Bitwise CIO: Next Bull Run Will Move More Gradually as Investors Shift to Stablecoins
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan told CoinDesk that the next bull market will likely unfold more slowly and with lower volatility as investor appetite for crypto evolves. During the current downturn, investors have increasingly favored stablecoins and tokenization over speculative assets, a trend he expects to persist.
Key Takeaways
- 1## Shifting Investor Preferences Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, said investor behavior during the bear market reveals a durable shift in how capital approaches crypto.
- 2Rather than chasing volatile altcoins or leveraged positions, institutions and retail buyers have gravitated toward stablecoins and tokenization of real-world assets as crypto doubts have circulated.
- 3## Implications for the Next Bull Cycle Hougan's thesis suggests that when sentiment turns positive again, the resulting bull run will not replicate the explosive gains and sharp drawdowns of prior cycles.
- 4A more measured pace reflects maturing investor sophistication: participants seeking stable value transfers and productive use cases over pure price appreciation.
- 5Tokenization and stablecoin infrastructure may therefore outpace pure cryptocurrency appreciation in the next upswing, even if absolute prices rise.
Shifting Investor Preferences
Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, said investor behavior during the bear market reveals a durable shift in how capital approaches crypto. Rather than chasing volatile altcoins or leveraged positions, institutions and retail buyers have gravitated toward stablecoins and tokenization of real-world assets as crypto doubts have circulated.
Implications for the Next Bull Cycle
Hougan's thesis suggests that when sentiment turns positive again, the resulting bull run will not replicate the explosive gains and sharp drawdowns of prior cycles. A more measured pace reflects maturing investor sophistication: participants seeking stable value transfers and productive use cases over pure price appreciation. Tokenization and stablecoin infrastructure may therefore outpace pure cryptocurrency appreciation in the next upswing, even if absolute prices rise.
Why It Matters
For Traders
If volatility contracts in the next bull phase, swing-trading strategies tuned to explosive moves may underperform; mean-reversion and range-bound tactics could become more reliable.
For Investors
A slower bull run with lower volatility could signal maturation of the asset class, reducing tail-risk drawdowns and improving risk-adjusted returns for long-term allocators.
For Builders
Stablecoins and tokenization infrastructure may see faster adoption than speculative L1 and L2 tokens, shifting development priorities toward payments and RWA settlement layers.
