Will buy more than 100% of the new issuance of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana in 2026
Bitwise, the largest manager of cryptocurrency index funds in the world, which manages over $15 billion in client assets across 30 investment products, issued forecasts indicating that institutional demand for cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will exceed the new issuance of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL) in 2026.
Julia Hoogan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, and Ryan Rasmussen, Head of Research, expressed great optimism about cryptocurrencies, noting that demand from institutional investors in the long term will surpass the new issuance. The new issuance refers to the new tokens entering circulation through mining, staking rewards, or protocol issuance.
Bitwise explained in a recent report that included its cryptocurrency market outlook that institutional demand through exchange-traded funds will exceed the new supply of BTC, ETH, and SOL, which could lead to supply pressure and positive price increases. However, the company warned that this is just a prediction and not a guarantee.
Cryptocurrency investment funds are witnessing massive adoption, as traditional financial institutions like Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch allow their wealth management clients to add cryptocurrencies to their portfolios. Since the launch of spot Bitcoin funds in 2024, these funds have purchased 710,777 Bitcoins, nearly double the mined amount of 363,047 Bitcoins during the same period, indicating demand exceeding supply.
Bitwise also expects to launch more than 100 new cryptocurrency investment funds in the United States by 2026, providing more options for investors.
The company also predicted that Bitcoin would break its historical four-year cycle in 2026 with increasing institutional capital flows. Historically, the price of Bitcoin has been linked to factors such as halving events and retail speculation, but Bitwise expects institutional flows, such as spot Bitcoin funds, to become the dominant force in shaping the market, making Bitcoin's price behavior resemble that of a more mature financial asset rather than purely cyclical trading.
This growth is attributed to more mature regulations and regulatory approvals, as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) focused in 2025 on streamlining the listing process for spot cryptocurrency investment funds, reducing approval times and creating a clearer and repeatable framework.
