Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan identified two investment categories best positioned for the next crypto bull market: the “Hyperliquid Lane” and the “Robinhood Lane.” He believes the next cycle will be driven by the convergence of onchain and traditional finance through trends such as stablecoins, tokenization, 24/7 trading, and institutional DeFi. The Hyperliquid category includes crypto applications with strong tokenomics that directly link token value to platform revenue. The Robinhood category consists of existing companies actively building financial services on blockchain infrastructure at real scale, rather than running small pilot programs.
Matt Hougan, Bitwise’s CIO, said investors should focus on two types of investments as blockchain technology integrates more deeply with traditional finance. He labeled them the “Hyperliquid Lane” and the “Robinhood Lane.”
The Hyperliquid Lane includes crypto financial applications that generate meaningful revenues and tie token value to platform activity through strong tokenomics. Hougan noted that Hyperliquid itself has built a large derivatives platform that expanded beyond crypto into traditional markets. The protocol surpassed $1 billion in lifetime revenue in June and is on pace to generate about $800 million this year.
Under Hyperliquid’s token model, 99% of protocol revenue is used to buy back HYPE tokens on the open market, reducing supply. Hougan said this combination of real revenues and aggressive token buybacks differentiates Hyperliquid from earlier crypto applications that attracted users without delivering value to token holders. He added that more crypto projects are expected to adopt similar tokenomics over time.
The second category, the Robinhood Lane, consists of existing companies building financial services on blockchain infrastructure rather than limiting themselves to pilot programs. Hougan cited Robinhood’s launch of its Layer 2 blockchain on July 1 as an example. Within two weeks, the Robinhood Chain accumulated more than $300 million in deposits and processed 3.6 million daily transactions.
He said companies experimenting with crypto at real scale are better positioned than firms conducting small proof-of-concept projects because they are gaining practical experience as financial markets evolve.
