Bitwise Co-Founder Hunter Horsley Backs Avalanche Onstage at NYC Summit

Hunter Horsley, co-founder of crypto asset manager @Bitwise, said he would build on Avalanche if he were to launch a chain of his own, in remarks delivered onstage at Avalanche Summit NYC on Sept. 16, 2026.

Asked directly about chain selection, Horsley answered "hell yeah" in favor of Avalanche, according to avax, which posted the exchange from the event. The comment was not presented as a product announcement or a formal commitment — Bitwise has not disclosed plans to launch its own blockchain, and Horsley framed the remark as a personal answer rather than a roadmap item.

Bitwise is a crypto index and asset-management firm known for a suite of exchange-traded products tracking digital assets. Horsley has been a public voice on institutional adoption and index-based crypto exposure.

Summit As Institutional Stage

The appearance came during Avalanche Summit NYC, a two-day event that organizers said sold out ahead of opening. The lineup has featured speakers from BlackRock, Fidelity Digital Assets and Apollo Global, with Kevin O'Leary as headliner and therollupco serving as official media partner.

The summit has served as a venue for ecosystem news in the days surrounding it, including fan rewards programs for Michigan Athletics and Nevada Athletics built on Avalanche via Uptop, Korea's KRW1 won-backed stablecoin integration with Rain, and the UAE PASS Digital Vault.

What To Watch

Horsley's remark is an endorsement rather than a commitment, and no Bitwise chain or Avalanche deployment has been announced. Any move from the asset manager toward building on Avalanche would represent a notable shift from its current product focus.