Foreign media reported that Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley recently posted on X that the crypto industry is undergoing a phase shift, with market evaluation criteria moving from "storytelling" to "results." He compared this shift to the reassessment that followed the dot-com bubble burst over two decades ago.
Shift from narrative-driven to results-driven
Horsley believes the phase where projects can achieve valuation based solely on roadmaps, visions, or market hype is shrinking. Fewer projects will survive in the future, and to secure long-term funding, they must demonstrate clearer adoption, revenue performance, or real-world utility.
The core of this review is not that the industry will weaken, but that the market is raising its standards. As institutional capital participation deepens, whether a project has verifiable business progress is becoming more important than mere conceptual packaging.
Apply the filtering logic following the internet bubble
Horsley compares the current crypto market to the internet boom of the 1990s, when numerous companies received high valuations based solely on the expectation of being "related to the internet," but were quickly eliminated after the market correction around 2000 due to a lack of genuine business fundamentals.
He believes that, after the adjustment, the companies that truly emerge are not necessarily the largest in number, but rather a small number of enterprises that have already proven their business models viable. Their subsequent growth cycles are longer, and their final scale exceeds the early market’s general expectations.
Institutions place greater emphasis on adoption, revenue, and execution.
According to Horsley, the next phase of value in the crypto industry may concentrate on a smaller number of projects that must demonstrate they have built genuine demand, rather than relying solely on future narratives to maintain attention.
For the market, this means that capital screening may continue to intensify. In particular, projects lacking real-world adoption or a user base will find it increasingly difficult to secure sustained support, especially as institutional investors place greater emphasis on adoption, revenue, and execution capability.
- The number of projects that will succeed in the long term may decrease.
- The winning projects will have larger scale or longer durations.
- Market focus is shifting toward verifiable performance.
The article also notes that Bitwise, as a cryptocurrency asset management firm, attracts attention for its executives' statements because such institutions have long monitored shifts in capital flows, product demand, and allocation behaviors. Horsley’s assessment reflects a growing consensus within the institutional community that prioritizes quality.