PANews reported on February 11th, citing CNBC, that Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise Asset Management, stated that the primary reason for Bitcoin's recent decline is the "four-year cycle" pattern, a phenomenon that has occurred three times in the history of the cryptocurrency market. Hougan pointed out that investors should not attribute the decline to a single factor. Besides cyclical influences, factors such as capital flows into other popular assets like gold and AI stocks, concerns about Federal Reserve nominee Kevin Warsh, and quantitative risks are all amplified in a bear market.
He emphasized that despite the depressed market sentiment, Bitcoin's fundamentals remain unchanged—its scarcity has not been altered by financialization, and the demand from the derivatives market will ultimately be met through the spot market. Regarding the development of crypto ETFs, Hougan believes there is a "self-fulfilling prophecy" in the current market, but Bitcoin's weakness will not fundamentally change the growth trend of ETFs. He revealed that crypto ETFs occupy a significant portion of the $15 billion in assets managed by Bitwise.


