ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood has identified Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Hyperliquid as three altcoins offering compelling diversification potential for investors during the current crypto market downturn. In her January 2026 assessment, Wood argued that these digital assets exhibit low correlation with traditional markets, making them attractive tools for improving risk-adjusted returns amid macroeconomic uncertainty.
Wood's comments reinforce ARK Invest's broader thesis that crypto is evolving into a distinct asset class. She highlighted that Bitcoin's correlation with gold since early 2020 has been only 0.14, indicating largely independent price movements. Furthermore, she noted that in the last two major Bitcoin bull cycles, gold price rallies preceded strong Bitcoin rallies, suggesting gold has historically served as a leading indicator for Bitcoin.
Ethereum was described as both a foundational smart contract platform and a "monetary premium" asset. Wood believes Ethereum is positioned to capture a significant share of a projected $6 trillion smart contract market by 2030, driven by decentralized finance (DeFi), tokenization, and enterprise adoption. She framed Ethereum as critical infrastructure for a future digital financial system.
Solana was highlighted as a high-performance challenger within the smart contract landscape. Wood pointed to Solana's high transaction throughput and low fees, making it a credible competitor to Ethereum, particularly for high-frequency DeFi and consumer applications. While acknowledging its historical volatility, she positioned Solana as a technology-driven bet on scaling on-chain activity.
Hyperliquid was mentioned as an emerging, though less established, diversification tool. Wood suggested Hyperliquid "perhaps" could serve as a useful diversifier alongside more widely held crypto assets, representing how new crypto-native platforms may offer differentiated exposure.
Wood's 2026 outlook is underpinned by several structural arguments: the low correlation of crypto with traditional assets, the multi-trillion dollar opportunity from the "tokenization of everything" forecast in ARK's Big Ideas 2026 report, and the view that recent market volatility represents a healthy reset that could accelerate the transition to a new financial architecture. Contrary to some market views, Wood stated ARK does not agree that the US dollar's status as a global reserve currency is weakening, suggesting current US economic policies could lead to a strong dollar trend.
