Crypto Bear Market Shows ‘Attributes of a Real Bottom’ With Wall Street Behind It, Bitwise's Matt Hougan

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) may be down sharply from its cycle highs and stuck near $63,000, but Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan noted the striking disconnect between crypto’s weak price action and Wall Street’s growing commitment to the asset class.

Ships Have Drifted To Crypto

Speaking on the Milk Road Show on Aug.1 4, Hougan revealed conversations with major wealth-management platforms including Wells Fargo, UBS and Stifel have revealed the biggest surprise.

“Those ships have turned slowly towards crypto, and they really don’t care about the short-term price,” Hougan said.

Instead, institutions are increasingly viewing digital assets as an asset class that will develop over the next decade.

He pointed to expanding access to crypto investment products even while the broader market remains roughly 50% below its peak as evidence that institutional adoption isn’t simply being driven by price momentum.

That also extends beyond Bitcoin.

Bitcoin’s ‘Pancake’ Price Action Could Signal A Bottom

"Bitcoin has been a $64,000 pancake at historically low levels of volatility," which is encouraging rather than concerning, Hougan pointed out.

“Bear markets die in apathy,” he added, arguing that bottoms become more credible when markets stop reacting negatively to bad news.