Bitcoin’s 10% Dip: A Buying Opportunity, Says Bitwise CIO
As Bitcoin experienced a 10% slide from its all-time high to $96,000 this week, Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan joined other veteran crypto analysts in downplaying concerns over the market’s volatility.
In an interview with Coinage, Hougan contextualized the decline within the broader bull market, emphasizing that the core drivers of cryptocurrency growth remain strong.
“This is a sharp pullback… but if you step back, $96,000 is still a pretty good place to be,” Hougan stated. He contrasted the current environment with previous market cycles, noting that institutional interest from Wall Street and firms like BlackRock has solidified Bitcoin’s position. “A few years ago, after a pullback like this, headlines would question if crypto was dead or going to zero. Those doubts have been laid to rest.”
Ethereum, which saw a 12% decline during the same period, also remains a key area of focus. Hougan described the dip as more of a buying opportunity than a reason for concern. “We’ve turned the page on ETF flows into ETH, and it’s still gaining market share on the stablecoin side,” he explained. Bitwise maintains its bullish outlook, with a $7,000 price target for Ethereum by 2025, supported by adoption growth in DeFi, tokenization, and AI-powered applications.
Hougan attributed the recent market sell-off primarily to the unwinding of leveraged positions, rather than a fundamental breakdown. Data from Coinglass revealed that over $1 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated within 24 hours. “This pullback is essentially a cleansing of leverage in the system,” he said. Grayscale’s Managing Director of Research, Zach Pandl, echoed this sentiment in a separate Coinage interview, affirming that the long-term trend for crypto remains intact.
Addressing investors navigating the turbulence, Hougan offered a message of reassurance: “This is a hiccup, not a reversal in trend. If you were considering entering the market when Bitcoin was at $108,000 and Ethereum at $4,000, this pullback might be the opportunity you were waiting for.”
With continued ETF inflows, robust institutional backing, and a favorable regulatory landscape, Hougan remains confident in the ongoing bull market. “Crypto has its own momentum, and none of that has been reversed,” he concluded.
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