- Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan believes the current crypto market weakness is masking a structural shift in token design, leading to a potential market rebound in 2026.
- Hougan argues that tokens are evolving from “vague governance” roles to designs that directly capture economic value for holders, similar to traditional companies.
- He cites Uniswap’s proposal to burn a portion of the UNI token and implement a protocol fee, along with the growing focus on staking for XRP, as key examples of this value-capture trend.
Bitwise’s CIO, Matt Hougan, believes a 2026 market rebound is possible thanks to a structural shift where crypto tokens are moving from vague governance protocols to economic designs that better capture economic value for holders.
In a post on X, Hougan argued that recent market weakness is obscuring a structural change in token design. Earlier generations of tokens, he said, were created in a tougher regulatory environment and often limited themselves to “vague governance” roles to avoid legal risk.
Most of today’s tokens were created in a regulatory era where value capture was risky; as a result, they defaulted to vague governance-style design choices. Under the new regulatory climate, that’s being unwound.I think we’ll start to feel this effect in 2026.
Matt HouganWith clearer rules emerging, projects are beginning to adjust their economics to more directly benefit holders, functioning more like traditional companies.
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Hougan highlighted Uniswap as a key example, stating that a key proposal talks about turning on a protocol fee mechanism (called UNIfication) that burns a portion of UNI, the network’s native token, and building a new system to provide higher liquidity returns.
If approved, Hougan said the changes could eventually push UNI into the top 10 crypto assets by market cap because trading activity would more directly support the token.
For XRP, he noted that the community is focusing more on growing value for the crypto asset.
You see a growing focus on value capture in XRP as well. The community is starting to consider ideas like staking, which would change the economics for token holders.
Matt HouganAcross major networks, Hougan argued, the common trend is a growing focus on designing tokens that systematically capture more of the value generated on their platforms. An example of this would be Ripple Labs’ recent proposal to add staking to the XRP Ledger (XRPL), a move that could push the XRP token deeper into DeFi.
Related: XRP ETF Wave Surges as Bitwise Joins Wall Street Stampede Despite 45% Price Slide
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