Bitwise Q2 Summary: Crypto market posts simultaneous declines in both volume and price, with prediction markets witnessing robust trading activity.

Bitwise releases its third-quarter 2026 crypto market review report. The report shows that in the second quarter, the Bitwise 10 Large-Cap Crypto Index fell 15.4%, with 8 of its 10 constituent tokens declining; spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their worst quarterly outflows. On-chain activity, trading volume and DeFi assets all declined, the correlation between the crypto market and equities rose, and the sector notched a third consecutive quarter of negative returns, marking its longest stretch of quarterly losses since 2022. However, the report also highlights several bright spots: prediction market trading volume reached $43.2 billion, surging nearly 18 times year-over-year; tokenized real-world assets (RWA) grew 50.3% this year to $32.89 billion; the Bitwise Crypto Innovators 30 Index rose 30.6%; stablecoin settlement volume was 2.3 times that of Visa, with U.S. Treasury holdings exceeding those of most countries; Hyperliquid, PancakeSwap and Aave each generated roughly $900 million in revenue over the past year. Bitwise stated that compared to the 2022 bear market bottom, Ethereum transaction activity has grown about 13 times, DeFi total value locked (TVL) has risen more than 60%, and stablecoin assets under management (AUM) have roughly doubled—only prices have failed to keep pace. Prices reflect bear market valuations, but the industry’s size is now twice that of the last cycle’s bottom: liquidity is deeper, fundamentals are stronger, and Wall Street has entered the on-chain space.