Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan held eight meetings with financial advisors in a single day—a record in his eight years at the firm. He spoke with more than 40 professionals who manage client money. The takeaway was unexpected.
Advisors are still interested in crypto, but their attention has shifted. Right now, stablecoins and tokenization are getting the love—not bitcoin.
Hot topic: Bitcoin Price Faces Deeper Capitulation as Buyers Bleed, Analysts Warn
“It was pretty hard to engage advisors in a discussion about bitcoin this week. Call after call, they showed much more curiosity about real-world crypto applications that are rapidly changing capital markets and global payments,” Hougan wrote in a June 10 research note.
Still, he sees cryptocurrency’s current price around $60K as attractive for long-term investors. At the time of publication, Bitcoin (BTC) trades at roughly $63,050, up just over 3% on the day.
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Why Advisors Have Shifted From Bitcoin to Stablecoins and Tokenization
Hougan highlighted two main reasons:
- The “fiat devaluation” narrative has taken a back seat. Gold, for example, is trading 20% below its all-time high.
- Stablecoins and tokenization have taken center stage in the news cycle.
“It’s hard to turn on CNBC and not hear SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, or Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, or BlackRock CEO Larry Fink discussing these topics. Investors want to be part of this,” he said.
Data from analytics firm Artemis confirms the trend. Mentions of stablecoins in SEC filings and investor presentations peaked at around 1,000 in the Q1 of 2026.
The regulatory backdrop has also shifted. In February, the SEC allowed broker-dealers to apply a 2% capital charge for payment stablecoins, effectively treating them as near-cash. That followed the GENIUS Act of 2025, which created a federal category for payment stablecoins.
Read more: Why Stablecoins Are the New Global Payment Layer in 2026 — The Shift in Global Finance
Where the Money Will Flow: Ethereum, Solana, Circle, and Coinbase
According to Hougan, if financial advisors become marginal buyers in the next cycle, capital will flow toward stablecoin and tokenization investments. His conversations frequently mentioned blockchains like Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Canton, as well as Chainlink (LINK) and Avalanche (AVAX). Specific companies included Figure, Circle, and Coinbase.
Hougan noted that historically, every bull cycle has been driven out of a bear market by new product breakthroughs and new types of investors. U.S. spot crypto ETFs pulled the market out of the 2022 crisis.
Now, the best hope lies with financial advisors and institutional investors. They’re still interested in crypto—but their focus has shifted to blockchain’s practical applications.
Learn more: Top Crypto Trends and Narratives That Could Explode in H2 2026
