According to Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan, Bitcoin is ready for a rise! Here’s what’s needed for the increase.

According to Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan, Bitcoin is behaving in a "quite different" way during the current market downturn, which indicates increasing maturity and resilience.

Bitcoin Shows Signs of Maturity, Ready to Generate Profits if Macro Winds Decrease

In a customer note published early on Tuesday, Hougan emphasized that Bitcoin has remained nearly unchanged over the past month.

"Bitcoin is trading at $84,379. A month ago, it was $84,317. That's a return of 0.07% within 30 days," Hougan wrote. "There have been huge forces impacting the crypto market in every way, from the U.S. building a Bitcoin strategic reserve to President Trump imposing tariffs all over the world, and we've gone right sideways."

Hougan noted that while U.S. stocks have fallen since their peak in February, the S&P 500 has dropped by 12%. Bitcoin followed suit with a 12.4% decline, but this still indicates significant performance compared to previous macro sell-offs.

For example, during the market decline in 2022, Bitcoin lost 58.3% in value compared to S&P's 24.5% drop. Similarly, during the pandemic crash at the beginning of 2020 and the 2018 US-China trade war, Bitcoin's losses far exceeded those of stocks.

"Since Bitcoin surpassed $1 in 2011, it has never performed better than the stock market during a full market correction. This time, I think it has a chance," says Hougan.

Although gold has overshadowed both stocks and Bitcoin during the current correction process, Hougan emphasized that Bitcoin's recent resistance – holding above $80,000 amid global uncertainty – is evidence of its increasing role as a resilient asset.

"The world is unraveling and Bitcoin is trading above $80,000. If that doesn't give you confidence in its lasting power, I don't know what will," he said.

Although Hougan avoided calling Bitcoin a complete hedge asset, he suggested that the behavior of cryptocurrency indicates a structural change. As institutional and official interest increases, cryptocurrency is shedding its high-risk asset label and is increasingly being seen as digital gold.