In an interview with Aaron Arnold, founder of Altcoin Daily, Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Bitwise Asset Management, shared his bullish outlook for Ethereum in 2025. In a cryptocurrency space dominated by Bitcoin and emerging high-performance blockchains like Solana, Sui, and Aptos, Hougan positioned Ethereum as a “contrarian bet” that could yield impressive returns for investors willing to look beyond current market sentiment.
Why Ethereum is the best “contrarian investment”
Hougan acknowledged Ethereum’s unique position in the cryptocurrency market. He described Ethereum as “an asset that people love to hate; it’s kind of like the middle child of cryptocurrencies.” While Bitcoin has maintained its position as the original cryptocurrency and store of value, newer blockchains have attracted attention with the promise of superior performance and innovative features. At the same time, Ethereum is often criticized for issues such as high fees and the migration of activity to Layer 2, leading some to view it as an outdated technology that is struggling to keep up with its competitors.
However, Hougan challenges this assertion by highlighting Ethereum’s foundational role in some of the most critical and fastest-growing sectors of the crypto industry. “If you step back and look at what are the killer apps for crypto, outside of Bitcoin? They are stablecoins, DeFi [decentralized finance], and tokenization,” he noted. Despite the emergence of alternative platforms, Ethereum remains the leading blockchain supporting these applications. It is the top choice for developers and institutions. “If you were a large traditional financial player looking to build on a public blockchain, which blockchain would you most likely choose? You’d choose Ethereum,” Hougan claimed.
The Bitwise CIO attributed Ethereum’s poor performance to the transition phase of its development. “I think Ethereum has gone through this year because it is going through a complex teen adjustment in its architecture,” he explained. This “teen adjustment” refers to the upgrade that Ethereum is undergoing.
Hougan remains bullish on Ethereum’s long-term prospects, viewing it as a strong contrarian play for 2025. “Ethereum is the best contrarian play in crypto right now,” he said via X. Hougan believes that the market’s current focus on Bitcoin and newer blockchains has caused many to overlook Ethereum’s enduring strengths and growth potential. He asserts that as the blockchain completes its architectural upgrades, it will be better positioned to leverage its dominance in key areas such as stablecoins and DeFi.
When asked if he believed Ethereum would break past its all-time high, Hogan expressed cautious optimism. “If we see significant growth in the application space, I certainly think we could see that in 2025,” he responded. However, he emphasized that Ethereum’s ability to reach new price levels is more limited than Bitcoin’s Conditional. “I think it’s probably more conditional than Bitcoin,” he admitted.
Key among these conditions is the development of favorable stablecoin legislation. “We need to see positive stablecoin legislation to help it actively enter the mainstream,” Hougan emphasized. Regulatory clarity and support for stablecoins could lead to greater adoption and integration of stablecoins into the mainstream financial system, directly making Ethereum the main platform for these digital assets. In addition, he pointed out that it is necessary for decentralized applications (dApps) built on the Ethereum network to continue to grow. “We need to see more growth in applications built on the Ethereum ecosystem,” he added.
Hougan advises investors to focus on the overall growth and development of the Ethereum ecosystem, rather than short-term issues like fee structure or migration to Layer 2 solutions. “I don’t think that’s the game Ethereum should be playing right now,” he said of concerns about fees and network congestion. Instead, he believes that as the Ethereum ecosystem expands and matures, the intrinsic value of Ethereum will become apparent. “Think about the growth of the ecosystem, and the value will take care of itself,” he asserted.
Hogan said that while he remains bullish on both Bitcoin and Ethereum, he believes Ethereum has a unique opportunity because it is currently undervalued and the market is overlooking its potential. "I know I just got very bullish on Bitcoin; now I'm very bullish on Ethereum. I'm bullish on both and I think the setups for both are great," he concluded.
At press time, ETH is trading at $2,624.
