What will drive crypto prices? WisdomTree on the role of adoption and revenue

  • WisdomTree’s Dovile Silenskyte says crypto assets' value in the coming months could be tied to increased adoption as institutional interest expands.
  • She states that Bitcoin remains a more portable store-of-value asset than Gold, supported by scarcity and monetary expansion.
  • Silenskyte says traditional financial institutions could capture broader gains through investment vehicles such as ETFs.

Increased adoption and effective revenue capture in crypto protocols could drive prices over the coming months, according to WisdomTree's Director of Digital Asset Research Dovile Silenskyte.

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Crypto adoption could drive price growth across market

In an interview with FXStreet at the European Blockchain Convention in Barcelona, Spain, Silenskyte said investors should look beyond market momentum and evaluate individual digital assets based on their underlying fundamentals.

Silenskyte said crypto prices over the coming months will be closely tied to adoption across the digital asset ecosystem, particularly as stablecoins, tokenized assets and other applications continue to garner attention.

She noted that the key question is not whether activity is growing across the industry, but which blockchains are capturing that activity and whether their native tokens benefit economically.

“For me, it matters which blockchains are winning market share in the space and how much of the revenue actually trickles down to token investors,” Silenskyte told FXStreet.

She pointed to developer activity, user adoption and blockchain revenues as key indicators to consider when assessing digital assets. However, she stressed that revenue alone does not necessarily create value for token investors.

“I care about how much of that actually reaches investors. Because there are tokens that may seem very exciting. They have a lot of value propositions, but there’s no link between the token and what the blockchain is doing,” Silenskyte stated.

Bitcoin remains a store-of-value asset alongside Gold

Silenskyte also maintained a bullish long-term view of Bitcoin (BTC), linking its investment case to monetary expansion and growing demand for assets that can preserve wealth.

She pointed to rising government debt and continued money printing as factors that could support demand for scarce assets such as Gold and Bitcoin. WisdomTree’s previous analysis, hinged partly on historical M2 money supply trends, projected Bitcoin could reach $250,000 by the end of 2030 under its base-case assumptions.

Silenskyte argued that Bitcoin should increasingly be viewed alongside Gold as a store-of-value asset, while highlighting its portability as a key distinction.

“Bitcoin is a much more portable store-of-value asset,” she added.

Ethereum and Solana face different fundamentals

While Bitcoin remains closely correlated with major altcoins, Silenskyte expects investors to increasingly distinguish Bitcoin from other digital assets and assess individual blockchains according to their specific use cases.

She identified Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) as leading networks, citing Ethereum’s established role in institutional stablecoin and tokenization initiatives. Solana also has strong retail adoption and is working to expand its institutional market share. She also highlighted Stellar Lumens (XLM) and XRP as networks with use cases around cross-border payments.

When asked about the top assets driving growth, Silenskyte said investors should look beyond crypto assets themselves. She pointed to traditional financial institutions that release crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as another way for retail investors to participate in the industry’s expansion.

“For retail investors, I would suggest taking a look at blockchain ETFs. Those are ETFs that invest into companies that are very much engaged in this ecosystem,” Silenskyte said.

Silenskyte's statement comes as the crypto market holds steady, with major assets consolidating amid geopolitical and macro pressures.

BTC trades near $83,000 on Tuesday, down 0.6% in the past 24 hours, while ETH and SOL hover near $2,700 and $120, respectively.