Bitwise: Why Institutions Are Buying Ethereum For The Long Haul (Majors vs. Apps)
Bitwise: Why Institutions Are Buying Ethereum For The Long Haul (Majors vs. Apps)
Podcast45 min 19 sec
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Note: AI-generated summary based on third-party content. Not financial advice. Read more.
Quick Insights

Start accumulating Bitcoin (BTC) immediately using a dollar-cost averaging strategy, as its resilience against negative news signals the end of the bottoming process and a long-term trajectory toward $1 million. Allocate capital to Ethereum (ETH) alongside Bitcoin (BTC) to capture steady institutional inflows within a diversified portfolio. Treat Layer-1 infrastructure like Solana (SOL) as a core holding, leveraging approved products like the BESOL ETF to capitalize on upcoming equity tokenization. Position yourself in high-growth, revenue-generating crypto-native applications such as Hyperliquid (HYPE) to capture outsized upside during the developing bull market. Finally, gain equity exposure to the digital asset boom without holding tokens directly by buying Robinhood (HOOD) as a generational buy-and-hold asset.

Detailed Analysis

Bitcoin (BTC)

  • Bitcoin has shown strong resilience by completely ignoring bad news, such as Michael Saylor selling, the Stretch trade to 75, cold storage hacks, and the Clarity Act stalling.
  • This lack of reaction to negative news indicates to market observers that the bottoming process may be complete, pointing toward a slow, fundamental, institutional bull market.
  • Institutional adoption is growing, with wealth management platforms slowly allocating capital over long timeframes, leading to a shallower bear market drawdown of around 50% compared to historical 70% to 80% drops.
  • Bitcoin is projected to trade more like digital gold, serving as an inflation hedge and monetary premium asset, with a long-term price target north of $1 million over the next decade.

Takeaways

  • Avoid trying to time short-term market bottoms, as missing early recovery days historically harms long-term returns.
  • Consider dollar-cost averaging (DCA) into Bitcoin as a strategy to build positions during apathetic market conditions.

Ethereum (ETH)

  • Ethereum is primarily driving institutional capital inflows alongside Bitcoin, appealing to major wealth management platforms and long-term asset allocators.
  • It is experiencing a bifurcation where institutional investors focus on crypto majors, while crypto-native capital flows toward revenue-generating applications.

Takeaways

  • Allocate to Ethereum as part of a diversified, multi-asset portfolio that combines monetary premium assets with innovative tech platforms.

Solana (SOL)

  • Major wealth management platforms have approved Bitwise's Solana staking ETF (BESOL) despite a 50% market downturn, signaling long-term institutional conviction.
  • The network benefits from meme coin launchpad activity in the short term, but its primary long-term growth driver is expected to be the tokenization of equities.

Takeaways

  • View Layer 1 blockchains like Solana as foundational infrastructure plays for the upcoming cycle, particularly as tokenization and institutional adoption expand.

Hyperliquid (HYPE)

  • Generating nearly $1 billion in revenue, Hyperliquid is categorized as a revenue-generating app that attracts crypto-native capital.
  • It is viewed as a smaller market cap asset earlier in its lifecycle, positioning it to benefit significantly from a crypto bull market.

Takeaways

  • Monitor Hyperliquid as a high-upside alternative to major cryptocurrencies, keeping in mind that smaller-cap assets tend to experience heightened volatility and sharp drawdowns.

Robinhood (HOOD)

  • Described as a generational buy-and-hold asset, Robinhood is viewed as a phenomenal company executing exceptionally well in bridging traditional finance and digital assets.

Takeaways

  • Consider equity exposure to crypto-adjacent companies like Robinhood as a way to participate in the growth of digital asset adoption without holding tokens directly.

Uniswap (UNI), Aave (AAVE), and Morpho

  • These decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols are focal points for crypto-native capital, driven by strong fundamentals, revenue generation, and returning revenue directly to token holders.
  • Having previously faced regulatory headwinds and lawsuits, these platforms are now better positioned to achieve their full potential.

Takeaways

  • Look into established DeFi protocols for exposure to revenue-generating software applications within the digital asset ecosystem.

Zcash (ZEC)

  • Identified as a special asset with long-term demand expected for privacy coins, though near-term price targets carry more conservative expectations compared to broader market majors.

Takeaways

  • Maintain a realistic timeline when investing in specialized privacy assets, acknowledging that broader adoption and price appreciation may take longer than expected.
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Episode Description
Bitwise's CIO Matt Hougan and Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen break down why institutional ETF investors kept buying through the summer's 50% drawdowns and explain why they expect the next bull market to look a lot different than previous ones. They also make the case that ETF flows are expanding, what institutional allocators really want to buy, and the long-term forecasts for top digital assets. Matt Hougan is the Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, and Ryan Rasmussen is the Head of Research at Bitwise, one of the largest digital assets asset managers with a suite of digital asset ETFs spanning Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and beyond. The Rollup is where the leaders of digital assets and finance converge. Live from the financial capital of the world. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:00 Market Structure Shifting 03:01 Is The Four Year Cycle Compressing? 08:07 Positive ETF Flows Since July 1st 13:55 Why Institutions Buy Majors, Not Apps (Yet) 15:21 Digital Asset Natives See A Different Opportunity 18:05 Bitcoin Starting To Trade Like Gold 20:42 Institutions Are Getting Sophisticated Now 30:59 Hyperliquid & Zcash Bull Thesis 37:04 Memes Aren't Sustainable Guest Socials: Matt Hougan X: https://x.com/Matt_Hougan Ryan Rasmussen: https://x.com/RasterlyRock Bitwise X: https://x.com/Bitwise Bitwise Website: https://bitwiseinvestments.com/ Partners: If you run concentrated liquidity positions you know the grind. Price moves, you're out of range, you're rebalancing at, like, 3am. 1inch Aqua lets you take a different approach. You can stack multiple positions on the same token balance instead of babysitting a dozen pools, and your tokens never leave your wallet. Your liquidity stays awake, so you can catch up on your sleep. Check it out at https://1inch.com/aqua --- Dinari - Over 230 1:1 backed tokenized stocks, ETFs & more with dividends. US-based SEC transfer agent. Available on 5+ chains & via API. https://dinari.com/ --- Space and Time is providing verifiable data infrastructure for onchain finance. A decentralized database, blockchain indexer, and ZK coprocessor in one, giving DeFi protocols,stablecoins, and tokenized assets accurate, provable data. --- Relay is the fastest and most reliable way to swap any token on any chain. Learn more here: https://relay.link/bridge --- Zama is an open source cryptography company that builds state-of-the-art Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) solutions for blockchain. Learn more here: https://www.zama.org/ --- 𝗪𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝗯𝗶𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱, 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺. 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀: Website: https://therollup.co/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1P6ZeYd... Podcast: https://therollup.co/category/podcast Follow us on X: https://www.x.com/therollupco Follow Rob on X: https://x.com/robbieklages Follow Andy on X: https://x.com/andyyy Join our TG group: https://t.me/+TsM1CRpWFgk1NGZh The Rollup Disclosures: https://goodidea.ventures . . . 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗥: 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘍𝘪 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬, 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳, 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘵 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭, 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮, 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴.
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