Large wealth managers are now discarding the old habit of opening CoinMarketCap to evaluate crypto assets. They consider the market capitalization metric no longer relevant for determining whether a token is worth buying. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley referred to this shift in perspective as the end of the crypto leaderboard era.
Shifting from Infrastructure to Applications
Over the past 12 to 18 months, institutional focus has shifted from the infrastructure layer to applications and appchains. The business models of these layers are more familiar and easier to understand through the framework of venture capital or traditional financial technology firms. Hyperliquid has become a clear example of this shifting criteria, according to Horsley’s view.
Institutional investors now evaluate the HYPE token directly from its derivative trading activity and its economic loop. They no longer label Hyperliquid simply as a smaller blockchain than its main competitors. This shift in valuation metrics aligns with the performance of the HYPE token, which has risen by about 20% over the past year.
Real Revenue Beats Narrative
Demands for clear basic economics are putting more pressure on altcoin projects. Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl emphasized that Bitcoin remains a global macro asset. However, other tokens now face greater scrutiny regarding how they generate money and maintain network value.
The Arbitrum Foundation provides an illustration of how fundamentals work. Their network has processed over 2.7 billion transactions of all time, with 500 million transactions occurring specifically in 2026. On top of that network, Robinhood Chain is able to generate an annual revenue of around $40 million. This flow of institutional money has also given rise to tokenized real-world assets as the largest new category.
Institutions now dominate 72% of over-the-counter spot trading flows at Wintermute throughout the first half of 2026. Their share has risen from 59% during the same period a year ago. Interestingly, the general crypto market fell 36% in the first half of 2026, while shares of crypto companies rose 23% - a divergence that underscores the vital role of corporate business models.
What Still Drives Daily Prices?
Although fundamentals are starting to determine the list of preferred projects, short-term movements remain dominated by the dynamics of fund flows. Wintermute OTC trader Jasper De Maere summarized this situation in one brief sentence: fundamentals determine the price floor and the watchlist, while fund flows set the final price.
Trading volumes for perpetual futures contracts still multiply far beyond spot market transaction volumes for the majority of tokens. Factors such as funding rates, trader positioning, and the execution of forced liquidations still hold full control over intraday price fluctuations.
For retail investors, this shift in institutional appetite carries a clear signal. Accumulating assets solely based on market capitalization ranking is an obsolete strategy that big players abandoned long ago.
Reported from CoinDesk.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
