Next Crypto Bull Run to be Slower, Less Volatile: Bitwise CIO

Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise Asset Management, anticipates that the next cryptocurrency bull run will be slower and less volatile compared to previous cycles. Hougan attributes this shift primarily to investors, particularly those on Wall Street, increasingly gravitating towards more tangible assets like stablecoins and tokenization, especially amidst the current bear market and prevailing uncertainties.

According to Hougan, institutional investors and financial advisors are moving beyond a singular focus on pure digital assets and are showing greater interest in real-world applications such as tokenization and artificial intelligence. Discussions with financial advisors reveal a growing curiosity in stablecoins and asset tokenization, surpassing their interest in Bitcoin. This trend highlights the emergence of use cases like on-chain finance and global payments. Hougan emphasizes that public statements from prominent figures like SEC Chair Paul Atkins, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, all discussing stablecoins and tokenization, further reinforce this changing sentiment.

This evolution solidifies Hougan's belief that Bitcoin's classic four-year cycle is effectively 'dead.' The diminishing impact of Bitcoin halvings, accelerated institutional access through ETFs, and the increased influence of macro factors such as interest rate cycles and regulatory clarity are steering the market towards a more sustained and stable growth trajectory. Instead of extreme boom-and-bust cycles, Hougan predicts a 'sustained steady boom' for digital assets. The combined market value of stablecoins recently hit a record high of $322 billion, with Citi projecting this figure could reach $4 trillion by 2030.

The crypto market is currently navigating a challenging period, with Bitcoin down 26% this year and trading approximately 50% below its all-time high. The broader CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) has also seen a 34% decline. However, Hougan advises long-term investors to concentrate on the upcoming bull cycle rather than obsessing over pinpointing the exact market bottom. He suggests that institutional demand could potentially make the current pullback less severe than those in the past.

Analysts and market expectations suggest that this new era will be shaped by institutional adoption, improved regulatory frameworks, and real-world blockchain applications. If capital inflows from financial advisors increase, infrastructure projects like Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Chainlink (LINK), along with companies such as Circle (issuer of USDC) and Coinbase (COIN), could be among the first beneficiaries. Hougan maintains his long-term target of $200,000 for Bitcoin in the 2026 cycle, affirming that the market is closer to its bottom than its peak, and the long-term bullish trend remains intact.