The cryptocurrency industry is finally shedding its long-standing "get rich quick" reputation, according to Nansen founder and CEO Alex Svanevik — and the reason goes beyond the current market downturn.

Speaking to Magazine on the Trade Secrets show, Svanevik described a pivotal shift underway in the blockchain space. "Crypto assets have kind of been like the 'toy world' era of blockchains. And now we're moving into the real-world era, where you see tokenized stocks, you see people trading indices like the S&P 500 and Hyperliquid," he said.

"I think the interesting spot that blockchains are in right now is that they are basically giving a lot of room for non-crypto assets," Svanevik added.

That shift tracks with a broader push toward real-world asset tokenization that has gained traction since 2024, with major financial institutions exploring or launching on-chain representations of traditional instruments. BlackRock introduced a tokenized treasury fund on Ethereum, and Franklin Templeton expanded its blockchain-based money market offerings across multiple networks. Svanevik's "real-world era" framing positions this trend as the next defining phase for blockchain adoption.

Solana Misunderstood by the Industry

Svanevik identified several blockchains he is particularly optimistic about. While Hyperliquid — a decentralized perpetual futures exchange operating on its own Layer 1 — has drawn significant attention recently, he believes Solana remains one of the strongest long-term blockchain ecosystems, despite a widespread perception that it is merely a hub for meme coins.

"There's been this view that Solana is just for meme coins, which I think is completely ridiculous," Svanevik said, pointing to the strength of the team behind the project. "Maybe the most effective BD team, if we think broadly, behind that chain; they really are here to win."

Solana's price has declined 9.60% over the past 30 days, according to CoinMarketCap.

Despite his confidence in the ecosystem, Svanevik stopped short of making price predictions for SOL over the next twelve months: "I think Solana overall as an ecosystem and as a chain is going to do well. I don't know what that means for the SOL price. I mean intuitively you'd imagine that it's gonna go up based on what I'm saying."

Svanevik is regarded as one of the crypto industry's most well-informed commentators. Nansen, the company he leads, is a blockchain analytics firm that tracks millions of labeled wallets and analyzes user activity across networks. He founded the company in 2019 alongside Lars Bakke Krogvig and Evgeny Medvedev. In August 2022, Svanevik further expanded his industry involvement by joining the advisory board of the penguin-themed NFT collection Pudgy Penguins.

Robinhood Chain: A Strong Contender Without a Token

Svanevik also expressed enthusiasm for the Ethereum layer-2 network Robinhood chain, which launched on July 1 of this year.

"Robinhood seems to kind of rise up as like a big contender to Base. It's really interesting because Robinhood has such excellent distribution," he said.

Base, the Ethereum Layer 2 network launched by Coinbase in 2023, has rapidly become one of the most active L2 networks by transaction volume and total value locked. Svanevik's comparison underscores how Robinhood's chain, backed by the brokerage's millions of retail users, could represent a new model for consumer-facing on-chain finance.

However, for traders hoping to get in early on a potential token launch, Svanevik offered a dose of realism. He does not expect Robinhood to issue a token, noting that many projects have used tokens primarily to bootstrap excitement and build a user base.

"They clearly don't need to, right?" he said. He also argued that launching a token would be counterintuitive for Robinhood, given that the company is listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker HOOD. "You should just channel all of that value into the HOOD stock. That's kind of the first thought," Svanevik said. "They've been able to launch Robinhood chain and get tons of traction without a token."

Bitcoin May Have Found Its Floor

Regarding Bitcoin's price outlook, Svanevik suggested the market may be nearing a bottom, with the current level around $60,000 potentially marking Bitcoin's cycle low.

Bitcoin is up 1.50% over the past 30 days, according to CoinMarketCap.

"My personal view is that I don't think Bitcoin's gonna go back below $60,000," Svanevik said. "I think that's the past… I think forever." He grounded this view in his belief that Bitcoin functions as a hedge against central bank money creation, and he does not foresee the global monetary expansion cycle ending anytime soon.

Bitcoin analysts remain divided on whether the cryptocurrency has already bottomed. Bitcoin fell to approximately $60,000 in early February before rebounding, then dipped below that level again and has since been trading largely sideways.

Veteran crypto investor Michael Terpin offered a markedly different perspective in a separate interview with Cointelegraph on the Trade Secrets show, stating that the asset has further to fall before reaching rock bottom.

"We still have more pain to go," Terpin said. He predicted that Bitcoin will ultimately fall 66% from its October 2025 all-time high of $126,100. "I think that brings us down into the 40s, and I think that's about where we're gonna go," Terpin said.