Matt Hougan, Bitwise's chief investment officer, said the crypto market could easily grow 10 to 20 times over the next decade. According to Hougan, this isn't just a bold prediction; a structural transformation is imminent, with tokenization, Bitcoin, and stablecoins rapidly moving into the mainstream. In a note to investors, he described crypto's long-term growth as "the highest-confidence bet of his career."
This optimism stems from statements made last week by Paul Atkins, the former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In an interview with Fox Business, Atkins said he believes all U.S. stock markets will be traded on-chain within a few years. This approach, in Hougan's eyes, reveals a huge difference in scale. While the total size of the U.S. stock market is approximately $68 trillion, the total volume of on-chain tokenized stocks today is only around $670 million. This gap clearly highlights the early stages of the transition. According to Hougan, this outlook means that the fundamental building blocks of crypto (stablecoins, tokenization, and Bitcoin) will become even more important in the coming period. He also believes that a number of new use cases, such as oracle markets, DeFi, privacy technologies, digital identity solutions, and next-generation capital market instruments, will grow rapidly.
While uncertainty increases, broad market exposure is more attractive
Another point Hougan emphasizes is that no one can know for sure which blockchain will dominate in the long term. Hougan, who has worked full-time in the crypto industry for eight years and is in constant contact with investors, founders, and researchers, says it's impossible to predict a single winner at this stage. Hundreds of variables, including regulations, macroeconomic conditions, technological advancements, strategic moves by teams, and even luck, will influence the outcome.
Therefore, Hougan states that he adopts a broad-based approach to his investment strategy. While he notes that he takes small positions in certain projects, the backbone of his portfolio consists of crypto index funds weighted by market capitalization. This approach allows him to both capitalize on growth and mitigate the risk of overinvesting in the wrong project. "Even if the market grows 100,000 times, it's possible to fall behind because you bet on the wrong horse," Hougan says, reminding us of the risky nature of individual chain selections. He believes that as the industry becomes increasingly complex, index funds will become a much more important investment tool in 2026. In his view, these funds offer an ideal solution for both managing uncertainty and capitalizing on the sector's broader rise.
While uncertainties persist in the crypto market, ranging from regulation and technology to investor behavior and macroeconomics, Hougan believes that the long-term growth potential presents a historically unique opportunity. Therefore, he sees 10-20x growth as a "easily achievable" target.
