Bitwise Identifies Three Key Cryptocurrency Trends for the Coming Years

Paul Atkins, Chairman of the SEC, has identified blockchain as the foundation of future financial infrastructure. This presents unique opportunities for market participants, stated Bitwise’s Chief Investment Officer, Matt Hougan.

“The most optimistic document on cryptocurrency I’ve read wasn’t penned by some random expert in X. Its author was the SEC Chairman,” he wrote.

According to him, the new regulatory strategy will benefit first-layer blockchains, super apps like Coinbase, and DeFi. Hougan believes these areas will yield profits in the next five years.

Infrastructure Blockchains

The expert identified first-layer network tokens as foundational assets for a crypto portfolio. He emphasized that the Project Crypto initiative to transition stocks and bonds to public blockchains will increase demand for:

• Ethereum — the current leader with a developed smart contract ecosystem;
• Solana and Avalanche — for high throughput and low fees;
• Cardano and Polkadot — as solutions focused on regulatory compliance.

“The optimal strategy is to buy a basket of leading assets: Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, XRP, Avalanche, Aptos, Sui, NEAR, and so on. […] Instead of trying to pick winners, an index approach provides exposure to all top projects,” noted Bitwise’s investment director.

“Super Apps”

During his speech, Atkins proposed the concept of “super apps,” which will offer a wide range of services through a single interface. According to Hougan, Coinbase and Robinhood perfectly fit this model.

“I dare say: one of these companies could become the largest financial services provider in the world and possibly the first in this sector with a market cap exceeding $1 trillion. Atkins essentially provided them with a roadmap,” said the expert.

On July 17, Coinbase rebranded its eponymous wallet to Base App. The application integrated a social network, mini-apps, chat, payments, and trading. Meanwhile, the Robinhood platform supports cryptocurrencies, stocks, options, ETFs, individual retirement accounts, and more.

DeFi

The third trend is a “qualitatively” new stage of DeFi development. Despite past regulatory challenges, the SEC’s new stance could trigger explosive growth in decentralized platforms, Hougan believes.

“Uniswap — the largest spot DEX — processed $88 billion in volume in June, setting a monthly record. TVL of lending protocols like Aave also reached a peak at $56 billion. Derivatives trading platforms like Hyperliquid are showing impressive results. With clear rules, these figures could grow 10, 50, or even 100 times,” he noted.

Hougan recalled critics who claim that most DeFi tokens lack a “clear economic link to the protocols.”

“For example, UNI from Uniswap is a ‘governance token’ that gives holders the right to influence protocol development but does not provide a share in the platform’s trading fees,” the expert emphasized.

In his view, this is a legacy of strict regulation. The SEC’s new approach could increase the value of such assets.

On August 6, the Commission clarified the status of liquid staking. According to the regulator’s ruling, this area no longer falls under securities law.