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.

Hougan noted institutions are increasingly interested in assets tied to stablecoins and tokenization, including Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), Chainlink (CRYPTO: LINK) and Ondo (CRYPTO: ONDO).

Another emerging institutional theme is crypto projects with real revenues, with Hougan highlighting Hyperliquid, Uniswap (CRYPTO: UNI) and Aave (CRYPTO: AAVE) among examples.

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.

Bitcoin has absorbed falling odds of the CLARITY Act passing, broader equity-market volatility and other bearish catalysts without suffering another major breakdown.

“Anyone who was going to sell sold,” Hougan said, adding that volatility may now be building beneath the surface.

His expectation is that suppressed volatility will eventually be released to the upside. “It does have the attributes of a real bottom,” Hougan stressed.

The widely held expectation for another Bitcoin low around October makes him somewhat cautious.

While BTC could still trade into the $50,000 range, Hougan expects prices to finish the year higher and believes the potential upside now outweighs the remaining downside.

Is Tokenization Next Megatrend?

Hougan expects tokenization to accelerate even if crypto regulation bill remains stalled, with regulators potentially advancing rules independently.

With just $300 billion in assets currently on-chain versus hundreds of trillions globally, he sees significant room for growth as financial assets move toward 24/7 blockchain-based markets.

Ethereum could be a major beneficiary given its stablecoin and tokenization dominance, alongside Solana and other networks.

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