Bitwise says 'we’re not bullish enough’ amid political sway to crypto

Bitwise’s Matt Hougan said the idea that US politicians are even considering Bitcoin as a reserve asset is a monumental step given it felt more like a “daydream” a year ago.

After hearing several influential United States politicians embrace Bitcoin at a recent Bitcoin  conference in Nashville, Bitwise’s chief investment officer Matt Hougan says he left with one big takeaway: “We’re not bullish enough.”

In a July 31 post, Hougan said several recent promises made by these US politicians have prompted him to “rethink what’s possible” with Bitcoin (BTC).

Among those promises were Republican candidate Donald Trump’s plan to build a strategic national Bitcoin stockpile, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis’ announcement of a Bitcoin reserve bill to clean up the country’s $35 trillion debt crisis and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s promise to make the US Treasury buy 500 Bitcoin per day until at least 4 million Bitcoin is reached.

“These ideas would have been the stuff of daydreams a year ago. But after what I witnessed last week, they look more likely than not,” said Hougan: 

“Less than two years ago, FTX was collapsing in a historic fraud, bitcoin was trading at $17,000, and skeptics were dancing on crypto’s grave. Now politicians are openly talking about building a “Bitcoin Fort Knox.”

Hougan furthered his case by highlighting the US Department of Justice’s recent partnership with Coinbase 12 months after the US securities regulator sued the firm which claimed it was operating as an unregistered securities exchange.

Hougan noted many politicians may not “truly love” Bitcoin and are simply “genuflecting” to its rising popularity — but where they lie on that spectrum may not even matter:

“Politicians are embracing crypto because Americans are embracing crypto.”

Related: Jack Dorsey says Bitcoin will be worth ‘at least a million’ by 2030

While Hougan didn’t provide a price prediction, Michael Saylor — the mastermind behind MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin investment strategy — estimated Bitcoin would reach $13 million before 2045 at the Bitcoin 2024 conference.

His “bull case” price prediction was even higher at $49 million — close to a recent prediction by crypto asset manager VanEck that Bitcoin could reach $52 million by 2050.

Despite the bullishness, Bitcoin is down over 8% since it nearly clipped $70,000 on July 29 and is still 13.4% off the $73,737 all-time high price it set on March 14, CoinGecko data shows.