Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley says 2025 marks a "watershed year" for crypto as regulatory clarity, institutional adoption and mainstream political support converge to reshape the investment landscape for digital assets.
What Happened: Speaking with CNBC at the Bitcoin Conference 2025, Horsley emphasized that the most significant overhang on crypto markets, regulatory uncertainty, has flipped from a headwind into a tailwind.
"2025 is a watershed year… it's absolutely the beginning of a new chapter for the space," he said, pointing to regulatory support from the White House, Congress, and financial regulators as a turning point.
For years, ambiguity from U.S. regulators prevented institutional investors from meaningfully participating in crypto. "It's finally an asset class that they can engage in," Horsley said.
The result: mainstream investors are now entering the space in force. In Q1 alone, 190 new wealth firms invested in Bitwise products for the first time.
This changing backdrop has fueled Bitcoin's latest all-time high near $112,000, but Horsley argues the real significance lies beneath the surface.
"The biggest risk of the space has been removed," he said, referring to the resolution of regulatory uncertainty. With that barrier gone, he believes the opportunity for institutional capital deployment is just beginning.
That optimism is supported by Bitwise's own growth.
The firm manages over $12 billion in assets across ETFs, hedge funds, and crypto income products.
Horsley also pointed to recent milestones, such as a $600 billion wealth manager approving Bitwise's Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) ETFs, as evidence that regulated institutions are moving in.
Also Read: JPMorgan To Accept Crypto-Linked ETFs As Loan Collateral
What’s Next: Looking ahead, stablecoin legislation is on the horizon.
The Senate's advancement of the bipartisan Genius Act signals growing alignment in Washington, and Horsley says lawmakers are now actively responding to constituent demand.
"100 million Americans want to see Bitcoin and crypto flourish in America," he said, noting that regulatory clarity is essential and not optional for mass adoption.
Horsley also echoed Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan's view that stablecoin regulation could be the most important development in crypto's history.
While the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 was transformative, Horsley believes clear legal frameworks are what will ultimately mainstream the asset class.
He compared the current moment to the early days of the iPhone: underappreciated at first, but quickly becoming indispensable once adopted.
"People are going to be surprised when they start seeing Bitcoin at companies that are not crypto companies," he said.
Bitwise and UTXO Management recently projected over $400 billion in institutional inflows into Bitcoin by the end of 2026.
Horsley attributes this to the sheer size of traditional capital markets, which until recently had no path to crypto exposure.
"98% of all Bitcoin that will ever exist has already been mined, and yet 98% of all the capital in the capital markets does not yet own any crypto," he said.
As wealth firms shift from 1% allocations toward 5% or more, Horsley believes the coming wave of capital could exceed most expectations.
"It's not the old school Bitcoin anymore," he said. "You're going to see financial institutions, banks, and tech companies all building services and launching products."
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