Catenaa, Wednesday, February 25, 2026-Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said decentralized finance could help pull crypto out of its bear market as governance reforms and institutional buying gather pace, while Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor predicted bitcoin will recover from what he called a milder winter.
In a client memo Tuesday, Hougan said downturns often mask steady progress across the sector. He pointed to major DeFi platforms generating real revenue and serving active users despite falling token prices.
Hougan cited Uniswap’s trading volume, which at times exceeds Coinbase, and said Aave generates more than $100 million in annual revenue. Yet their tokens have lagged. Aave is down about 50% over the past year, while Uniswap is flat over five years.
He said recent governance proposals at Aave could change that pattern. A plan from Aave Labs would route product revenue to the DAO treasury controlled by token holders and shift intellectual property rights to the community. Token holders could then allocate funds to development, buybacks or reserves.
The proposal has drawn debate within Aave’s community over revenue definitions and funding levels. Hougan said the broader move toward stronger token economics could reshape the sector if adopted widely.
He also noted institutional interest, including investments by BlackRock in Uniswap tokens and Apollo in Morpho, an Aave rival.
Separately, Saylor told Fox Business the market remains in a downturn but is less severe than prior cycles. He cited stronger banking support and continued capital inflows as reasons for optimism.
