Why crypto is down and when it might bottom: Insights from Bitwise’s Matt Hougan

cryptonews02-07

Bitcoin has taken a significant hit recently, falling 14% in a single day and 25% over the past week. And this bear market could extend for several months before it fully bottoms, according to Bitwise...

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And this bear market could extend for several months before it fully bottoms, according to Bitwise...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://crypto.news/why-is-crypto-down-bitwise-matt-hougan-6-key-factors/\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n","source":"crypto_news_highlight","html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Why crypto is down and when it might bottom: Insights from Bitwise’s Matt Hougan</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nWhy crypto is down and when it might bottom: Insights from Bitwise’s Matt Hougan\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2026-02-07 07:17 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://crypto.news/why-is-crypto-down-bitwise-matt-hougan-6-key-factors/><strong>cryptonews</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>Bitcoin has taken a significant hit recently, falling 14% in a single day and 25% over the past week. And this bear market could extend for several months before it fully bottoms, according to Bitwise...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://crypto.news/why-is-crypto-down-bitwise-matt-hougan-6-key-factors/\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","isBrief":false,"type":0,"news_type":1,"symbol":"03042","symbol_name":"华夏比特币","start_time":0,"source_url":"https://crypto.news/why-is-crypto-down-bitwise-matt-hougan-6-key-factors/","article_id":"2609517657","we_media_id":null,"thumbnails":[],"rights":{"source":"crypto_news_highlight","url":"https://crypto.news/why-is-crypto-down-bitwise-matt-hougan-6-key-factors/","rn_cache_url":null,"directOrigin":true},"url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=2609517657","pubTimestamp":1770419858,"columns":[],"sourceInfo":{"source_id":"crypto_news_highlight","name":"Crypto News"},"weMediaInfo":null,"summary":"Bitcoin has taken a significant hit recently, falling 14% in a single day and 25% over the past week. And this bear market could extend for several months before it fully bottoms, according to Bitwise’s Matt Hougan.Bitcoin’s recent drop is driven by factors like investors preemptively adjusting to the four-year cycle, competition from AI and metals, and a major leveraged liquidation event.While the market has fallen 54% from its peak, previous downturns have been more severe, Hougan says.Regulatory progress and innovation will drive future growth, Hougan says. Fortune favors patient investors.Although Bitcoin has shown a brief recovery, trading nearly 50% below its all-time high, investors are left grappling with questions: Why is the market down?Competition from Other Markets: Crypto has enjoyed significant retail interest, but now AI stocks and precious metals are pulling some attention away. “Attention investors,” who flocked to crypto in recent years, are now diverting their capita","collect":0,"end_time":0,"defaultTopTitle":"crypto.news","property":[],"viewcount":null,"language":"en","relate_stocks":{"83042":"华夏比特币-R","03042":"华夏比特币","BK4601":"加密货币现货ETF","BK1611":"加密货币现货ETF","BK4588":"碎股","BK4585":"ETF&股票定投概念","03439":"嘉实比特币","BITX":"2倍比特币期货ETF-Volatility Shares","BITO":"比特币期货ETF-ProShares","09042":"华夏比特币-U","BTC":"Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust","09439":"嘉实比特币-U","09008":"博时比特币-U","03008":"博时比特币","BK4594":"比特币ETF概念"},"translate_title":"加密货币为何下跌以及何时可能触底：Bitwise的Matt Hougan的见解","themeId":null,"isJumpTheme":false,"ttsUrl":null,"symbols_score_info":{"83042":0.6,"03042":0.83,"09008":0.83,"03008":0.83,"09439":0.83,"BITO":0.6,"09042":0.83,"03439":0.83,"BTC":1.96,"BITX":0.6},"content_text":"Bitcoin has taken a significant hit recently, falling 14% in a single day and 25% over the past week. And this bear market could extend for several months before it fully bottoms, according to Bitwise’s Matt Hougan.\n\n\nSummary\n\n\n\nBitcoin’s recent drop is driven by factors like investors preemptively adjusting to the four-year cycle, competition from AI and metals, and a major leveraged liquidation event.\nWhile the market has fallen 54% from its peak, previous downturns have been more severe, Hougan says. \nRegulatory progress and innovation will drive future growth, Hougan says. Fortune favors patient investors.\n\n\n\nAlthough Bitcoin has shown a brief recovery, trading nearly 50% below its all-time high, investors are left grappling with questions: Why is the market down? Could it fall further? And when will it bottom?\n6 key factors\nAccording to Hougan, Bitwise’s chief investment officer, there are several complex reasons behind the current crypto market downturn, but six primary factors stand out.\n\nThe Four-Year Cycle: A major reason for the pullback is that long-term investors have been selling to preemptively adjust for the four-year market cycle, where crypto sees strong bull years followed by inevitable pullbacks. Investors, wary of a repeat of previous cycles, have sold significant portions of their holdings—estimated to be over $100 billion in Bitcoin last year alone.\nCompetition from Other Markets: Crypto has enjoyed significant retail interest, but now AI stocks and precious metals are pulling some attention away. “Attention investors,” who flocked to crypto in recent years, are now diverting their capital elsewhere.\nThe October 10 Leverage Liquidation: The crypto market also faced the largest leveraged liquidation event in history following an unexpected announcement by former President Donald Trump. This event triggered panic selling in the absence of traditional market liquidity, further depressing prices.\nConcerns Over Federal Reserve Leadership: President Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh for Federal Reserve Chair raised concerns, particularly among investors who feared Warsh’s hawkish stance on interest rates, creating unease in broader markets, including crypto.\nRising Fears of Quantum Computing: There’s a growing anxiety within the crypto community about the potential threat of quantum computing, which could undermine the security of Bitcoin. While many believe it’s a long-term issue, the lack of visible action has led some investors to retreat from the market.\nMacro Risk-Off Sentiment: A broader shift in global markets towards risk-off sentiment has affected Bitcoin. Alongside Bitcoin’s struggles, other assets like gold, silver, and tech stocks have also seen steep declines.\n\nCould crypto fall further?\nWhile the market’s current drawdown of 54% from its peak seems severe, Hougan cautions that it could go lower. \nPrevious downturns have been much larger—Bitcoin fell 86% in 2014, 84% in 2018, and 77% in 2022. \nHistorical trends suggest that bear markets typically last 12-13 months, so this current slump might not be over yet. However, given crypto’s maturing nature, a 77% drop seems unlikely, though it remains a possibility.\nWhat could help it recover?\nFor many seasoned investors, this moment feels similar to past bear markets in 2018 and 2022, which were followed by massive rallies. Investors who bought the dip in those years saw substantial returns—around 2,000% from 2018 and 300% from 2022. \nThe fundamentals supporting crypto are still in place: a growing demand for digital currencies, increasing regulatory clarity, and innovations like tokenization and stablecoins continue to drive the sector forward.\nThe timing of the market bottom remains uncertain, but recovery often comes through time and exhaustion. Specific catalysts could accelerate recovery, such as regulatory developments like the Clarity Act, the continued rise of AI-linked crypto projects, or a return to risk-on market sentiment.\nFor now, Hougan advises patience. While it’s impossible to predict the exact moment the market will turn, the long-term outlook for crypto remains promising for those with the fortitude to weather the storm.\nCrypto markets are volatile, and the current downturn could continue in the short term, Hougan adds. However, for investors with a long-term perspective, history suggests that bear markets often precede significant growth. \nWith key factors like regulatory advancements and growing adoption still in play, he argues that crypto’s future still holds substantial upside, making the current moment a potential buying opportunity for those prepared to wait.","kind":"highlight","is_publish_news":true,"is_publish_highlight":false,"is_publish_live":false,"is_publish_wemedia":null,"editions":null,"column":"","sentiment":"-1","news_tag":"","news_rank":0,"symbols":[],"gpt_button":0,"need_auth":false,"code":"91000000","status":"200"},"commentList":[],"isCommentEnd":true,"newsSizeData":{"likeSize":0,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"favoriteSize":0,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false},"APP":{"userAgent":"Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)","isDev":false,"isTTM":true,"tenantId":"TBGLOBAL","deviceId":"web-server-community-laohu8-v3","version":"4.36.2","shortVersion":"4.36.2","platform":"web","vendor":"web","appName":"ttm","isIOS":false,"isAndroid":false,"isTiger":false,"isTHS":false,"isWeiXin":false,"isWeiXinMini":false,"isWeiBo":false,"isQQ":false,"isBaiduSwan":false,"isBaiduBox":false,"isDingTalk":false,"isToutiao":false,"isOnePlus":false,"isHuaWei":false,"isXiaomi":false,"isXiaomiWebView":false,"isOppo":false,"isVivo":false,"isSamsung":false,"isMobile":false},"href":"/m/news/2609517657","isCrawlerRequest":true}