Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at asset manager Bitwise, says the crypto market’s current downturn marks the end of the meme coin boom.
While Bitcoin (BTC) fell to a three-month low, dipping below $90,000, the Bitwise CIO believes the flagship digital asset will rebound. However, he is not as bullish on meme coins.
According to Hougan, the meme coin frenzy, seen earlier this year with the likes of Official Trump and Official Melania, is nearing its end. He suggests this could happen within the next six months.
“What crypto is digesting right now is the end of the memecoin boom. The combination of Melania, Libra, and the Lazarus Group using memecoins to launder stolen ETH will kill it dead. Maybe not today, but within 6 months,” he posted on X.
The crypto market just saw over $1.5 billion wiped wiped out in 24-hour liquidations, with meme coins among the hardest hit.
Dogecoin (DOGE), Pepe (PEPE), and TRUMP (TRUMP) have dropped more than 14% each. MELANIA was down more than 25%.
Hougan, who has previously predicted Bitcoin could break its four-year cycle amid regulatory and strategic reserve developments, suggests that negative sentiment surrounding meme coins is dragging the market down. However, he remains optimistic about Bitcoin, stablecoins, and tokenization. He also believes that decentralized finance could experience a revival.
Striking a bullish tone in his tweet, Hougan stated:
“The good news is there are already things ready to replace it, including the institutional adoption of bitcoin, stablecoins, tokenization, and a rebirth in DeFi. But until they start making their presence felt, the loss of energy will create a drag on the market.”
Despite this, the Bitwise executive acknowledges that market sentiment remains largely negative, citing recent meme coin scandals like LIBRA as a contributing factor.
However, he remains bullish on altcoins.
In early February this year, Hougan noted in a client report that crypto presents an opportunity amid projections for bullish institutional adoption and notable retail bearishness. He suggested that altcoins could benefit from this environment, particularly as top cryptocurrencies see a wave of spot exchange-traded fund filings.
