Here's a shift worth paying attention to: crypto is growing up. According to Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, the industry is moving past its speculation-heavy adolescence into something more substantial, where regulation and real-world use cases actually matter. And the CLARITY Act might be the catalyst that accelerates everything.

Speaking on a Milk Road podcast, Hougan made the case that Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) could reach new all-time highs if the bill passes. Why? Because institutions have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for regulatory certainty. Give them clear rules, and suddenly hundreds of trillions of dollars in traditional assets could move on-chain through tokenization. That would make today's blockchain valuations look downright cheap.

Stablecoins Are Already Changing the Game

While Washington debates legislation, stablecoins are quietly becoming the biggest real-world crypto use case. They enable low-cost, instant global payments and function as a financial lifeline in high-inflation economies. The growth isn't coming from U.S. exchanges anymore—it's being driven by fast-growing local apps in places like Argentina, Nigeria, and Mexico that convert local currencies into dollar-backed stablecoins.

This success is breeding resistance. Bitwise expects at least one emerging-market currency crisis in 2026 to be blamed on stablecoins, as governments worry about "stablecoin-driven dollarization." Still, Hougan believes long-term adoption will continue, with some users eventually rotating into Bitcoin.

What Comes Next

Beyond stablecoins, Hougan sees decentralized, ETF-like investment vaults making a comeback in 2026 after poorly managed products flopped in 2025. With better curators and improved risk controls, assets under management could double from roughly $8–$10 billion to $20 billion as interest rates fall and yield-seeking capital looks for new homes.

On the institutional front, Bitwise predicts deeper acceptance ahead. Roughly half of Ivy League endowments could gain crypto exposure following early adopters like Harvard. That's a meaningful shift in how traditional finance views digital assets.

The CLARITY Act remains the wild card. Optimism is building for passage in early 2026, but timing is uncertain. If it does pass, Hougan argues it would provide durable market-structure rules that unlock institutional-scale tokenization and reshape the outlook for Ethereum and Solana. The question isn't whether crypto will grow—it's how fast regulators will let it happen.