Bitwise CIO Sees 3 Bullish Crypto Opportunities With Massive Upside Ahead

A historic regulatory pivot is unleashing three powerful crypto opportunities primed to accelerate adoption, ignite investor demand, and drive unprecedented growth across the digital asset landscape.

3 Crypto Opportunities Born From SEC Pivot Could Outrun Market Expectations

Matt Hougan, chief investment officer of asset management firm Bitwise, published his latest memo on Aug. 5 assessing the implications of a pro-crypto policy blueprint from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins. Delivered at the America First Policy Institute under the title “American Leadership in the Digital Finance Revolution,” Atkins’ speech introduced “Project Crypto,” a plan to update securities rules so U.S. markets can operate on public blockchains. Hougan stressed:

There are three immediate investing opportunities that stand out to me.

He described the initiative as a complete reversal from the SEC’s historically adversarial approach and as potentially transformative for both investors and the broader financial system.

The first area Atkins emphasized was layer 1 blockchain networks that support tokenization and stablecoins. Hougan stated: “The best approach is likely to buy a basket of the leading assets: ethereum, solana, cardano, XRP, avalanche, aptos, SUI, NEAR, and so on.” He suggested that diversification is essential given the possibility that future market leaders may not be the current front-runners.

The second focus was on “super-apps” integrating both crypto and traditional securities trading alongside services like staking and lending, without complex licensing requirements. This model could benefit companies such as Coinbase and Robinhood. Hougan noted: “One of these companies could become the largest financial services company in the world, maybe even becoming the first financial services company worth more than $1 trillion. Atkins just gave them a roadmap.”

DeFi platforms formed the third opportunity, with Atkins advocating against imposing intermediary-based regulatory models on systems designed to operate without them. Hougan pointed to major applications like Uniswap and Aave already processing significant volumes despite unclear regulations.

Concluding his memo, he reflected: “I’ve studied and written about crypto nonstop for the past eight years. I’ve long been bullish about the future of crypto, and I’ve said that all assets will eventually move over blockchain-based rails.” The Bitwise executive added:

But after reading the speech, I’m realizing I have to think bigger—and move to a faster timeline. If it wasn’t priced in for me, I’m going to guess it wasn’t priced in for others.