TechFlow news, January 7th, according to The Block report, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan pointed out in the latest client briefing that although Bitcoin and Ethereum both rose by approximately 7% in early 2026, to maintain this momentum, the crypto market needs to overcome three major key challenges.
The first challenge is to avoid a large-scale market crash similar to the one on October 10, 2025, which caused over $20 billion in futures positions to be liquidated. Hougan believes this challenge has largely been resolved; the second challenge is to advance the passage of the U.S. Clarity Act crypto bill, which is currently under review in Congress and is expected to be marked in the Senate on January 15th; the third challenge is to maintain the stability of the stock market and avoid a significant decline in the stock market dragging down all risk assets.
Hougan stated that if these three major challenges can be smoothly overcome, the upward trend of the crypto market in early 2026 is expected to continue throughout the year.
