Hyperliquid and Robinhood are among the companies best positioned to lead the next growth cycle of cryptocurrencies. That is the assessment of Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, who believes that the integration between the traditional financial system and blockchain infrastructure should drive a new phase for the sector.
In a memorandum released to the market, Hougan explained that the next bull market may present different characteristics from previous cycles. According to him, the advance tends to be sustained by the increase in financial activity, revenue generation, and institutional adoption, rather than depending mainly on speculation.
In the Bitwise director's assessment, this transformation will be driven by the expansion of stablecoins, asset tokenization, trading available 24 hours a day, near-instant settlement, and the evolution of decentralized finance aimed at the institutional market.
Hougan divides the main beneficiaries of this change into two groups. The first brings together native cryptocurrency protocols that can turn the growth of their platforms into value for their tokens. The second encompasses traditional financial sector companies that have started developing products directly on blockchain networks.
Among the protocols, Hyperliquid was cited as the main highlight. The layer 1 blockchain initially gained ground with its decentralized perpetual futures exchange, but expanded its operations to markets linked to traditional assets, including commodities and stock indices.
According to Hougan, Hyperliquid surpassed US$ 1 billion in cumulative revenue through June and has the potential to generate approximately US$ 800 millions throughout this year. The executive also highlighted that 99% of the protocol's revenue is allocated to repurchasing HYPE tokens on the open market.
For the Bitwise director, this model solves a deficiency observed in several cryptocurrency protocols, which are able to increase trading volume and revenue without creating proportional demand for their own tokens. He also mentioned Uniswap, Aave, and Morpho as examples of projects that have been strengthening the relationship between platform usage and the appreciation of their assets.
In the segment of traditional companies, Hougan highlighted Robinhood as one of the most advanced companies in adopting blockchain infrastructure.
The brokerage launched its Robinhood Chain on 1º de julho. The layer 2 network was developed with Arbitrum technology to offer financial services and support tokenized real-world assets.
In addition, the company made tokens linked to stocks available through its self-custody wallet for users in more than 120 countries, respecting local regulatory restrictions. Qualified investors can trade these assets 24 hours a day and access decentralized applications, such as Uniswap and Lighter.
These products consist of tokenized debt securities that offer economic exposure to the corresponding stocks, but do not grant legal rights or equity ownership to investors. They are also not available to users in the United States.
According to Hougan, Robinhood Chain attracted more than US$ 300 millions in deposits and recorded about 3,6 million daily transactions in the first two weeks after launch. In the executive's view, these results may encourage other financial institutions to accelerate blockchain projects at commercial scale.
In addition to Hyperliquid and Robinhood, Hougan stated that companies such as Coinbase, Figure, BlackRock, Visa, Stripe, and JPMorgan also hold a strategic position in the expansion of blockchain-based financial infrastructure.
The Bitwise director also noted that Bitcoin had accumulated a gain of 9% since 1º de julho, while the Nasdaq 100 had recorded a decline of 6% in the same period. According to him, the improvement in flows into Bitcoin ETFs and the evolution of investor sentiment suggest that the cryptocurrency market may be forming a more solid base for a new growth cycle, supported by greater institutional adoption and recurring revenue.