Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan framed his perspective using the “nine-dot puzzle,” suggesting critics like Bloomberg’s Allison Schrager are “stuck between the lines” by dismissing crypto’s potential while accepting the status quo. Schrager recently wrote, “government-issued money is pretty great,” and questioned bitcoin‘s role in retirement plans.

The Bitwise CIO countered that the current system is “actually not that great,” citing near-zero checking account yields (0.07%), five-day check clearing times, T+1 stock settlement excluding weekends, high payment processor fees, and the U.S. dollar losing approximately 80% of its purchasing power during his lifetime. “Pretty great?” he questioned pointedly.

Hougan envisions crypto enabling a world with instant, near-zero-cost payments, assets earning “real yield” accruing constantly, and seamless 24/7 global transactions without hidden fees. He finds it “wild” how readily people accept limitations like brokerage accounts being inaccessible outside market hours.

He acknowledges crypto isn’t yet perfect for everyday purchases like groceries, comparing its early adoption to bulky first-generation cell phones or low-resolution digital cameras – technologies initially useful in niche areas before widespread improvement. Adoption is occurring “on the edges,” Hougan noted, pointing to firms like Yellowcard facilitating cross-border payments in Africa and Stripe’s $1.1 billion acquisition of stablecoin provider Bridge.

“This is always the way with new technologies,” Hougan stressed. “The first cell phones were the size of a suitcase and had huge doubters, but they were hugely useful for a small set of politicians and CEOs. The first digital cameras had terrible resolution and ‘would never work,’ but they gave NASA a way to send images from space and journalists a way to file stories without processing film.”

The Bitwise exec added:

“Over time, the technologies got better and better. Today, we can’t imagine a world without them.”

“Things can be much, much better,” Hougan concluded, expressing conviction that as regulations and user experience evolve, financial products will migrate to crypto infrastructure. He expects crypto to follow the trajectory of earlier disruptive technologies, ultimately becoming indispensable.

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