Bitwise CIO says "DeFi is expected to lead the crypto market out of the bear market."

According to The Block, Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated that decentralized finance is expected to lead the crypto market out of the current bear market. He pointed out that major DeFi protocols have shown substantial progress: Uniswap DEX's trading volume often exceeds that of centralized exchange Coinbase, and DeFi lending platform Aave has an annual revenue of over $100 million. Hougan believes that the next bull market will focus on fundamentals, and DeFi aligns with this trend.

Hougan specifically mentioned Aave Labs' recent governance proposal, which aims to transfer all Aave brand product revenues to the DAO treasury while adjusting the incentive mechanisms between developers and the community. He believes this shift will help address the long-term misalignment between the protocol's success and token value, and if Aave can achieve this, other DeFi assets may follow suit. He also pointed out signs of institutional participation, such as BlackRock investing in Uniswap and Apollo investing in Aave competitor Morpho.

Additionally, Strategy co-founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor stated in an interview with Fox Business that the current crypto market is indeed in a bear market, but "it is much milder than previous cycles" and "will last for a shorter time." He noted that the banking sector's support for Bitcoin is stronger than it was four years ago, with continuous capital inflows and ongoing technological advancements, and posted on X platform that "spring is coming, Bitcoin is winning."