[Bitwise CIO, who most frequently claimed 'the four-year cycle is dead,' now admits crypto is in a bear market due to the 'four-year cycle'] BlockBeats news, February 11: Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise Asset Management, stated in an interview with CNBC that the 'four-year cycle' is the reason crypto has entered a bear market, a phenomenon that has occurred three times in the cryptocurrency market. 'People always want to find a single culprit for Bitcoin's current pullback. But there isn't one single culprit,' he said on Monday during the 'ETF Edge' program. Hougan believes that investors have recently tended to allocate funds to other popular investment targets, including gold and artificial intelligence stocks, rather than cryptocurrencies. 'There are some quantum computing risks. The market is also concerned about Federal Reserve Chair nominee Kevin Warsh,' he said. 'In a bear market, all these factors get magnified.' However, Hougan believes that Bitcoin's weakness should not ultimately undermine the momentum of ETFs focused on cryptocurrencies. He thinks the current crypto market is dominated by a 'self-fulfilling prophecy.' 'There is good news beneath the surface; it's just unfolding more slowly. Therefore, I don't think Bitcoin's financialization fundamentally changes its scarcity argument,' Hougan said. 'It may alter some intraday movements or short-term trading dynamics, but it won't change one fundamental fact: Bitcoin's total supply is only 21 million. All derivative demand must ultimately flow back to the spot market.' It is worth noting that Matt Hougan had publicly and prominently declared 'the four-year cycle is dead' multiple times on social media, blogs, podcasts, and interviews in late 2025 (especially around December). At that time, Bitcoin's price was still at a high level, and Hougan's tone was optimistic and institutional, emphasizing 'this time is different'—the cycle had been 'killed' by institutional funds and a mature market.