Bitcoin’s push toward $85,000 has investors eyeing the next move — especially as broader macro jitters, tariffs, and government intervention cast a shadow over markets.

But for Bitwise’s Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan, this latest price chop is just noise against a much larger backdrop in a march to $200,000.

“My base case... is that both of these are the wrong assumptions,” Hougan said, referring to economic concerns and market disappointment over the recent executive order on Bitcoin reserves. He believes the market has misread the order entirely, arguing, “I think [the market] will soon realize that that’s a bullish catalyst.”

That bullishness extends to a long-term price target for Bitcoin, which Bitwise has set at $200,000 by the end of the year. Hougan remains unfazed by short-term pullbacks, suggesting that dips to $72,000 are possible but ultimately inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. “From my view, if you're investing in Bitcoin, you're making a bet that it will be worth $1 million in the future,” he said, noting that whether someone buys at $80,000, $90,000, or even $100,000 is “almost irrelevant.”

Beyond Bitcoin, Hougan sees a significant shift in how altcoins are valued. “I think people’s thought on how to value those assets is changing,” he explained, suggesting that the days of treating altcoins as merely high-beta Bitcoin trades are ending. Instead, Hougan argues that each will be judged on its own merits, particularly in attracting users and applications. “I think you’re going to see sort of a rapid separation of the good ones from the bad ones.”

That shift could create some challenges for Solana, a chain that skyrocketed in popularity during the meme coin boom, but has since seen activity decline sharply. “If you think of Ethereum sort of suffering from a narrative gap in 2024, I think there’s at least a risk that Solana suffers from a narrative gap as it transitions from meme coin sort of focused activity to more real world, asset-focused activity,” Hougan noted. Despite that, he remains long-term bullish, calling Solana an essential part of the crypto ecosystem: “I wouldn’t own a portfolio of crypto assets that didn’t include Solana.”

Meanwhile, Ripple (XRP) has been one of the few non-Bitcoin tokens to outperform since Trump’s victory, a move that Hougan attributes to the resolution of its regulatory battle with the SEC. “They were simply unable to execute on that strategy with the sort of the SEC on top of them,” he explained, adding that XRP’s business model, which targets financial institutions, was effectively frozen for years. While he believes XRP’s gains are justified, Hougan thinks the entire crypto sector is due for a reevaluation. “The entire space... in my view, should be revalued and reconsidered in this new regulatory era. And I’m quite frankly surprised it hasn’t happened yet in the market.”

As for when that revaluation will kick in? Hougan points to Washington, expecting the government to “blink” at signs of economic distress and reintroduce the easy money policies that have historically fueled Bitcoin’s rallies. “Every time there’s been an economic ripple around the world, politicians have talked tough but ultimately buckled,” he said, predicting that once the government pivots, Bitcoin will move quickly: “Soon enough we will get there.”

With the Bitcoin ETF market booming, governments signaling long-term Bitcoin accumulation, and corporations increasingly adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets, Hougan sees massive demand continuing to build. Bitwise also just launched its own ETF that includes companies that are adding Bitcoin to their balance sheet.

“We think these are among the most forward-thinking companies in the world,” he said of firms putting Bitcoin on their books. And while investors debate the next move at $80,000, Hougan remains laser-focused on the bigger picture.