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Bitwise says crypto equities returned 23% in H1 2026 as crypto assets fell 36%

Bitwise says crypto equities returned 23% in H1 2026 as crypto assets fell 36%

Bitwise and CoinGecko said Q2 2026 crypto markets weakened overall, even as prediction markets hit records, crypto equities outperformed tokens, tokenized real-world assets expanded, and tokenized collectibles surged.

Fact Check
The primary Bitwise memo 'The Five Most Important Crypto Charts From Q2' explicitly confirms crypto asset prices fell 36% in H1 2026 while crypto equities returned 23%, more than doubling U.S. equity returns. The Block's independent reporting corroborates the exact same figures and adds the record $33B in tokenized RWAs and record prediction market activity described in the claim. All core numbers and themes (crypto equities outperforming, token weakness, prediction markets and RWAs expanding) match. The claim is accurate; only the specific attribution of trading-activity data to CoinGecko was not independently verified, which does not affect the central figures.
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Summary

Crypto equities returned 23% in the first half of 2026 while crypto assets fell 36%, according to Bitwise, which said weaker token prices masked continued growth in digital-asset infrastructure and applications. CoinGecko separately reported that total crypto market capitalization fell 12.6% in Q2 to $2.1 trillion, stablecoin market capitalization slipped 1.6% to $305.1 billion, and spot and perpetual trading volumes on centralized exchanges declined. At the same time, CoinGecko said prediction-market notional volume rose 48.7% to a record $113.8 billion in Q2, with June alone reaching an all-time high of $52.8 billion, while tokenized collectibles volume climbed about 143% quarter over quarter to $1.4 billion. Bitwise also said prediction-market open interest reached $1.8 billion and quarterly trading volume hit $43 billion, the 10 largest crypto applications generated about $5.9 billion in annualized revenue, and tokenized real-world assets reached a record $33 billion in Q2.

Terms & Concepts
  • tokenized real-world assets (RWAs): Traditional assets such as Treasuries, credit or equities represented on blockchain-based networks.
  • prediction-market open interest: The total value of active outstanding positions in prediction-market contracts.
  • perpetual futures: Crypto derivatives contracts without an expiry date.