2026 has kicked off with altcoins finally getting their momentum.
The Altcoin Season Index has jumped to the level that acted as resistance in mid-November. However, with some alts up 20%+ versus Bitcoin [BTC], it’s clear that these moves are driven by market flows, not just BTC’s rally.
In essence, most altcoins are carving their own path. In this context, Morgan Stanley’s Solana [SOL] news couldn’t have come at a better time, giving extra fuel to capital flows into SOL as it hangs around a key ceiling.
For context, Solana has kicked off the New Year with solid momentum.
According to the latest filing, Morgan Stanley, one of the world’s largest banks with $6.4 trillion in assets under management (AUM), has filed an S-1 registration for the “Morgan Stanley Solana ETF Trust” with the SEC.
At a macro level, this move narrows the gap between TradFi and DeFi.
On a micro level, however, analysts noted Morgan Stanley’s lack of interest in an Ethereum [ETH] ETF, raising a key question: Is this move setting the stage for what’s next between the two leading L1s as 2026 progresses?
Altcoin divergence this early in 2026 doesn’t look random.
ETF flows make that pretty clear. On the 6th of January, Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs saw about $240 million in net outflows, while Ethereum and Solana ETFs printed inflows of $115 million and $9.2 million, respectively.
At first glance, capital clearly favors Ethereum. However, this is where Morgan Stanley’s SEC filing starts to matter. On the DeFi side, Solana’s TVL is up roughly 9% this week, compared to about 6% for Ethereum.
Put simply, Solana’s on-chain performance is looking stronger.
The result? Technically, the SOL/ETH ratio is up 3%, bouncing off the same floor that triggered a 28% rally back in 2024. With institutional support for SOL growing, a repeat of that move doesn’t seem too far-fetched.
What’s more, even after the SOL/ETH ratio fell 27% in 2025, Morgan Stanley’s continued focus on Solana further reinforces its on-chain strength, with early signs clearly pointing to a growing edge over ETH.
