Bitwise: Crypto fell 36% in H1, but related stocks gained 23%

Bitwise has revealed that while cryptocurrency prices fell by approximately 36% in the first half of 2026, crypto-related stocks saw a 23% increase. This performance was the second-highest return among all major asset classes, trailing only emerging market stocks. Ryan Rasmussen, Head of Research at Bitwise, explained that the 30 publicly traded companies in the Bitwise Crypto Innovators 30 Index delivered returns twice as high as the broader U.S. stock market. He attributed this to several key factors, including mining companies benefiting from the growing demand for AI computing, as well as the growth of stablecoin issuers and asset tokenization platforms.