Bitwise Large-Cap Crypto Index Rises 46.4% in Q3 Rebound

Bitwise’s large-cap crypto index rose 46.4% in the third quarter as crypto prices and onchain activity rebounded, though the index remained down 6.2% for the year through September.

Bitcoin (BTC) gained 42.3% during the quarter, while Ether (ETH) rose 69.1% and Solana (SOL) climbed 59.2%. All 10 assets in the index recorded double-digit gains. Chainlink (LINK) led with a 97.6% increase.

Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said Q3 “may have been one of the best quarters in crypto’s history.” He described a sharp upward turn in the firm’s tracked indicators as a sign of “the start of a crypto spring.”

U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds took in $6 billion during the quarter, returning year-to-date net flows to positive territory. Tokenized equities grew 65.5% to nearly $3.2 billion. Decentralized perpetual futures open interest reached a record near $26 billion. Contracts linked to stocks, commodities, currencies and pre-IPO shares made up a growing share.

The gains did not extend across the industry. Riot Platforms and Hut 8, both Bitcoin miners, saw their shares decline 26.4% and 25.4%, respectively. Galaxy Digital shares fell 16.8%. The count of public companies holding Bitcoin declined nearly 6% to 173, although their combined holdings grew 0.5%. Public companies holding Ether numbered 35, down from 40, while their combined holdings rose.

Bitwise expects the SEC’s innovation exemption to draw billions more in tokenized assets onto blockchains in the fourth quarter. The firm also expects perpetual futures activity to accelerate as U.S. investors enter the market. More than $6 trillion was traded year to date across venues including Hyperliquid and Lighter, up 42% from the same period a year earlier.