Institutional flows masked the severity of the 'crypto winter'
According to Bitwise's Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan, the sharp decline in cryptocurrency prices in 2022 was partially masked by large inflows of institutional investor funds. However, he believes that this 'crypto winter' is now closer to the end than the beginning.
Hougan noted that the influx of funds into cryptocurrency ETFs and corporate reserves softened the perception of the severity of the downturn. He said that many investors and analysts believed the situation was not as bad as in previous 'crypto winters' due to this inflow of 'hot' money.
However, now that this institutional interest is declining, it has become clear how deep the decline in the crypto sector was in 2022. Hougan believes that we are now quite close to the end of this 'bear' cycle, and cryptocurrencies will begin to recover in the near future.
Expert's assessment of the crypto market outlook
According to Matt Hougan, Bitwise's Chief Investment Officer, although last year was one of the toughest in the history of cryptocurrencies, we are now close to the end of this 'bear' cycle. He notes that the influx of institutional investor funds into cryptocurrency ETFs and corporate reserves softened the perception of the depth of the decline, but now, as this interest begins to wane, it becomes clear how serious the crisis was. Overall, the expert is optimistic about the near-term prospects of the cryptocurrency market.