PANews reported on February 18th, citing The Block, that Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated that decentralized finance (DeFi) is poised to lead the crypto market out of the current bear market. He pointed out that major DeFi protocols have shown substantial progress: Uniswap DEX trading volume frequently surpasses centralized exchange Coinbase, and DeFi lending platform Aave generates over $100 million in annual revenue. Hougan believes the next bull market will focus on fundamentals, and DeFi aligns with this trend. Hougan specifically mentioned Aave Labs' recent governance proposal, which aims to transfer all Aave-branded product revenue to the DAO treasury while adjusting incentive mechanisms between developers and the community. He believes this shift will help address the long-standing misalignment between protocol success and token value, and if Aave can implement it, other DeFi assets can follow suit. He also noted signs of institutional involvement, such as BlackRock's investment in Uniswap and Apollo's investment in Aave's competitor Morpho.

Furthermore, in an interview with Fox Business, Strategy co-founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor stated that the current crypto market is indeed in a bear market, but it is "much milder than previous cycles" and "will last for a shorter period." He noted that banking support for Bitcoin is stronger than it was four years ago, with continued capital inflows and ongoing technological advancements, and posted on the X platform that "spring is coming, Bitcoin is winning."