Revenue, AI, institutional capital… Bitwise CIO names the next crypto trends

Matt Hougan, chief investment officer (CIO) at Bitwise, selected nine key narratives he believes will lead the next upcycle in the digital-asset (cryptocurrency) market.

On the 7th (local time), Hougan wrote on X, “The crypto market is driven by narratives. Several new stories that will lead the next bull market have already emerged,” adding, “The market may look sluggish right now, but over the long term at least nine powerful growth pillars are taking shape simultaneously.”

The first keyword Hougan cited was revenue. He said, “Annual revenue generated by blockchain networks is currently around $7–8 billion, but as adoption spreads it will expand to tens of billions of dollars,” and predicted that “projects generating real sales will be re-rated in the next cycle.”

The convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital assets was also presented as a core narrative. Hougan said, “AI agents don’t use bank accounts,” and forecast that “they will operate on stablecoins and decentralized finance (DeFi).” In other words, so-called “AiFi (AI+DeFi)” could emerge as a new economic actor that bypasses the traditional financial system.

Eroding trust in fiat currencies was also cited as an important backdrop. He said, “Fiat currencies are gradually losing value, and the world is moving back toward scarce assets,” adding that “Bitcoin is likely to establish itself as one of the alternatives.”

He characterized inflows from institutional investors as a long-term trend rather than a short-lived fad. Hougan emphasized, “Institutional adoption of crypto is not a two-year event but a decade-long megatrend,” adding that “its scale will ultimately be measured in the trillions of dollars.”

He also assessed that improving regulation has yet to be fully priced into the market. “The impact of positive crypto regulation is not yet being felt,” he said, predicting that “the GENIUS Act won’t take effect until next year, and once the Clarity Act is put in place, both investment and real-world usage will rise sharply.”

Stablecoins, too, were described as being at the start of a “supercycle.” While stablecoin assets under management (AUM) are hovering at roughly $300 billion, he projected that over the long term they will grow to the trillions of dollars and become a core pillar of 21st-century global payments infrastructure.

On tokenization, he said it remains in the early stages. “Tokenized assets currently amount to only about $20 billion,” he noted, pointing out that “given the size of global equities, bond and real estate markets, that’s only about 0.1%.” He also said DeFi is “still only scratching the surface,” forecasting that “once regulation becomes clear, the DeFi market will grow more than 100-fold from current levels.”

Finally, he likened Ethereum’s shift to “Steve Jobs returning to Apple.” “With Vitalik Buterin stepping back into the spotlight, Ethereum is reaching a new inflection point,” he said, calling it “similar to the moment Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1996.”

Hougan said, “None of these narratives guarantees success, and volatility and risk will be significant,” but added, “Looking beyond the current pullback from a long-term perspective, the next few years will be a very interesting time.”