Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan has projected that Bitcoin (BTC) could reach between $250,000 and $400,000 during the next crypto bull market, a surge he attributes to growing institutional adoption and the expansion of decentralized finance rather than retail speculation. Speaking on The Wolf of All Streets podcast on Sunday, Hougan stated that Bitcoin is currently in the process of forming a market bottom, describing the present environment as a "Great Reset" characterized by collapsing leverage, declining funding rates, and normalizing ETF flows.

Hougan identified several indicators supporting his view that the market is stabilizing despite ongoing negative headlines. He noted that Bitcoin remained stable following Strategy Inc.'s sale of Bitcoin holdings and as the probability of the CLARITY Act passing declined. "The most telling signal is when markets stop reacting to bad news," Hougan said, suggesting that this resilience marks a shift in market structure. If the CLARITY Act fails to pass, Hougan expects smaller-cap tokens to face one to two months of volatility before longer-term adoption trends reassert themselves.

Unlike previous cycles driven by retail speculation, Hougan expects the next bull market to be fueled by institutional capital entering digital assets through wealth management platforms. He highlighted that major financial firms including Wells Fargo, UBS, and Merrill Lynch are steadily expanding their crypto offerings, a trend he anticipates will accelerate in the second half of the year. This institutional influx is expected to drive allocations from financial advisors, family offices, and larger investors, providing a more stable foundation for price appreciation.

DeFi and Tokenization Leaders

Hougan emphasized that decentralized finance protocols with improving tokenomics and growing revenue are positioned to outperform as tokenization adoption expands. He specifically highlighted Hyperliquid, Uniswap, Morpho, Aerodrome, and Lighter as projects benefiting from this structural shift. While Ethereum continues to dominate institutional adoption, Hougan gave a slight edge to Solana for benefiting from the tokenization trend due to its technical infrastructure.

Long-Term Outlook

Looking beyond the immediate cycle, Hougan maintained that Bitcoin remains on a long-term path toward $1 million, although he cautioned that percentage gains are likely to moderate as the asset matures. The transition from speculative trading to utility-driven adoption via tokenization and decentralized finance represents a fundamental change in how value is captured within the crypto ecosystem. This shift suggests that while volatility may persist in the short term, particularly if regulatory clarity remains elusive, the underlying demand drivers are becoming increasingly institutional and sustainable.

Bitcoin traded around $63,848 on Monday, holding above key support levels as broader macro volatility subsided following recent market turbulence. The digital asset's stability comes amid mixed institutional flows and significant retail liquidations, highlighting a period of consolidation within the cryptocurrency sector. While major equities bounced, crypto markets remained cautious, with Ethereum, XRP, and Dogecoin trading largely flat against the dollar.

Institutional investment flows showed divergence between Bitcoin and Ethereum products. SoSoValue data revealed net outflows of $265.4 million from spot Bitcoin ETFs on Friday, indicating profit-taking or risk-off positioning among large investors. Conversely, spot Ethereum ETFs attracted net inflows of $9.03 million during the same period, suggesting selective interest in alternative smart-contract platforms despite the broader market pause.

Retail trading activity experienced sharp corrections, with Coinglass reporting that 67,757 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours. The total value of these liquidations reached $257.04 million, reflecting the high leverage employed by market participants during recent price swings. This wave of forced exits underscores the ongoing volatility risks for leveraged positions, even as spot prices stabilize.

Cryptocurrency Price Overview

Market sentiment remains divided among technical analysts and traders. Crypto trader Michael van de Poppe stated that Bitcoin and broader markets are consolidating after Monday’s selloff, expecting an upward trend to resume over the next few days. However, CryptosBatman noted that Bitcoin has reached a key technical inflection point where the 200-day EMA and descending channel resistance converge, a level expected to determine the next major directional move.

Trader Justin Bennett explained that Bitcoin faces a critical battle at the $64,000 level. While whale positioning has turned more bullish, declining open interest suggests the current price action is driven by short covering rather than new long positions. Bennett added that aggressive selling at the bid/ask, similar to previous swing highs, indicates sellers currently hold the upper hand.

What the Numbers Show

The divergence between institutional ETF flows and retail liquidation data reveals a split in market confidence. While institutional investors withdrew $265.4 million from Bitcoin products, the simultaneous $257.04 million in retail liquidations suggests that leveraged traders were caught off-guard by volatility. The fact that Ethereum ETFs saw inflows ($9.03 million) while Bitcoin saw outflows implies capital rotation rather than a blanket exit from the crypto asset class, potentially setting up a complex short-term price discovery phase.