{"id":419914,"date":"2026-02-16T19:56:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T14:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/bitwise-cio-says-ai-and-precious-metals-helped-spark-bitcoin-downturn-and-several-catalysts-could-turn-things-around-crypto-news\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T20:26:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T14:56:43","slug":"bitwise-cio-says-ai-and-precious-metals-helped-spark-bitcoin-downturn-and-several-catalysts-could-turn-things-around-crypto-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/bitwise-cio-says-ai-and-precious-metals-helped-spark-bitcoin-downturn-and-several-catalysts-could-turn-things-around-crypto-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Bitwise CIO Says AI and Precious Metals Helped Spark Bitcoin Downturn, And Several Catalysts Could \u2018Turn Things Around\u2019 &#8211; Crypto News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p data-start=\"150\" data-end=\"463\">Bitcoin (<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/dailyhodl.com\/currencies\/bitcoin\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">BTC<\/a>) is now nearly 50% below its all-time high set four months ago.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"150\" data-end=\"463\">And according to Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan, there is \u201cnever a single reason why the crypto market falls,\u201d but rather multiple factors at work.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"150\" data-end=\"463\">[adinserter block=&#8221;1&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"465\" data-end=\"778\">Hougan <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/experts.bitwiseinvestments.com\/cio-memos\/why-crypto-is-down-and-when-it-might-bottom\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">believes<\/a> there are six major drivers behind the downturn.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"465\" data-end=\"778\">Chief among them is long-term investors selling to \u201cfront-run the four-year cycle.\u201d Hougan estimates those investors sold over $100 billion of BTC last year.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"780\" data-end=\"1145\">Another key factor is shifting investor attention, thanks to AI stocks and precious metals.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1147\" data-end=\"1325\">Hougan also blames a historic leverage liquidation event on October 10th of last year, concerns about Fed leadership, worries over quantum computing risks and broader macro risk-off sentiment.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1147\" data-end=\"1325\"><em>\u201cCould it fall further? Yes, it\u2019s possible, if history is any guide. Previous drawdowns have been significantly larger than the current 54% fall from the peak\u2026 And prior crypto downturns have tended to last 12-13 months, meaning this one could have a ways to go. <\/em><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1147\" data-end=\"1325\"><em>Our internal \u2018market bottom\u2019 models suggest the probability of a bottom is increasing, but it\u2019s not a surety.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1147\" data-end=\"1325\">Hougan says crypto is a more mature asset class than it was in the past, and potential catalysts include regulatory progress such as the Clarity Act, a return to risk-on markets, progress on quantum, rising rate-cut expectations, and crypto breakthroughs connected to the rise of AI.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1147\" data-end=\"1325\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 13pt;\">Follow us on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheDailyHodl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">X<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thedailyhodl\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/thedailyhodl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Telegram<\/a><\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<br \/><em><span style=\"font-size: 13pt;\">Don&#8217;t Miss a Beat \u2013 <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/dailyhodl.com\/join-the-daily-hodl-email-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Subscribe<\/a> to get email alerts delivered directly to your inbox <\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<br \/><em><span style=\"font-size: 13pt;\">Check <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/dailyhodl.com\/crypto-markets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Price Action<\/a><\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<br \/><em><span style=\"font-size: 13pt;\">Surf <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/dailyhodl.com\/daily-hodl-mix\">The Daily Hodl Mix<\/a><\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"hideinamp\">\n<p>&#038;nbsp<\/p>\n<h6>Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any assets including cryptocurrencies, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<p data-start=\"1147\" data-end=\"1325\"><em>Generated Image: Midjourney<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bitcoin (BTC) is now nearly 50% below its all-time high set four months ago. And according to Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan, there is \u201cnever a single reason why the crypto market falls,\u201d but rather multiple factors at work. [adinserter block=&#8221;1&#8243;] Hougan believes there are six major drivers behind the downturn. Chief among them [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":419922,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[201,248,251,246,257,255,250,252,247,253,249,256,254],"class_list":["post-419914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-others","tag-blockchain","tag-bsc","tag-chainlink","tag-coin","tag-cryptocurrency","tag-gta","tag-looks-rare","tag-oracle","tag-polygon","tag-quickswap","tag-safe-moon","tag-wallet","tag-wordpress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=419914"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":419923,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419914\/revisions\/419923"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/419922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=419914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=419914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=419914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}