Crypto's Value Lies in Trillion-Dollar Markets, Bitwise Says

Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan said crypto’s critics often miss the scale of what’s at stake, in a report published Monday.

Bitcoin BTC$66,410.69, with a $2.3 trillion market value, is often compared to Amazon (AMZN), Hougan noted.

But while Amazon’s worth comes from the fact that it’s used by millions every day, bitcoin’s value stems from the market it’s competing with: gold, a $25 trillion asset, the report said. Capturing less than 10% of gold’s share would justify bitcoin’s current valuation. By contrast, a startup trying to replace Amazon would need to take over its entire market.

The same dynamic applies to Ethereum, Solana and other blockchains, Bitwise said, which are positioning themselves to handle payments, settlement and tokenized assets.

The report noted that the global payments industry processes $1.8 quadrillion annually, while the combined value of stocks, bonds and real estate is estimated at $665 trillion.

Those kinds of numbers explain why ether trades at around $500 billion and solana near $100 billion. Unlike centralized companies, decentralized platforms can credibly capture pieces of such vast markets, argued Hougan.

Hougan also points to Tether, reportedly exploring a $500 billion valuation. At first glance, comparing Tether to companies like OpenAI or SpaceX seems implausible. But Tether already dominates stablecoin use in emerging markets, and if adoption grows to the point where USDT replaces local currencies in some countries, its assets could run into the trillions. At that scale, Tether could surpass even Saudi Aramco’s record $120 billion in annual profits.

For investors, the lesson is that crypto isn’t chasing small opportunities, it’s taking aim at some of the largest addressable markets in the world, the report added.

Read more: Ether Treasuries Are Going Mainstream: Crypto Investment Firm Bitwise