Bitwise CIO Hougan defends Trump’s executive order allowing crypto in U.S. 401(k) plans

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan defended Trump’s executive order to allow crypto into the U.S. 401(k). According to Hougan, BTC is just another asset; despite being risky, it was less volatile than Nvidia stock in 2025. 

President Trump issued an executive order allowing cryptocurrency to be included in U.S. 401(k) retirement plans. Hougan revealed that, despite the 401(k) institution being slow, it’s moving in that direction to allow allocations to BTC investments. 

Hougan believes 401(k) is headed to crypto allocations

The retirement plan institution manages roughly $12.2 trillion, providing a significant capital inflow into the crypto ecosystem. For instance, a modest 1% allocation could mean roughly $122 billion being directed into the crypto market, while financial advisors and execs recommend a 2.5%-3% allocation of the retirement portfolio. 

Hougan believes retirement plan institutions are headed toward crypto allocations, with potential inflows expected to arrive late this year due to slow processing across the institutions. If actualized, BlackRock and Fidelity ETFs could greatly benefit, as they are the largest providers of retirement plans. 

So far, BlackRock’s IBIT ETF has recorded approximately $62.3 billion in cumulative inflows, while Fidelity’s FBTC has recorded $11.8 billion, based on on-chain data. As of now, Bitcoin ETFs have a cumulative net inflow of $56.5 billion with a total net assets of $118.6 billion. That is roughly 6.5% of BTC’s total supply. 

Bitwise CIO highlighted how the legislative landscape will influence the crypto markets this year during an interview with an Investopedia host. Hougan stated that if the Clarity Act passes, the market is expected to reach new all-time highs across the cryptocurrency landscape. He said the Digital Clarity Act will provide a clear regulatory framework that will attract more institutional capital into the market. 

Hougan believes more ETFs will be launched this year, noting that the industry needs index-based crypto ETFs. He estimated that the market could attract at least $10 billion into the crypto landscape. He also disclosed that Bitwise is planning to launch index-based exposure ETFs, which will combine exposure to multiple crypto tokens for its customers. 

When asked about BTC’s 4-year cycle, Hougan said that 2026 will be a ‘negative’ year for Bitcoin. He attributed this to the diminishing significance of Bitcoin’s halvings. So far, not much BTC is being produced, and at the same time, interest rates are reducing.

According to Hougan, the 4-year cycle will be broken in 2026 and replaced by a 10-year grind.  

The crypto market faces uncertainty over criminal charges facing Powell

Meanwhile, the market is uncertain following the Department of Justice in the District of Columbia’s investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, led by Jeanine Pirro. Powell defended the Fed, noting that the threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Fed setting interest rates based on an assessment of what serves the public best rather than the President’s interests. 

“This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions or whether, instead, monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.”

–Jerome Powell, Fed Chair

Hougan also maintained his bullish forecast for BTC in 2026, echoing his forecast from last year, before the asset pushed to its ATH. Bitwise CIO said that BTC could push the price to over $200,000, calling the development potentially bigger than the approval of ETFs. As of now, institutional buying is countering the downside despite recent declines, according to Bitwise CIO. 

Matt Hougan believes that crypto has made a strong start in 2026, with the top 10 assets already experiencing significant price surges. For instance, BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB, and Solana have recorded increases of 2.3%, 1%, 2.7%, 1.75%, and 7.8%, respectively, so far. He acknowledged that the market has moved past concerns about the October crash that caused a market drawdown.

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