Crypto tokens are increasingly adept at capturing value, spurred by recent regulations and technological advancements. According to Matt Hougan, the Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, this trend could lead to a spike in prices by 2026.

Hougan mentioned in a post on X that amidst the turbulence of the current market downturn, significant progress regarding value capture in digital assets is often overlooked.

“Most of today’s tokens were created in a regulatory era where value capture was risky; as a result, they defaulted to vague governance-style design choices.”

“Under the new regulatory climate, that’s being unwound. I think we’ll start to feel this effect in 2026.”

Matt Hougan
Source: Matt Hougan

Uniswap Sees Growth After Positive Proposals

Uniswap, the native token associated with its eponymous protocol, saw a rise in value earlier this month after the introduction of proposals designed to enhance its appeal to investors.
These suggestions include a protocol-level fee mechanism to burn tokens and a Protocol Fee Discount Auctions system to improve returns for liquidity providers.

Hougan believes that this is a clear representation of a token working to increase its value capture and predicts that the adoption of these proposals could see UNI climb into the top ten by market capitalization.

“The major criticism of UNI has always been its role as a governance token. While Uniswap is a quality platform, tokenholders did not share in the benefits.”

“However, UNI is now considering changing its fee structure. If the vote passes, approximately 16% of trading fees will be used for token burns, potentially elevating UNI to a top ten token by market cap over time.”

Fusako Upgrade Could Propel Ether’s Recovery

Furthermore, Hougan highlighted Ethereum’s anticipated Fusako upgrade as a potential driver for increased token value capture. The launch of the upgrade is slated for December, aiming to refine Ethereum’s execution mechanics and improve staking economics, among other enhancements.

“I suspect the market will soon recognize the positive effects of Fusaka, particularly if it launches on December 3 as scheduled. It’s an undervalued catalyst and one reason ETH may lead the recovery in the crypto sphere,” Hougan remarked.

XRP’s Staking Rewards

Additionally, Hougan noted that Ripple’s XRP token is moving towards enhancing its value capture, with budding discussions about introducing staking options.

“There’s a growing interest in increasing value capture within XRP. The community is contemplating ideas such as staking, which would modify the economic dynamics for tokenholders.”

“The common theme here is that the level of value capture in digital assets is set to rise. Some view token value capture as static, but it is far from that.”