{"id":857,"date":"2026-02-19T08:24:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T08:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/?p=857"},"modified":"2026-02-19T08:24:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T08:24:14","slug":"bitwise-says-aave-could-play-key-role-in-ending-the-crypto-downturn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/bitwise-says-aave-could-play-key-role-in-ending-the-crypto-downturn\/","title":{"rendered":"Bitwise Says Aave Could Play Key Role in Ending the Crypto Downturn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" data-id=\"858\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1577.avif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-858\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After months of weak price action following Bitcoin\u2019s drop from its record high above 126,000 dollars, market sentiment remains fragile and concerns about a prolonged crypto winter continue to grow. However, Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise Asset Management, believes decentralized finance could help lead the market into recovery as investors refocus on fundamentals such as real users, revenue generation, and long term value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aave in Focus<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a recent commentary, Hougan highlighted a governance proposal from Aave Labs titled \u201cAave Will Win\u201d as a sign that DeFi may be evolving. He argued that major protocols such as Uniswap and Aave already operate like substantial businesses. Uniswap has at times processed more spot trading volume than Coinbase, while Aave generates over 100 million dollars annually in revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite this activity, many DeFi tokens have lagged because they were structured primarily as governance tools, granting voting rights without a direct share in protocol income. Hougan explained that this model emerged partly due to regulatory concerns, especially scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Howey test framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aave previously introduced upgrades known as Aavenomics in 2024 and 2025, including token buybacks funded by protocol fees. Still, debate continued over revenue allocation, particularly after Aave Labs directed 10 million dollars in swap fees to itself in late 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new proposal aims to send all revenue from Aave branded products, including its website, mobile app, card, and institutional offerings, directly to the DAO treasury governed by token holders. In exchange, Aave Labs would receive a funding package valued at around 50 million dollars to support development of Aave V4 and transfer intellectual property to the community, while a separate foundation would manage the brand and trademarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hougan said this structure could shift the Aave token from a governance only instrument to one with a clearer link to revenue, while positioning the founding team as a service provider accountable to token holders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The proposal has faced criticism from some community members who question the size of the funding request and seek clearer definitions of how revenue would be calculated and managed. Even so, Hougan believes Aave\u2019s approach could influence other projects to rethink how value flows to token holders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After months of weak price action following Bitcoin\u2019s drop from its record high above 126,000 dollars, market sentiment remains fragile and concerns about a prolonged crypto&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=857"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":859,"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857\/revisions\/859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}