Grayscale Research Head Highlights Opportunity in Major Smart Contract Networks

Grayscale head of research Zach Pandl stated that Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain are currently not a consensus trade among crypto-native participants, who have instead focused on privacy tokens and revenue-generating projects. Pandl argued that these primary layer networks remain critical infrastructure for a crypto portfolio, as traditional finance prepares to shift trillions of dollars in real-world assets, stablecoins, and tokenized bank deposits onto smart contract platforms.

Pandl also expressed a positive stance on privacy-oriented assets such as Zcash, noting that privacy standards common in traditional finance will need to be imported into crypto networks and applications. Additionally, he identified perpetual futures as an emerging standard instrument for institutional and retail market participants, pointing to Grayscale's Hyperliquid ETF in the United States and ongoing regulatory progress from the CFTC.

Regarding broader market conditions, Pandl noted that Grayscale estimates Bitcoin established a market bottom near $58,000 in late June. He highlighted that crypto asset prices have shown resilience by recovering despite headwinds including Federal Reserve interest rate increases, rising bond yields, and the failure of the CLARITY Act to pass.