Crypto Valuations Could Be Ready to Double, According to Bitwise's Matt Hougan -- But Only If This 1 Thing Happens

Bitwise Asset Management Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Matt Hougan argued in an Aug. 12, 2026 note that crypto valuations could double, if only blockchains would use some of the money they earn to perform buybacks that benefit the holders of their coin. His chosen example of a success story for that dynamic, Hyperliquid (CRYPTO: HYPE), has already destroyed more than $3.9 billion of its own token , thereby removing 4.8% of its maximum supply, with its price rising by 84% in the last 12 months alone.

If other major blockchains like Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) would adapt their protocols to conform to Hougan's suggestion, it could indeed reshape the entire sector's valuations. Let's take a look at the state of play.

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Hyperliquid was one of the first, but it won't be the last

Hyperliquid is a blockchain that's specialized to be a decentralized crypto exchange for perpetual futures contracts. In the second quarter of this year, it brought in $169 million in revenue from traders using its exchange. It then automatically passed $141 million of that through to a fund that buys its coin on the open market and then permanently destroys it.

Other crypto majors have similar functions. These functions don't really work as well as Hyperliquid's when it comes to providing holders with a return that's mechanically linked to the amount of activity happening on their networks. Fixing that could trigger the favorable revaluation that Hougan proposed.

For instance, Ethereum burns part of every transaction fee, but a majority of the fee revenue is then paid to the network's validators. Similarly, while some of Solana's transaction fees are burned, the daily issuance of new tokens is still expected to result in the coin's supply increasing by about 3.6% per year, with the net between burns and new issuance ultimately diluting holders over time.

Will Ethereum and Solana make the needed changes?

Hougan explicitly expects blockchains to copy Hyperliquid over the next 12 to 24 months. If that happens, it'd make it a lot easier for investors to judge the value of the leading coins.

Solana and Ethereum are both attempting to clear Hougan's bar.

Solana's first on-chain governance votes closed on Aug. 28, 2026. The proposal called SGP-0003 proposed a new fee restructure that would have lifted daily token burns. During voting, it fell short of being passed, though the issue is likely to be taken up again in the future.

Ethereum, for its part, currently has more than one Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) in the same vein that's being evaluated.

In the long run, it's quite probable that those two networks will make some of the adjustments that Hougan thinks will lead to a doubling of valuations, even if these early efforts stumble. Watch for whether Solana's fee restructure proposal returns for another vote within the next few quarters, and whether Ethereum's proposals get bundled into an upgrade at all.

The valuations will probably only move after the protocols themselves change.

Alex Carchidi has positions in Ethereum, Hyperliquid, and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum, Hyperliquid, and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.