Bitwise CEO Horsley Questions the 2026 'Blockchain Beyond Bitcoin' Narrative
Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley stated that while he acknowledges tokenization and stablecoins in the 2026 'Blockchain Beyond Bitcoin' narrative, he has yet to see the practical utility of public chains like Ethereum and Solana. Horsley believes that most Layer 1s outside of Bitcoin lack practicality in the current cycle. The divergence in institutional views highlights the strengthening dominance of Bitcoin, with funds concentrating on Bitcoin and stablecoin infrastructure, while alt Layer 1 projects face pressure from both narrative and capital. Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Hunter Horsley, leading Bitwise, has long focused on Bitcoin and mainstream assets, previously emphasizing Bitcoin's scarcity during market cycles, maintaining his position as an institutional Bitcoin advocate, similar to the shift from altcoins to BTC by institutions after 2021. Bitwise continues to allocate resources to Bitcoin products and ETFs rather than broadly to alt Layer 1s, motivated by seizing the long-term opportunity of Bitcoin as a value store with clear regulation, avoiding high-risk public chain competition. Similar to institutions like MicroStrategy and Ark Invest concentrating bets on Bitcoin during bull markets, and the capital returning after the alt Layer 1 bubble burst in 2022-2023, Bitcoin is currently in a phase of deepening institutional adoption while the practicality of public chains remains to be validated. Essentially, this is about capital concentration: institutional funds are focusing on mature infrastructures like Bitcoin and stablecoins, achieving a transfer of pricing power through clear narratives and regulatory-friendly attributes, accelerating the industry's shift from multi-chain experiments to a Bitcoin-dominated hierarchical structure. ABAB News · Cognitive Laws 1. Institutions only buy what they understand as scarce, not complex utility promises. 2. Tokenization and stablecoins are infrastructure, while Bitcoin is the ultimate settlement layer. 3. In every bull market, capital votes with its feet; alt Layer 1s need to prove real utility beyond narratives.