Bitwise Crypto Review Highlights Shift in Market Sentiment and Growth

Bitwise reports Q4 2025 as a potential turning point for crypto, highlighting growth trends and mixed predictions for 2026.

Bitwise’s recent report suggests that the fourth quarter of 2025 may mark the end of the crypto bear market.

Despite a weak market performance, strong fundamentals indicate potential for a rebound.

Matt Hougan, the firm’s chief investment officer, pointed out that this situation is similar to early 2023 when the market recovered from the FTX collapse.

Analysts remain divided, with some predicting a slow recovery in 2026, while others expect stronger market growth.

Q4 2025: Market Struggles Despite Strong Fundamentals

According to Bitwise, Q4 2025 showed mixed signals for the crypto market. The market’s price performance was weak, but underlying fundamentals remained solid.

Despite this, the report highlighted significant growth in key areas, including Ethereum and layer-2 transactions.

This mirrors early 2023 when, despite challenges, crypto assets like Bitcoin rebounded strongly.

Matt Hougan explained that the data in Q4 was “topsy-turvy,” with some areas showing growth and others stagnating.

Despite the pullbacks, Hougan sees these mixed signals as part of the bottoming process of a bear market. He suggested that strong fundamentals could eventually lead to a market recovery in the near future.

Key Trends for Growth in 2026: Positive Indicators

Bitwise identified several key trends in Q4 2025 that could drive crypto market growth in 2026.

Ethereum and layer-2 transactions reached new all-time highs, reflecting growing demand for decentralized applications.

Additionally, according to Bitwise crypto-native companies continued to see revenue growth, surpassing many traditional industries in key metrics.

Stablecoin transactions surged, with their market capitalization exceeding $300 billion, showing an increasing demand for fiat-pegged assets.

The report also highlighted strong adoption of decentralized finance (DeFi), especially with decentralized exchanges like Uniswap.

These trends suggest that the crypto market remains strong despite short-term price fluctuations.

At the same time, Ethereum’s price fell 29%, while transactions hit record levels.

Crypto equities dropped 20%, but crypto company revenues grew three times faster than other sectors.

Despite the bearish sentiment, stablecoin assets and transactions soared, reflecting the typical market behavior at the bottom of bear markets: weak sentiment but strong fundamentals.

Related Reading:  SEC Approves Bitwise Spot Chainlink ETF for NYSE Arca Listing

Diverging Predictions for 2026: Analyst Views

Looking ahead to 2026, analysts have different outlooks for the crypto market.

Tom Lee from Fundstrat believes the market could face challenges throughout the year.

He cites political tensions and tariffs as obstacles to growth in the first part of 2026. However, Lee expects a market recovery toward the end of the year.

In contrast, VanEck predicts a positive first quarter for crypto, driven by clearer U.S. fiscal policies. The firm sees this as a strong foundation for risk-on assets, such as crypto. 

Bitwise also sees several factors that could boost market growth, such as the progress of the CLARITY Act and the launch of crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

These factors may provide the momentum needed for a market rebound in 2026.

The post Bitwise Crypto Review Highlights Shift in Market Sentiment and Growth appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.