{"id":93885,"date":"2026-02-03T17:53:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T14:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=93885"},"modified":"2026-02-03T17:57:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T14:57:31","slug":"bitwise-cio-says-the-full%e2%80%91blown-crypto-winter-is-nearing-its-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/bitwise-cio-says-the-full%e2%80%91blown-crypto-winter-is-nearing-its-end\/","title":{"rendered":"Bitwise CIO says the \u2018full\u2011blown crypto winter\u2019 is nearing its end"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The digital-asset sector is weathering a full-blown \u201ccrypto winter in the Leonardo DiCaprio from \u201c<span data-descr=\"2015 film directed by Alejandro G. I\u00f1\u00e1rritu\" class=\"old_tooltip\">The Revenant<\/span>\u201d style\u201d, not a brief correction. But the current phase is closer to its end than its start, said Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"zxx\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Hh8ZXJC13c\">https:\/\/t.co\/Hh8ZXJC13c<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Matt Hougan (@Matt_Hougan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Matt_Hougan\/status\/2018695396386570257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 3, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>By his estimate, the protracted downturn began in January 2025. But hefty inflows into <a href=\"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/news\/what-is-a-cryptocurrency-etf\">ETFs<\/a> and the activity of crypto treasuries, which bought 744,000 BTC (about $75bn) over the year, masked it and cushioned bitcoin\u2019s decline. Without such support, the price of the first cryptocurrency could have fallen by 60%, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Digital gold has dropped roughly 39% from its October record above $126,000. Ethereum is down 53% from its peak, and many other coins have fallen even further.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-5dfbef192823ab21-5346342015228648.webp\" alt=\"image\" class=\"wp-image-274533\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Crypto returns since the start of 2025. Source: Bitwise.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Hougan likened the current spell to the winters of 2018 and 2022, when upbeat headlines about adoption and regulation could not overcome bearish investor sentiment.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cWhy is the fear and greed index hovering near record fear levels when the new head of the <span data-descr=\"U.S. Federal Reserve System\" class=\"old_tooltip\">the Fed<\/span> <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/news\/trump-nominates-crypto-friendly-kevin-warsh-to-lead-the-fed\"><em>is a bitcoin fan<\/em><\/a><em>? Because we are in a crypto winter,\u201d the expert wrote.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Signs the cycle is ending\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>Hougan noted that crypto winters have historically lasted about 13 months from peak to trough and ended not with a burst of enthusiasm but with seller exhaustion.<\/p>\n<p>In his view, today\u2019s mix of apathy and disappointment resembles prior market bottoms. Despite the broader weakness, the industry continues to advance in key areas: regulation, <a href=\"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/news\/what-are-stablecoins\">stablecoins<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/news\/what-are-tokenised-assets\">tokenisation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cGood news is ignored in bear markets, but it does not disappear. It accumulates as potential energy. And when the clouds lift and sentiment normalises, that stored energy can return with double force,\u201d he noted.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The Bitwise CIO argues the market is closer to recovery than to another plunge. He points to resilient economic growth, progress on the <a href=\"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/news\/bitwise-cio-identifies-gold-surge-and-clarity-acts-fate-as-key-crypto-market-drivers\">Clarity Act<\/a> in the US and signs of sovereign bitcoin adoption.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Positive signals\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>According to Santiment, a mood of <span data-descr=\"fear, uncertainty and doubt\" class=\"old_tooltip\">FUD<\/span> has taken over social media after bitcoin fell 16% since late January.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\ude20 FUD has taken over social media following Bitcoin&#8217;s -16% since January 28th. After falling as low as $74.6K, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?q=%24BTC&#038;src=ctag&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">$BTC<\/a> has rebounded back up to $78.3K as a result of retail selling their bags. This is more proof that markets move the opposite direction of the crowd&#8217;s narratives.\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NDffU98ZWM\">pic.twitter.com\/NDffU98ZWM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Santiment (@santimentfeed) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/santimentfeed\/status\/2018338084291477745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 2, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The flow of negative posts keeps growing; retail pessimism is at its highest since the November correction. Analysts see this as a signal of a near-term recovery:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cIn most cases, such periods of strong negativity are followed by a recovery bounce. So far, the current move looks encouragingly similar to the two previous instances after waves of FUD.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Experts at Swissblock pointed to network-growth and liquidity metrics for the leading cryptocurrency at their lowest since 2021. Back then, similar readings preceded bitcoin\u2019s rally to an all-time high.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The last time Network Growth &#038; Liquidity hit these extreme levels was in 2021, right before BTC\u2019s final push to a new ATH. We are starting to see a recovery in these metrics, signaling a potential final bullish episode.<\/p>\n<p>While the divergence\u2014rising metrics vs. falling\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vAHo8OOMZV\">pic.twitter.com\/vAHo8OOMZV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Swissblock (@swissblock__) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/swissblock__\/status\/2018384008166482135?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 2, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Those numbers are now starting to rise, which \u201clooks like the final signal before a potential push,\u201d the specialists stressed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cSo far we get a strange picture: on-chain metrics are improving while price is falling. That means investors are returning, but only to sell. The main question now is whether they will stay long enough this time for the market to build strength,\u201d they wrote.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Further improvement in these metrics could give bitcoin the nudge it needs to reverse.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier, Galaxy Digital\u2019s head of research Alex Thorn <a href=\"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/news\/galaxy-digital-warns-bitcoin-could-drop-to-56000\">suggested<\/a> that digital gold could fall to $56,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>An analyst going by Brett outlined an even gloomier scenario: he <a href=\"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/news\/analyst-says-bitcoin-could-sink-to-40000-if-the-2022-pattern-repeats\">predicted<\/a> a slump to $40,000 if the 2022 trend repeats.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The crypto winter is nearer its end than its beginning, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says crypto winter is nearing its end.","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[480,949,1138],"class_list":["post-93885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-bitcoin-price","tag-bitwise","tag-opinions"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"245","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says crypto winter is nearing its end.","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93885"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93887,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93885\/revisions\/93887"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}