Chainlink: Bitwise's Most Undervalued Crypto Infrastructure

The crypto market might be overlooking one of the most important pillars of the industry. According to recent analysis by Bitwise, Chainlink represents an investment of very high conviction within the digital asset management company, despite being widely undervalued by the general investment community.

With a market capitalization of close to $7.91 billion and trading at $11.17 as of January 29, 2026, Chainlink ranks as the eleventh largest crypto asset. However, its fundamental importance contrasts sharply with its presence in mainstream industry conversations.

Why does Chainlink remain undervalued?

Matt Hougan, Bitwise’s chief investment officer, attributes this disconnect not to fundamental issues, but to the complexity of the project and an incomplete understanding of its actual scope. “I think it’s one of the least understood, most important, and possibly most undervalued crypto assets,” Hougan noted in a recently published analysis.

The limited perception of Chainlink arises because it is generally described solely as middleware that provides real-world data to blockchains. Although this characterization is not incorrect, it significantly reduces the magnitude of its value. Hougan illustrates this perceptual gap with a telling comparison: “It’s like referring to Amazon solely as a bookstore.”

Beyond a Data Oracle: The Essential Infrastructure

Founded in 2017 by Sergey Nazarov and Steve Ellis, Chainlink functions as a decentralized network that connects smart contracts with real-world information. Its true function transcends the provision of asset prices: it acts as the connective tissue that allows blockchains, inherently isolated systems, to interact with markets, institutions, and each other.

Without this connectivity, blockchain networks would be like powerful offline spreadsheets: capable of executing complex calculations but unable to access the information needed to function within the global financial system.

Since its inception, Chainlink has strategically integrated into both native crypto projects and traditional financial institutions, operating quietly on the ecosystem’s infrastructure.

Institutional adoption: the catalyst of potential

The investment case is significantly strengthened when looking at institutional adoption. Stablecoins rely on Chainlink for reliable price sources, proof-of-reserves, and cross-chain transfer mechanisms. Tokenized assets — digital stocks and bonds — use it for valuation, regulatory compliance, and settlement logic. Decentralized finance applications, prediction markets, and on-chain derivatives cannot function without verifiable and secure external data.

This institutional penetration is tangible: organizations such as SWIFT, DTCC, JPMorgan, Visa, Mastercard, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Euroclear, and Deutsche Börse already rely on Chainlink’s infrastructure. As tokenization and institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies accelerate, investors optimistic about stablecoins, DeFi, and the actual adoption of digital assets should recognize that Chainlink is at the center of this transformation.

Valuation Insights

Chainlink remains undervalued precisely because its importance is diffusely distributed across multiple rapidly growing infrastructure markets, where it maintains near-monopolistic market shares. Unlike projects with simpler, more tangible narratives, investors may not fully grasp how you would disproportionately benefit from the expansion of tokenization and accelerated institutional adoption.

Bitwise recognizes this potential and recently launched a Chainlink exchange-traded product (ETP), facilitating institutional access to this undervalued asset that quietly supports the infrastructure of the digital financial future.