Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan believes Bitcoin’s next major wave of demand will come from institutional capital, which he described as the "final boss of investing." Speaking in a Milk Road interview on July 19 alongside Bitwise research head Ryan Rasmussen, Hougan argued that Bitcoin has repeatedly transitioned from one dominant buyer group to another and is now approaching its largest potential source of capital yet.

Who Buys After Strategy?

Hougan outlined Bitcoin’s history of demand leadership, noting that before Strategy Inc., demand was led by the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. Before Grayscale, U.S. retail investors followed Asian retail buyers and Bitcoin’s earliest cypherpunk adopters. Concerns have emerged over whether Bitcoin could face a demand gap as Strategy slows or changes its purchasing activity. Hougan said Bitcoin’s history is defined by its largest buyer eventually handing the baton to a new group, and this time, the identity of the next buyer is already clear.

"The end boss of investing is institutional capital," he said, pointing to financial advisers, pension funds, endowments and sovereign wealth funds. "I think it’s going to be a great bull market for Bitcoin."

Vanguard Signals Institutional Shift

Rasmussen highlighted reports that Vanguard, which manages trillions of dollars, is seeking a senior digital-assets executive to develop its crypto strategy. This marks a major move that crypto is transitioning from offshore and retail-dominated markets toward mainstream institutional infrastructure. Once a major institution embraces digital assets, Hougan said, that decision tends to become a "one-way door." Five years ago, allocating to crypto represented a professional risk. Today, Hougan said appearing openly hostile to digital assets may make executives look as though they have their "head in the sand."

DeFi’s Market Is Bigger Than Crypto

Hougan said institutional adoption will not stop with Bitcoin. Investors have traditionally viewed decentralized finance as serving only the crypto market, which he estimated at roughly $2 trillion. However, he argued that DeFi’s true addressable market is the entire global financial system, potentially worth hundreds of trillions of dollars. As traditional assets move on-chain, decentralized protocols could compete across lending, trading, settlement and asset management. Hougan believes Bitcoin will lead institutions into crypto, while tokenization and DeFi broaden the industry’s opportunity across global finance.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt expects Bitcoin to decline below $50,000 before bottoming in early October, subsequently initiating a cycle that pushes the asset above $250,000 by 2029. Brandt outlined this trajectory in an interview with Cointelegraph’s Trade Secrets, emphasizing that market sentiment must deteriorate significantly before a sustainable floor is established.

Projected Bitcoin Price Targets

Brandt identified October 4 as his specific target for the cycle low, basing this projection on long-term historical cycles observed since Bitcoin's inception. His base case anticipates a bottom in the high $40,000s, potentially preceded by a $10,000 rebound. He noted that while an 80% correction from a $120,000 peak would imply a drop to the $20,000s, Bitcoin's increasing maturity as an asset makes such a severe drawdown less probable this cycle.

Market Dynamics and Sentiment

According to Brandt, true market bottoms are characterized by panic and high volume, contrasting with the current neutral mood. He suggested that sentiment at the bottom will likely reflect the belief that "Bitcoin's time has come and gone." The anticipated bull run towards 2029 is expected to include intermittent corrections of 20% to 40%, designed to eliminate weak hands while strong holders accumulate. Brandt views Bitcoin as a superior store of value alongside gold, positioning both assets as long-term shorts against fiat currencies.

Altcoins and External Opportunities

Regarding the broader market, Brandt described AI stocks as an "obscene bubble" comparable to the dotcom era in 2000, warning that current valuations could lead to regret within two to three years. He suggested that precious metals are nearer to a price bottom, while Bitcoin is closer to a time bottom. For a hypothetical $10,000 portfolio, he recommended a scale-down buying plan split between gold, silver, and Bitcoin.

Brandt also pointed to indicators suggesting a potential altcoin season through the summer. He highlighted Ethereum, projecting a possible bottom around $1,850 with a subsequent move toward $2,100 to $2,500. Cardano was noted for displaying a recognizable bottoming pattern around $0.16, with the potential to double from that level. His advice to traders focused on purchasing assets with the strongest charts showing classical bottoming formations rather than lagging assets hoping for catch-up moves.