Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan has laid out a compelling bullish thesis for Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), citing a powerful demand shock as the catalyst for explosive upside over the next 18 months.
What Happened: In a podcast with Scott Melker, Hougan predicts Bitcoin will reach $200,000 by the end of 2025, driven by institutional demand growing 5 to 10 times faster than supply.
He called this surge "a math problem," emphasizing: "When demand is 5x to 10x supply, the price tends to go up. And I think that's the story in crypto right now."
He pointed to rising corporate adoption, such as Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) and other treasury allocators, as a key piece of the demand puzzle.
The imbalance is even more pronounced in Ethereum, Hougan noted.
Since mid-May, companies and ETFs have purchased 32x more ETH than has been issued, sparking what he describes as a “demand shock.”
Inflows into ETH ETFs have soared to $4.4 billion this month alone, suggesting the early stages of a major institutional reallocation.
Also Read: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Dogecoin Under Pressure As Retail Traders Short Ahead Of FOMC
Why It Matters: Hougan says the next major catalyst could be the integration of crypto into retirement accounts, highlighting Donald Trump's proposal to allow 401(k)s and IRAs to invest in Bitcoin.
"That's $8 trillion in retirement accounts potentially gaining exposure to Bitcoin," Hougan said. "It's like a government-mandated DCA, 20 million Americans putting 2.5% of their wealth into BTC regularly."
This growing infrastructure is also triggering what Hougan calls an "altcoin season in TradFi", where investors rotate profits from Bitcoin ETFs into Ethereum, crypto-treasury firms, and other digital assets.
ARK Invest recently showcased this trend, selling off Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) stock to buy shares in Tom Lee's Bitcoin treasury company.
Bitwise also sees yield generation on Bitcoin holdings as the most in-demand service among its institutional clients, further evidence of maturing market dynamics.
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