[Bitwise CIO Says DeFi May Lead Crypto Market Recovery, Saylor Predicts Bitcoin's Spring] Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated in a client memo that decentralized finance (DeFi) could lead the crypto market out of the bear market, as leading DeFi protocols already have a foundation of real users and revenue. He cited data showing that Uniswap's DEX trading volume consistently surpasses Coinbase, Aave's annual revenue exceeds $100 million, and mentioned a governance proposal by Aave Labs to allocate Aave-branded product revenue to the DAO treasury, restructuring developer and community incentive structures. Hougan believes that promoting such mechanisms could address the disconnect between protocol value and token value. He also pointed out that BlackRock's investment in Uniswap tokens and Apollo's investment in Aave competitor Morpho indicate that institutional funds are accelerating their entry into the DeFi sector. Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor, on the other hand, stated that the crypto market's bear cycle is milder and shorter than before, and predicted that Bitcoin's recovery is imminent.