Finance08 August, 20262 min read
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan Says Trillions In Institutional Capital Could Push Bitcoin To $1.3M By 2035
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Institutional capital could flow trillions into Bitcoin over the coming decade. Even modest allocations by large institutions could push Bitcoin toward $1.3 million by 2035.
Bitwise’s $1.3M thesis
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan told CoinDesk that trillions of dollars could flow into bitcoin over the next decade as financial advisers and family offices begin allocating at scale. Hougan said institutions globally manage between $100 trillion and $200 trillion in assets, and that a 1% allocation to bitcoin would translate into enough demand to support his long-term price target of $1.3 million per coin by 2035.
“Hougan said in an email interview on Friday.”
In the same CoinDesk interview, Hougan framed the move as a shift from retail-driven growth, saying, "Crypto grew up in retail, which took it from $0 to $2 trillion." Hougan added that the institutional-led path is expected to take "10+ years," tying the timeline to the pace at which large pools of capital adopt bitcoin.
Who moves first
Hougan told CoinDesk that the first professional investors to allocate at scale would be financial advisers and family offices, with later participation expected from pension plans and sovereign wealth funds. He pointed to evidence of early institutional interest in 13F filings for spot bitcoin ETFs and in moves by large wealth firms, including Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, to make bitcoin more accessible to clients.
In a separate CoinDesk framing, Hougan said, "Institutions have most of the money in the world," and argued that institutional capital would be required for bitcoin to grow from $2 trillion to $20 trillion. Bitcoin World similarly reported Hougan’s view that the initial wave would likely come from financial advisers and family offices, followed by pension funds, insurers, sovereign wealth funds, and even central banks.
Gold comparison and ETF access
Hougan’s $1.3 million-by-2035 target also rests on a store-of-value comparison to gold, with CoinDesk reporting that gold’s market capitalization rose from about $2 trillion when gold ETFs launched in 2004 to roughly $30 trillion today. CoinDesk quoted Hougan saying, "Gold is a $30 trillion asset," and that if bitcoin captured 50% of that market, each bitcoin would be worth $715,000.
Hougan argued that spot bitcoin ETFs offer easier access for institutions, and he said the shift is already visible in 13F filings for spot bitcoin ETFs. CoinDesk also reported that Hougan expects the next decade’s demand to be driven less by corporate buyers like Strategy and more by institutions such as pension plans, endowments, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, and central banks.