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Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said Hyperliquid and Robinhood could emerge as leading beneficiaries of the next crypto bull market as traditional financial markets increasingly adopt blockchain infrastructure.
In a Tuesday market memo, Hougan argued that the next crypto cycle will be driven by the convergence of traditional and onchain finance, including stablecoins, tokenized assets, round the clock trading, instant settlement, and institutional decentralized finance.
Hougan said the shift could produce a larger cycle than previous crypto rallies because it would be supported by financial activity and revenue rather than primarily speculative demand.
He identified two categories that could benefit from the transition. The first includes crypto native financial applications that generate substantial revenue and connect token value to platform usage. The second consists of established financial companies deploying products directly on blockchain networks.
Hougan placed Hyperliquid in the first category. The Layer 1 network initially gained traction through its decentralized perpetual futures exchange but has expanded into markets linked to traditional assets such as commodities and equity indexes.
According to Hougan, Hyperliquid surpassed $1 billion in cumulative revenue in June and is on track to generate about $800 million this year. He said the protocol directs 99% of its revenue toward purchasing HYPE tokens on the open market.
Hougan argued that the model addresses a recurring issue across crypto markets, where applications generate trading volume and fees without creating corresponding demand for their native tokens. He also pointed to Uniswap, Aave, and Morpho as protocols moving toward stronger connections between platform activity and token value.
Robinhood represents the second category by approaching the transition from the traditional finance side.
The brokerage launched the public mainnet of Robinhood Chain on July 1. The Layer 2 network was built using Arbitrum technology and is designed to support financial services and tokenized real world assets.
Robinhood also introduced stock tokens through its self custody wallet in more than 120 countries, subject to local restrictions. Eligible users can trade the products around the clock and interact with decentralized applications including Uniswap and Lighter.
The products are tokenized debt securities that provide economic exposure to underlying stocks but do not give holders legal or beneficial ownership rights in the shares. They are not available to users in the United States.
Hougan said Robinhood Chain attracted more than $300 million in deposits and processed 3.6 million daily transactions within two weeks of its launch. He argued that its early activity could pressure competing financial institutions to move beyond limited blockchain pilots and launch products at a similar scale.
Beyond Hyperliquid and Robinhood, Hougan identified Coinbase, Figure, BlackRock, Visa, Stripe, and JPMorgan as companies with meaningful exposure to the transition toward blockchain based financial infrastructure.
Bitcoin has risen 9% since July 1 while the Nasdaq 100 has fallen 6%, according to Hougan. He said improving exchange traded fund flows and market sentiment may indicate that crypto is forming a bottom, though he cautioned that it remains too early to confirm a broader recovery.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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