Will the Rotation From Gold to Bitcoin Actually Happen? w/ Matt Hougan & Ryan Rasmussen

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  January 29, 2026 at 19:45  |  41:49  |  Milk Road Daily
Speakers
Matt Hougan — CIO, Bitwise Asset Management
Ryan Rasmussen — Head of Research, Bitwise

Summary

Matt Hougan and Ryan Rasmussen of Bitwise join Milk Road to discuss whether capital is actually rotating from gold into Bitcoin. They view the gold and silver rally as a long-term debasement and central-bank demand theme, while arguing Bitcoin remains undervalued versus gold and should eventually benefit from central-bank and institutional adoption. They also cover the crypto bear market, a likely Bitcoin bottom, Clarity Act regulation, and growing institutional demand for crypto ETPs, stablecoins, and tokenization.

  • Gold and silver rally tied to debt concerns and central-bank gold buying.
  • Matt and Ryan see gold and hard assets as a long-term debasement trade.
  • Bitcoin viewed as undervalued relative to gold and likely to attract future central-bank adoption.
  • Ryan expects Bitcoin closer to a bottom, with 75K-80K area in focus.
  • Clarity Act likely passes this year but is not required for crypto to rally.
  • Institutional approvals for crypto ETPs are accelerating; flows may lag but are coming.
  • Stablecoins and tokenization are top institutional interest areas.
  • Some gold profits may rotate into crypto, but not one-for-one.
Ideas
Matt Hougan CIO, Bitwise Asset Management 1:43
Long-term debasement trade favors gold.
He sees gold and hard assets as a 10+ year debasement trade because 99% of investors are in fiat-denominated assets while central banks, endowments, and institutions are shifting toward hard assets. He is short-term mixed and says metals charts look primed for a possible retracement, but he remains long-term bullish and cites the Bitwise debasement ETF (VPRO) as a way to express this.
GLD VPRO HIGH
Ryan Rasmussen Head of Research, Bitwise 3:27
Debt spiral supports long-term gold demand.
He views the rise of tokenized gold and gold-backed stablecoins as part of real-world assets moving onchain: dollars first, then gold, and eventually stocks, commodities, private equity, and real estate. He thinks this expands the gold market because onchain investors can allocate to gold in the same accounts rather than opening a separate brokerage account or buying gold coins.
GLD Real-world asset tokenization HIGH
Ryan Rasmussen Head of Research, Bitwise 4:22
Central banks eventually adopt Bitcoin.
He argues central banks will eventually buy Bitcoin because it shares gold's decentralized, non-sovereign store-of-value properties but is easier and cheaper to transport, self-custody, and settle globally. He cautions this will happen slower than Bitcoin investors want and likely not in the next two-to-three years.
BTC MED
Matt Hougan CIO, Bitwise Asset Management 6:18
Bitcoin wins central bank reserve adoption.
He believes demographics favor Bitcoin and that central banks will realize it is a fundamentally better technology than gold because it preserves self-custody through holding and settlement. He compares the shift to gold's own rehabilitation from a neglected asset to a central-bank reserve and expects Bitcoin eventually to be added to reserves, potentially more than gold.
BTC HIGH
Matt Hougan CIO, Bitwise Asset Management 31:10
Crypto in generational bull market.
He says that zooming out, crypto and blockchain remain in a generational bull market. Wall Street is still building, and major institutions like Fidelity and Morgan Stanley are moving full steam ahead regardless of short-term regulatory delays, with Fidelity notably building on public blockchains.
BLOCKCHAIN HIGH
Matt Hougan CIO, Bitwise Asset Management 34:11
Crypto ETP flows accelerating.
He says institutional approvals for crypto ETP exposure at the largest national account platforms are running at extraordinary speed, while actual allocations take time due to education and client conversations. He expects those flows to start showing up in coming quarters at an accelerating pace and says skeptics of those flows are wrong.
Crypto ETPs HIGH
Matt Hougan CIO, Bitwise Asset Management 35:21
Institutions want stablecoins and tokenization.
He says the institutional meetings he is in are dominated by questions about stablecoins and tokenization rather than Bitcoin alone. He believes any asset or stock linked to stablecoins and tokenization is where institutional capital wants to go.
STABLECOINS Tokenization HIGH
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This Milk Road Daily video, published January 29, 2026, features Matt Hougan, Ryan Rasmussen discussing GLD, VPRO, Real-world asset tokenization, BTC, BLOCKCHAIN, Crypto ETPs, STABLECOINS, Tokenization. 7 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Matt Hougan, Ryan Rasmussen  · Tickers: GLD, VPRO, Real-world asset tokenization, BTC, BLOCKCHAIN, Crypto ETPs, STABLECOINS, Tokenization