Bitwise: My Highest Conviction Investment in Crypto

深潮Опубліковано о 2025-12-09Востаннє оновлено о 2025-12-09

Анотація

Author Matt Hougan, with eight years in crypto, expresses skepticism towards those who claim certainty about which blockchain (e.g., Ethereum, Solana, Bitcoin) will dominate. He believes the future of crypto remains highly uncertain, influenced by regulation, execution, macro conditions, and luck. Instead of betting on individual assets, Hougan invests broadly using a market-cap-weighted crypto index fund. His core conviction is that crypto as a whole will grow 10-20x in importance over the next decade, driven by stablecoins, tokenization, DeFi, and new use cases. He cites a prediction that all U.S. equities could move on-chain, representing massive growth potential. By diversifying, he captures the sector’s upside while avoiding the risk of picking the wrong chain. He recommends index funds as a sound strategy for many investors.

Author: Matt Hougan

Compiled by: AididiaoJP, Foresight News

There is one thing I firmly believe about cryptocurrency, and it directly shapes my investment strategy.

There's an interesting phenomenon in this industry: many people you meet seem absolutely certain about everything.

"Ethereum is better than Solana and will definitely dominate in the future."

"Solana is stronger than Ethereum and will win out in the long run."

"Bitcoin is the only one worth paying attention to."

Every time I hear these statements, I find it a bit surprising.

I have been working full-time in the crypto industry for eight years. I have about 140 colleagues who regularly discuss various ideas with me, and I also regularly communicate with top VCs, founders, researchers, and foundations. I am very familiar with these circles.

Even so, I cannot confidently tell you which public blockchain will ultimately win out in the future, or how things will specifically unfold.

In my view, at this current stage of development, the future of cryptocurrency remains full of unknowns. The final outcome will be influenced by a combination of regulatory policies, execution capabilities, the macro environment, decisions made by a few key individuals, luck, and hundreds of other variables. Accurately predicting all of this would almost require superhuman abilities.

I think those who speak with such certainty are often just trying to convince themselves.

So how do I invest?

Faced with this uncertainty, my approach is simple: invest in the entire market.

Specifically, I buy market-cap-weighted cryptocurrency index funds.

Why? Because the one thing I am most convinced of in the crypto space is this: ten years from now, cryptocurrency will be far more important than it is today.

I believe stablecoins will become more important, asset tokenization will become more important, and Bitcoin will also become more important. Furthermore, a dozen or so other important use cases will emerge alongside them: prediction markets, decentralized finance (DeFi), privacy technology, digital identity, new forms of equity, and so on.

In my opinion, it's not be difficult for the entire cryptocurrency market to grow 10 to 20 times in size over the next decade.

Don't believe it? A few days ago, former SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said in an interview with Fox Business that he expects all U.S. stock markets to migrate on-chain "within a few years." That's $68 trillion in stock market capitalization. Currently, the total value of tokenized stocks is only about $670 million. This implies nearly a 100,000-fold growth potential.

I want to participate in this trend.

But the key is: I don't want to risk betting on the wrong blockchain. Just imagine, even if you correctly judge that a certain market will grow 100,000 times, you could still end up with meager returns if you bet on the wrong chain.

Therefore, I use cryptocurrency index funds as the core of my investment portfolio, allocating only a small portion of my capital to individual directional bets. This way, no matter how the industry develops, I can capture the potential winners and sleep soundly at night.

By 2026, cryptocurrency index funds will become increasingly important. The market is becoming more complex, and use cases are increasingly diverse. While it may not be suitable for everyone, for many, it is an excellent starting point.

Пов'язані питання

QWhat is the author's most confident belief about cryptocurrency that shapes his investment strategy?

AThe author's most confident belief is that cryptocurrency will be significantly more important in ten years than it is today, with the entire market potentially growing 10 to 20 times.

QHow does the author choose to invest in the cryptocurrency market given its uncertainty?

AThe author invests by buying market-cap-weighted cryptocurrency index funds to gain broad exposure to the entire market, avoiding the risk of picking the wrong individual assets.

QWhat example does the author use to illustrate the massive growth potential of tokenization?

AThe author cites an interview where former SEC Chairman Paul Atkins predicted all U.S. stock markets would move on-chain in a few years, representing a potential 100,000x growth from the current $670 million in tokenized stocks to the $68 trillion equity market.

QWhy does the author express skepticism towards people who are extremely certain about specific crypto predictions?

AThe author finds it surprising because, after eight years in the industry, he believes the future is highly uncertain and depends on numerous variables like regulation, execution, macroeconomics, and luck, making such certainty seem like self-assurance rather than informed insight.

QWhat role do cryptocurrency index funds play in the author's portfolio and why?

ACryptocurrency index funds form the core of the author's portfolio, allowing him to capture the growth of the overall market while minimizing the risk of betting on the wrong individual projects, which helps him sleep well at night.

Пов'язані матеріали

The Value Distribution of Stablecoins

**Summary: The Value Distribution of Stablecoins** The article argues that stablecoins are evolving from mere trading tools into broader channels for dollar access. It divides the stablecoin ecosystem into four layers to analyze how value is distributed: 1. **Issuance Layer:** Mints stablecoins, holds reserve assets, and captures the spread between reserve yield and user costs (e.g., Tether, Circle). This layer currently earns the largest profit margin. 2. **Infrastructure Layer:** Connects stablecoins to the traditional financial system, handling fiat on/off-ramps, banking integration, compliance (KYC/AML), and asset management (e.g., Bridge, BVNK). This is the "unglamorous" but critical work, building the essential bridges between crypto and real-world finance. 3. **Acquiring/Distribution Layer:** Integrates stablecoins into merchant systems, manages payment flows, and provides enterprise financial software (e.g., Stripe, Coinbase). They act as the access point for businesses. 4. **Application Layer:** The end-users and businesses that ultimately use stablecoins for payments, settlements, or as a store of value. They benefit from convenience but have little pricing power. The core thesis is that while the issuance layer currently dominates profits, the often-overlooked **infrastructure layer holds significant long-term potential**. The real challenge and barrier to mass adoption is not the on-chain transfer of stablecoins (which is simple), but the complex "last mile" integration into existing business workflows, banking systems, and regulatory frameworks across different countries. Companies in this layer are currently in a "land grab" phase, investing heavily to build networks, secure bank partnerships, and establish compliance pathways. While their position is currently pressured by the profitable issuers above and distribution platforms below, the article suggests that if stablecoins become a default financial rail for businesses, the infrastructure providers who have done the hard work of integration will ultimately gain strong pricing power and become entrenched, essential players.

marsbit4 год тому

The Value Distribution of Stablecoins

marsbit4 год тому

The Value Distribution of Stablecoins

The Value Distribution of Stablecoins The article argues that stablecoins are evolving from a mere trading tool into a broad "dollar channel." It analyzes the industry's value chain through four layers: 1. **Issuance Layer (e.g., Tether, Circle):** The top layer that mints stablecoins, holds reserve assets, and captures the thickest interest rate spread. 2. **Infrastructure Layer (e.g., Bridge, BVNK):** Connects stablecoins to the traditional financial system, handling critical but complex "dirty work" like fiat on/off-ramps, banking integration, compliance (KYC/AML), and cross-border settlement. 3. **Acquiring/Distribution Layer (e.g., Stripe, Coinbase):** Embeds stablecoins into merchant systems, manages payment flows, and integrates with enterprise software. 4. **Application Layer:** End-users and businesses that ultimately use stablecoins for payments, settlement, or storing value. The author posits that while the issuance layer currently captures the most profit, the most overlooked and potentially critical layer is infrastructure. The core challenge for stablecoin adoption isn't the on-chain transfer (which is simple), but bridging the gap between blockchain and the real-world financial system. This involves solving practical problems for businesses: fiat conversion, reconciliation, tax handling, and user onboarding. Infrastructure companies are currently in a difficult "land-grab" phase—building networks, securing banking relationships, and achieving compliance country-by-country. They face pressure from both the profitable issuance layer above and distribution platforms below. However, the author suggests this layer is building a crucial moat. Once stablecoins become a default business rail, the infrastructure players who have done the hard work of integration may gain significant, durable value and pricing power.

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The Value Distribution of Stablecoins

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How to Do Research Well: Deliberately Practice the Real Skills That Matter

No one truly teaches you how to do research. You're often given a desk, a pre-selected problem, and vague instructions to "create something new." Consequently, many people reverse-engineer the job based on visible outputs—papers, posts, announcements—learning only how to *appear* like a researcher rather than how to *become* one. True research capability is built from stacking small, trainable skills, nearly all of which can be developed through deliberate practice. **Pick Your Own Problem:** Most researchers absorb problems from advisors or trends, lacking the underlying reasoning. Choosing a problem you genuinely care about, as John Schulman advises, leads to original work. Develop "taste" like a muscle: predict experiment outcomes, guess paper results from methods, and track which findings remain important over time. **Upgrade Your Inputs:** Relying on shared reading lists (arXiv hot lists, filtered group chats) leads to unoriginal conclusions. Undervalued old literature often holds crucial insights (e.g., MoE, LSTM, backpropagation). Richard Sutton's "The Bitter Lesson" or Claude Shannon's 1952 talk on creative thinking are more predictive than lengthy modern surveys. Breadth matters as much as depth: draw from neuroscience, mechanism design, hardware knowledge, and honest statistics. Read papers directly, especially appendices and limitations sections. **Write Everything Down:** As Paul Graham noted, writing exposes flaws in seemingly mature ideas. Writing is the cheapest defense against self-deception. Following Feynman's principle, Darwin programmatically wrote down facts contradicting his theory to combat memory bias. Maintain a detailed log of hypotheses, setups, predictions, results, and updated understandings. Reviewing past logs fosters essential humility.

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How to Do Research Well: Deliberately Practice the Real Skills That Matter

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