layer for programmable finance. The framework highlights Ethereum’s smart contracts, the lack of a fixed supply cap and the EIP-1559 fee-burn mechanism that can reduce supply when demand is high. It reports that Ethereum hosts a large share of institutional tokenization projects, holds about $168 billion in decentralized finance deposits, and that spot Ether ETFs account for roughly $18 billion in assets under management.

Solana is described as a performance-focused network. The framework details its proof-of-stake model paired with a proof-of-history time-stamping method, enabling high throughput and low fees. It cites thousands of transactions per second and sub-cent transaction costs, and attributes recent growth to retail adoption, memecoin activity and expanding decentralized finance projects.

BNB Chain is characterized by a smaller, more centralized validator set compared with Ethereum and Solana. The framework explains that fewer validators can produce faster consensus and lower fees. It links BNB token utility to the Binance exchange ecosystem, including fee discounts and product use, noting the token’s exposure to the exchange’s user base and business activity.

Hyperliquid is identified as an on-chain exchange protocol focused on decentralized perpetual futures. The framework reports sub-second trade execution, a transparent on-chain revenue model and quarterly revenue in early 2025 ranging from about $130 million to $280 million. It also mentions Hyperliquid’s expansion into tokenized stocks and other real-world assets.

The framework states that each asset captures a different source of value in the digital-asset ecosystem and that holding a mix of these assets provides exposure to distinct functions within digital finance. The analysis and figures are drawn from the advisory framework published for advisors building crypto allocations.