Bitwise | Crypto

Bitwise research suggests that Bitcoin is leading a broader risk-off move across markets as global liquidity and stablecoin reserves remain elevated. Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent performance may be less about crypto market weakness and more about its position at the front of the risk curve. Asset management firm Bitwise said that BTC often acts as a “canary in the macro coal mine,” responding to shifts in liquidity and financial conditions before traditional markets. With equities now showing similar signs of strain, the firm sees Bitcoin's move as part of a wider risk-off adjustment.  Bitwise said that Bitcoin and Ether reached cycle lows of $58,000 and $1,507, respectively, as other global risk assets faced mounting pressure. The Nasdaq recorded its sharpest daily decline of 5% in months, and South Korea’s KOSPI (Korea Composite Stock Price Index), its benchmark stock index, triggered a temporary trading halt after a steep sell-off led by semiconductor stocks. The shift followed stronger-than-expected US labor ma...

“Investors still believe in crypto, but now that it’s a contrarian bet, they favor fundamentals over vibes,” says Bitwise investment chief Matt Hougan. Crypto is turning into a “contrarian bet” as institutional investors are being drawn to artificial intelligence stocks, says Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan. “The crypto market is brutal right now,” Hougan wrote in a market note on Tuesday. “One major reason is that crypto is no longer the belle of the ball. AI stocks, robotics companies, SpaceX … who needs crypto when the Nasdaq-100 is up 43% year-over-year?” Stocks linked to companies involved in AI have skyrocketed as the technology has captured investor attention after OpenAI launched ChatGPT to the public in late 2022. Shares in Nvidia, which makes computing components key to AI, have gained nearly 1,500% since ChatGPT’s launch. Read more

A sovereign default-risk model estimates Bitcoin’s fair value at $224,000, as rising debt risks and bond-market stress could strengthen the asset’s long-term investment case. New reporting from Bitwise suggests that Bitcoin's (BTC) undervaluation could expand if investors' concerns over sovereign debt deepen. The asset management firm said that mounting pressure in global bond markets and rising government debt levels could strengthen Bitcoin's role as a hedge against macroeconomic risks, with one valuation model suggesting a theoretical fair value of $224,000.  Bitwise pointed to mounting pressure across the global bond markets. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates governments and companies will need to borrow roughly $29 trillion in 2026, up 17% from 2024 and nearly double the amount raised a decade ago. Around 78% of OECD government borrowing is expected to be used solely to refinance existing debt. Read more

The transition gives the asset manager control of a tokenized fund that combines crypto carry trades with Treasury and digital asset exposure. Bitwise completed its takeover of Superstate's Crypto Carry Fund (USCC), giving the asset manager control of a tokenized investment vehicle that uses market-neutral crypto trading strategies to generate yield. Bitwise said on May 7 it would assume management of the fund from Superstate as the infrastructure company shifted its focus toward FundOS, its tokenized fund platform.  The fund is available to qualified purchasers and seeks to generate yield through crypto cash-and-carry trades, a strategy that captures the premium between cryptocurrency futures and spot prices. It retains the USCC token ticker and existing smart contracts following the transition. Read more

Bitwise says investor demand for Hyperliquid exposure is surging as new HYPE ETFs launch.

Bitwise’s Matt Hougan says Hyperliquid’s token is not priced as if it is tied to a “global super-app,” arguing the platform is more than just a crypto platform. Crypto asset manager Bitwise has called Hyperliquid “one of the most mispriced assets in crypto today,” despite its outperformance so far this year. “Hyperliquid is one of the most important crypto projects to emerge in years,” Bitwise investment chief Matt Hougan said in a note on Tuesday.  “Its native token, HYPE, is the best-performing large-cap crypto asset of 2026, up 77% YTD [year to date]. And yet I still think investors are underestimating its impact and its value.” Read more

BHYP offers spot exposure to Hyperliquid’s HYPE token and will stake a portion of its holdings through Bitwise’s in-house staking division. Bitwise Asset Management has launched a US-listed investment product tied to Hyperliquid, offering investors spot exposure to the token and staking rewards linked to the decentralized derivatives platform. The fund, trading under the ticker BHYP on the New York Stock Exchange, is the second US-listed Hyperliquid product to launch this week. Bitwise said the fund plans to stake a significant portion of its HYPE (HYPE) holdings through its in-house staking division. Hyperliquid is a decentralized trading-focused layer 1 blockchain launched in 2023 that offers perpetual futures, spot trading and lending services. Bitwise said the platform processed about $2.9 trillion in trading volume in 2025 and accounted for roughly 60% of global onchain derivatives open interest as of May 5, citing DefiLlama data. Read more

Nakamoto launched a Bitcoin derivatives program with Bitwise and Kraken, aiming to generate options premiums and hedge part of its BTC treasury exposure. Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin treasury company Nakamoto announced on Friday an actively managed Bitcoin derivatives program designed to generate recurring income from volatility while hedging part of its downside exposure. Nakamoto said the program has been in place since the first quarter of 2026 and uses a portion of the company’s Bitcoin holdings as collateral for a derivatives strategy managed by Bitwise Asset Management in a separately managed account. Under the arrangement, a portion of the company’s Bitcoin is held in Kraken’s qualified custody solution and used as collateral for a derivatives strategy managed by Bitwise Asset Management in a separately managed account. Read more

Ethereum price is slightly pumping as institutional infrastructure around ETH continues to expand at a pace. GSR Markets just launched the BESO ETF on Nasdaq, the first US-listed crypto fund to actively manage a multi-asset basket. The post Ethereum Price Prediction: GSR Launces ETH ETF to Rival BlackRock and Bitwise appeared first on Cryptonews.

The product is designed to generate yield by participating in network validation, adding an income component to passive exposure. Bitwise Asset Management has launched a spot Avalanche exchange-traded product, giving investors exposure to the Avalanche token while staking a portion of its holdings to generate yield. Bitwise plans to stake roughly 70% of its AVAX holdings through its in-house infrastructure, while maintaining a liquidity reserve of about 30% to meet redemptions and operational needs. The fund began trading Wednesday on the NYSE under the ticker BAVA, closing up about 1.5%, to $25.50 per share, according to Yahoo Finance. The Avalanche token (AVAX) was last trading at $9.52, up 1.8%, according to CoinMarketCap. Read more

Bitwise added the ticker $BHYP and a 0.67% management fee in its latest filing, signaling a potential launch soon, according to Bloomberg's senior ETF analyst. Bitwise Asset Management has reportedly taken a key step toward launching its proposed spot Hyperliquid exchange-traded fund, filing a second amendment with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. In an X post on Friday, Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas highlighted that Bitwise had updated its Hyperliquid ETF to include the ticker $BHYP and had also set a management fee of 0.67% (67 basis points). According to Balchunas, the filing of these details generally indicates that the product will "launch soon." Read more

Lombard CEO Jacob Phillips announced at the Digital Asset Summit that the platform enables institutions to earn yield and borrow against Bitcoin without moving assets out of custody. Lombard, a company building Bitcoin-based lending infrastructure, will team with Bitwise Asset Management to enable institutions to earn yield and borrow against Bitcoin (BTC) without moving assets out of custody, aiming to unlock hundreds of billions of dollars in Bitcoin held in institutional custody. The partnership was announced Tuesday at the Digital Asset Summit in New York.  Jacob Phillips, CEO and co-founder of Lombard, told Cointelegraph:  Read more

Unlike Bitwise, Grayscale doesn’t plan to incorporate staking for its Hyperliquid ETF but hasn’t ruled out integrating it in the future. Crypto asset manager Grayscale has filed for a spot Hyperliquid exchange-traded fund, joining Bitwise and 21Shares in seeking to offer a product tied to the Hyperliquid perpetual futures protocol and blockchain. The Grayscale HYPE ETF would track the price movement of the Hyperliquid (HYPE) token and trade under the ticker GHYP on the Nasdaq if approved, according to Grayscale’s S-1 registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. Grayscale listed Coinbase as the custodian but didn’t disclose a management fee for the proposed Hyperliquid product. Read more

The altcoins with “real world” traction and application will be the winners of the next altcoin season, says Bitwise’s Matt Hougan. Altcoins with real-world traction and applications will be the winners of the next altcoin season, according to Bitwise investment chief Matt Hougan. The euphoric altcoin seasons in which almost every cryptocurrency rises across the market are probably not coming back, Hougan said. “I think that game is over. I think we’ll see a non-traditional altcoin season,” he said in an interview on Wednesday. “An altcoin season that rewards assets with real-world traction and applications.” Read more

Bitwise has tasked Bitcoin Brink, OpenSats and the Human Rights Foundation with deciding where to allocate its second annual donation to support Bitcoin. Crypto asset manager Bitwise has now donated a total of $383,000 to support developers who maintain and secure the Bitcoin network since 2024, with its latest $233,000 contribution announced on Wednesday.  Its second payout, funded by 10% of gross profits from its Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), adds to the $150,000 that it donated in February 2025 after BITB’s first full year. “Bitwise is proud to donate $233,000 to support the unsung heroes maintaining and securing the Bitcoin network,” Bitwise said in a post to X on Wednesday.  Read more

Bitwise’s acquisition of Chorus One expands the company’s staking capabilities to more than 30 blockchains, including Solana, Hyperliquid, Monad, Avalanche and Sui. Crypto asset manager Bitwise has acquired the staking services company Chorus One, which oversees more than $2.2 billion in staked assets and could help Bitwise expand its portfolio of crypto staking products. Bitwise said on Tuesday that 50 of Chorus One’s employees will join Bitwise Onchain Solutions, where several billion dollars' worth of crypto assets are already staked.  The acquisition could see Bitwise diversify its range of exchange-traded products, including staking, as the Securities and Exchange Commission has shown support for a broader range of crypto investment products. Read more

Bitwise exec said that Aave's governance proposal stands out as a positive development for DeFi during the crypto downturn.

Under "Prediction Shares" branding, Bitwise filed to list two ETFs tracking prediction markets betting on the outcome of the 2028 presidential election.

Two more ETF issuers have filed prospectuses for six US election prediction market ETFs, allowing investors to gain exposure to election outcomes. Exchange-traded fund issuers Bitwise and GraniteShares have filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to launch funds tied to event contracts on the outcome of US elections. Bitwise filed a prospectus on Tuesday for a new lineup of ETFs branded PredictionShares, comprising six prediction-market-style ETFs listed on NYSE Arca. The first two funds will pay out if either a Democrat or a Republican wins the US presidential election in November 2028. The next two will pay out if either Democrats or Republicans win the Senate in November 2026, and the final two if either party wins the House. Read more

Bitcoin is in a bear market and is “getting swept up” with the rest of the macro assets, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley declared during a television interview. Bitcoin’s drop below $70,000 is being seen very differently by long-time holders and institutional investors, according to Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley. “I think long-time holders are feeling unsure, and I think the new investor set, institutions are sort of getting a new crack at the apple,” Horsley said during an interview with CNBC on Friday. Horsley said that institutional buyers are “seeing prices they thought that they’d forever missed.”  It was only in October that Standard Chartered's head of digital asset research, Geoff Kendrick, said he doesn’t expect Bitcoin to fall below $100,000 again. Read more