Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan has identified four core crypto assets he believes are essential holdings for the current market cycle: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Chainlink (LINK). This selection comes as markets remain deep in bear territory, with Bitcoin trading over 40% below its all-time high from October 2025.
Hougan, whose firm manages over $15 billion in client assets and consults with central banks, outlined his reasoning on the When Shift Happens podcast. He framed these four networks as the structural backbone of a maturing crypto economy, shifting focus from pure speculation to real-world use cases like tokenization, payments infrastructure, and institutional adoption.
Bitwise's "Mount Rushmore" Thesis:
Bitcoin is positioned as digital gold and the only crypto with a credible path to becoming a globally relevant non-fiat monetary standard. Hougan expressed absolute confidence, stating, "I have every confidence that Bitcoin will win the digital gold store of value monetary asset space. I think that game is over and Bitcoin has won it." He highlighted a potential massive catalyst, arguing markets price in a 0% chance of the U.S. government actively buying Bitcoin beyond seized holdings. Hougan assigns a 10-25% probability to this event, claiming it could send Bitcoin's price "to half a million dollars or more almost instantly." He noted sovereign wealth funds in Abu Dhabi and Luxembourg are already buyers.
Ethereum is viewed as the dominant smart contract platform, central to decentralized finance (DeFi) and the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA), especially as major financial institutions experiment with on-chain settlement.
Solana is highlighted for its speed and scalability, seen as a key beneficiary of stablecoin growth and high-throughput tokenization trends. Hougan has previously suggested Solana could evolve into a trillion-dollar asset if adoption accelerates.
Chainlink is Hougan's sleeper pick, framed as critical infrastructure. His thesis hinges on the growth of stablecoins and tokenization, which would make oracles essential. "There’s hundred trillion dollars of equities. There’s more of that of bonds. There’s even more of that in real estate," Hougan said, positioning tokenization as a far larger opportunity. He compared the current moment to early ETF adoption. Bitwise launched its own Chainlink ETF (CLNK) on NYSE Arca in January 2026, seen as a potential catalyst for LINK.
Market Context and 2026 Outlook:
Hougan's call comes during a prolonged 2025 market cooldown. He believes the traditional four-year halving cycle is weakening in importance as institutional flows, facilitated by spot ETFs and major wealth platforms, increasingly shape price action. Assets with stronger institutional backing, like BTC and ETH, fell less sharply in the recent downturn than retail-driven altcoins, some of which declined 60% or more.
Hougan points to 2026 as a potential breakout year, expecting clearer regulatory frameworks (like progress on the CLARITY Act) and increased allocations from large advisory platforms like Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch to act as catalysts.
Bitwise's Positioning:
The firm's product lineup reflects this concentration. The Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund allocates 77.1% to Bitcoin, 13.6% to Ethereum, 2.7% to Solana, and 0.4% to Chainlink as of February 2026. Bitwise also offers dedicated spot ETFs for BTC and ETH and has a pending Solana staking ETF.
