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Bitwise CIO argues institutional DeFi and stablecoins will drive next cycle
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says the next bull market will be powered more by real financial activity and revenue than by speculative token demand.
Decrypt highlights an argument from Bitwise’s CIO, Matt Hougan, who says the next crypto cycle will be driven by the convergence of traditional finance and onchain finance. In a new memo, Hougan points to stablecoins, tokenization, 24/7 trading, instant settlement, and institutional DeFi as core building blocks.
The outlet reports Hougan’s view that a cycle grounded in financial activity and revenue could ultimately be bigger than earlier runs, even if it is slower to arrive and shows less volatility along the way. He also frames the shift as a response to prior rally dynamics that leaned more heavily on speculative demand.
Decrypt adds that Hougan links this thesis to market infrastructure and protocol incentives. He cites the Hyperliquid “Lane” concept as an approach to address a “chronic flaw” where applications can generate fees and volume without creating corresponding demand for their token.
Finally, the outlet notes Hougan’s examples across DeFi and onchain ecosystems, including Uniswap, Aave, and Morpho, as well as stablecoin and trading-adjacent activity. Decrypt also points to TradFi moves such as Citadel into Crypto.com, Morgan Stanley into E*TRADE, and the DTCC going live on tokenization as part of the broader institutional driver.