Bitwise CIO Hougan Declares 'Crypto Spring' as Q3 Sees 46.4% Index Surge

Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan is calling Q3 2026 "one of the best quarters in crypto's history," pointing to a sharp rebound across prices, ETF flows, and onchain activity as evidence that a long-awaited "crypto spring" has arrived. In a quarterly market review published Thursday, the firm reported a 46.4% gain in its large-cap crypto index, alongside $6 billion in US spot Bitcoin ETF inflows that pushed year-to-date net flows back into positive territory.

The rally was widespread among major cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin rose 42.3% during the quarter, while Ether climbed 69.1% and Solana gained 59.2%. All 10 constituents of Bitwise's large-cap crypto index posted double-digit quarterly gains, with Chainlink leading the pack at 97.6%. Beyond price performance, tokenized equities surged 65.5% to nearly $3.2 billion, and open interest on decentralized perpetual futures reached a record near $26 billion, increasingly tied to stocks, commodities, forex, and pre-IPO shares. "Page after page after page, it's all the same: the most recent part of the chart is turning sharply upwards," Hougan wrote.

Not every sector participated in the rebound, however. Bitcoin miners Riot Platforms and Hut 8 declined 26.4% and 25.4% respectively during the quarter, while Galaxy Digital fell 16.8%. The number of public companies holding Bitcoin dropped nearly 6% to 173, though combined holdings grew 0.5%. Public Ether holders also decreased from 40 to 35 companies. Despite the strong Q3 recovery, Bitwise's large-cap crypto index remained down 6.2% year-to-date through September, underscoring how much ground the market still needs to reclaim. CryptoQuant had previously confirmed a new Bitcoin bull market based on technical and onchain indicators in September, though other analysts like Bitget's Ryan Lee have urged caution pending further confirmation of a cycle bottom.