XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) sits down 60% below its July 2025 cycle high of $3.65, while Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan calls HYPE (CRYPTO: HYPE) the most mispriced asset in crypto right now.

XRP Had Every Catalyst And Still Went Nowhere

The SEC settlement came through, Ripple stacked partnerships, ETF inflows arrived, and the CLARITY Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee in a 15-9 bipartisan vote. 

Goldman Sachs built a $154 million XRP ETF position and quietly dumped the entire stake by Q1 2026. Six straight months of red followed from October 2025 to March 2026, with XRP still trading around $1.37 to $1.45.

Meanwhile, institutional money chased AI stocks and semiconductor names while crypto sat in a holding pattern. 

Bitwise Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen described the current environment as “a stage of apathy,” with investors deserting ecosystems they have held for nearly a decade.

Bitwise Says HYPE Is Only 5% Through Its Re-Rating

Meanwhile, Hougan argued on the Milk Road Show that the world is only about 5% done realizing what Hyperliquid actually is. 

The platform holds over 70% of the decentralized perpetual futures market, generates revenue third only to stablecoin providers among on-chain protocols, and directs 99% of fees toward buying and burning HYPE tokens, a buyback mechanism traditional investors immediately understand.

“It’s a bucket flowing into a thimble,” Hougan said, describing crypto investors rotating a small portion of $2 trillion in wealth into HYPE with very few places for that capital to go. 

The Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF (NYSE:BHYP) attracted over one million HYPE tokens in inflows within roughly 10 days of launch, a pace Hougan said exceeded even his own expectations.

Gen 2 Tokens Are The Next Major Crypto Narrative

Hougan introduced the concept of Gen 2 tokens, assets born in the post-Gensler regulatory era that can actually capture value without legal risk. 

HYPE is the first clear example, and Hougan expects a dozen more to follow, including potential rebirths of failed Gen 1 projects that had the right idea but the wrong regulatory environment.

Rasmussen added that crypto is currently in a classic post-bottom phase, sentiment low and some investors leaving, but green shoots like HYPE pointing toward what the next cycle’s winners will look like.

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