Crypto asset prices dropped 36% in the first half of 2026, while crypto-related equities rose 23%, creating the widest split so far in the current market cycle between digital tokens and publicly traded blockchain companies, according to a midyear report from Bitwise Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen.
The gap shows how far parts of the digital-asset business have moved beyond direct dependence on token prices. Public companies tied to crypto mining, stablecoin activity, payments, tokenization, custody, and blockchain infrastructure outperformed nearly every major asset class during the six-month period, even as the broader crypto market suffered a steep drawdown.
Bitwise said its Crypto Innovators 30 Index, which tracks 30 publicly listed companies in the digital-asset sector, gained 23% in the first half of the year. That was more than double the performance of U.S. equities over the same period and trailed only emerging market stocks among major asset categories reviewed in the report. Gold, often treated as a defensive asset during periods of market stress, fell 7%.
The divergence has become one of the most important market developments of 2026. It suggests that traders are no longer treating all crypto exposure as a single trade. Instead, public blockchain companies are increasingly being valued on revenue, cash flow, business diversification, and links to rising demand for artificial intelligence computing, stablecoins, and tokenized financial products.
Bitwise said the data do not yet show whether crypto token prices have reached a bottom. Rasmussen said crypto assets may recover in the second half of the year, but the report stopped short of calling an end to the downturn.
Public blockchain firms pull away from token prices
The first-half split between tokens and equities points to a structural change in how the crypto sector is priced. During earlier market cycles, publicly traded blockchain companies often moved in close alignment with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major tokens. Mining companies, trading platforms, and infrastructure firms were frequently treated as high-beta proxies for digital assets.
That relationship has weakened in 2026.
Mining companies were among the strongest contributors to the equity rally, according to the report. A major reason was rising demand from artificial intelligence developers for high-performance computing capacity. Many miners built large power-connected data centers during previous crypto cycles. Those facilities are now being used not only to mine digital assets but also to provide computing power for AI workloads.
That business shift has helped some miners reduce their reliance on Bitcoin mining economics alone. When token prices fall, mining margins often come under pressure. But companies that can lease data-center capacity to AI clients may generate revenue from long-term contracts, giving traders a different way to value the business.
The report also pointed to strength in companies linked to stablecoin issuance and tokenization platforms. These firms can benefit from transaction activity, settlement volumes, custody fees, and yield-linked products even when spot token prices are weak. That has made certain public crypto equities look more like financial technology or infrastructure businesses than purely speculative token plays.
Crypto equities beat most major markets
The Bitwise Crypto Innovators 30 Index outperformed most traditional assets during the first half of 2026. The 23% gain stood in sharp contrast to the 36% decline in crypto assets over the same period.
U.S. equities rose, but at less than half the pace of the crypto-equity index. Gold fell 7%, while other major asset classes posted mixed but generally positive results. Emerging market stocks were the only major category cited by Bitwise that performed better than crypto-related equities.
The size of the gap is notable because listed crypto companies are normally expected to struggle during token selloffs. In past downturns, lower digital-asset prices often hurt trading volumes, mining profitability, balance sheets, and market sentiment across the sector. In 2026, however, the strongest public firms appear to have benefited from new sources of income that did not exist at the same scale in earlier cycles.
That does not mean the sector has become low risk. Crypto-linked equities remain volatile and continue to trade with meaningful sensitivity to broad equity markets, interest-rate expectations, regulation, and digital-asset prices. But the first-half performance shows that some businesses tied to blockchain activity have developed revenue streams that can hold up better than tokens during market stress.
Decentralized applications generate billions in revenue
Bitwise also cited Token Terminal data showing that the 10 largest decentralized applications generated $5.9 billion in revenue during the previous 12 months.
PancakeSwap led the group with $923 million in revenue, followed closely by Hyperliquid at $912 million and Aave at $877 million. Other platforms in the top group included Lido Finance, Uniswap, Pump.fun, Sky, Ethena, edgeX, and Axiom.
The numbers highlight the scale of fee-generating activity across decentralized finance, trading, staking, lending, and other on-chain services. These applications are not simply experimental projects. Many now handle large volumes of transactions and collect measurable revenue from users.
For traders, that revenue base has become increasingly important. In earlier cycles, token valuations were often driven mostly by expectations of future network growth. Now, parts of the market can be assessed against actual fees and platform activity, even though traditional valuation methods remain difficult to apply across decentralized protocols.
The growth of decentralized application revenue also helps explain why some public companies tied to blockchain infrastructure performed better than tokens. Firms exposed to custody, analytics, payments, compliance, data services, and institutional access may benefit from ongoing network usage even when token prices are falling.
Tokenized real-world assets hit quarterly high
Tokenized real-world assets reached $33 billion in the second quarter of 2026, a quarterly high, according to figures cited in the Bitwise report. That represented a 12% increase from the previous quarter and a 45% rise from the start of the year.
The total excludes stablecoin issuers and is largely made up of tokenized U.S. Treasurys, corporate debt, equities, and venture capital holdings.
Tokenization refers to the process of representing traditional assets on a blockchain. Supporters say it can allow faster settlement, broader distribution, improved transparency, and more efficient collateral management. The market remains small compared with the size of global bond and equity markets, but its growth has accelerated as financial firms test blockchain-based infrastructure for conventional assets.
Tokenized Treasurys have been one of the most active areas. They allow holders to gain exposure to short-term U.S. government debt through blockchain-based products. Demand for these products has been supported by higher yields compared with much of the post-2008 period, as well as interest from crypto-native traders seeking on-chain instruments tied to traditional assets.
Corporate debt and tokenized equities have also gained traction, though adoption remains uneven and regulatory treatment differs across jurisdictions. Venture capital holdings are a smaller but growing category, reflecting wider efforts to bring private-market assets onto digital rails.
The rise in tokenized real-world assets has become one of the clearest examples of crypto infrastructure being used outside purely digital tokens. Even if major cryptocurrencies remain under pressure, tokenization activity can continue to expand as market participants seek blockchain-based settlement and custody tools.
Stablecoins continue to expand
Stablecoins also grew during the first half of 2026, with total market value nearing $316 billion by the end of June. The expansion stands in contrast to the broader decline in crypto asset prices and reflects continued demand for digital dollars used in trading, payments, settlement, remittances, and on-chain finance.
Stablecoins are among the most widely used products in the digital-asset market. They allow traders to move funds quickly between platforms, hold dollar-linked balances on blockchains, and interact with decentralized applications without constantly converting back into bank deposits.
Their growth has also strengthened the business case for public companies involved in custody, payments, compliance infrastructure, and tokenized settlement. Companies that provide services around stablecoin flows may benefit from transaction volume rather than token price appreciation.
The stablecoin market’s expansion has drawn increasing attention from regulators and traditional financial firms. Questions remain around reserves, redemption rights, oversight, and systemic risk. Still, the continued rise in supply suggests that dollar-linked blockchain assets remain a key part of digital-market infrastructure.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs remain a major gateway
Cumulative cash deposited into spot Bitcoin ETFs approached $58 billion by the end of June 2026, according to market records referenced in the source material. These products have become one of the main regulated gateways for exposure to Bitcoin in traditional brokerage accounts.
The first half of 2026, however, showed that ETF inflows can cool during price weakness. Demand from large institutions and professional traders appeared less consistent during the summer downturn, reflecting broader caution toward crypto assets after the sharp first-half decline.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs remain important because they connect the digital-asset market with traditional financial infrastructure. They offer regulated access, familiar custody arrangements, and easier reporting for market participants that do not want to hold Bitcoin directly. But they do not eliminate price risk. When Bitcoin falls, ETF holders experience the same directional exposure.
The contrast between falling tokens and rising crypto equities shows that some traders may be separating direct token exposure from ownership of public companies with crypto-linked revenue. That does not necessarily mean digital assets have lost importance. Rather, it suggests a more selective market in which business quality, regulation, balance-sheet strength, and revenue diversity matter more than in previous cycles.
Prediction markets reach record open interest
On-chain prediction markets also expanded sharply in the second quarter. Open interest climbed to a record $1.8 billion, while cumulative trading volumes reached $43 billion, according to data cited by Bitwise.
Sports contracts accounted for most activity. Political markets also grew quickly ahead of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, building on the attention they received during the previous election cycle two years earlier.
Prediction markets allow users to trade contracts tied to the outcome of future events. Prices can reflect crowd expectations around elections, sports results, economic releases, policy decisions, and other measurable outcomes. Supporters argue that these markets can produce useful real-time forecasting signals. Critics point to regulatory, legal, and consumer-protection concerns, especially when political events are involved.
The record open interest shows that on-chain markets are becoming more liquid and more visible. For blockchain infrastructure firms, higher activity can support demand for wallets, settlement systems, data feeds, compliance tools, and market-making services.
Correlation with stocks remains high
Despite the strong performance of crypto equities, the sector remains closely tied to broader stock-market movements. The Bitwise Crypto Innovators 30 Index showed a 90-day rolling correlation of 0.77 with U.S. equities, based on Bloomberg data cited in the report. Bitcoin’s correlation with U.S. equities was slightly lower at 0.73.
That means crypto-related public companies continued to move broadly in line with the U.S. stock market, even as they outperformed on a return basis. High correlation can limit diversification benefits during periods when equities sell off broadly.
Compared with developed and emerging market equities, real estate trusts, U.S. bonds, and gold, the crypto-equity index showed lower correlations than broad American equities. Commodities were the only category showing negative readings for both the crypto-equity index and U.S. stocks.
The correlation data suggest that crypto equities remain part of the wider risk-asset complex. They may respond to macroeconomic conditions, interest-rate expectations, liquidity, and equity-market sentiment, not only developments inside the digital-asset sector.
Market bottom remains uncertain
Bitwise said crypto assets could recover during the second half of 2026, but the report did not claim that prices have already bottomed. That distinction is important after a 36% first-half decline in digital tokens.
The strongest message from the midyear data is not that crypto risk has disappeared. It is that the market has become more divided. Tokens suffered a deep selloff, while public blockchain companies tied to AI computing demand, stablecoin activity, decentralized finance revenue, and tokenized assets delivered strong gains.
For traders, the first half of 2026 showed that the digital-asset ecosystem can no longer be viewed as a single market moving in one direction. Public crypto companies, stablecoins, tokenized Treasurys, decentralized applications, prediction markets, and spot Bitcoin ETFs are now developing at different speeds and responding to different forces.
The second half of the year will test whether that separation can continue. If token prices recover, crypto-linked equities may gain further support. If the downturn deepens, companies with real revenue, regulated access, and diversified business lines may remain better positioned than those still dependent on speculative token demand.
To navigate this divergence between tokens and stocks, explore tokenized RWA strategies shaping the next crypto market cycle.
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