Matt Hougan, chief investment officer of Bitwise, wrote on the X platform that Bitcoin investment has been frustrating over the past year. Throughout the history of Bitcoin, various mechanisms have artificially brought forward future demand. The culprit is Grayscale GBTC. As hedge funds trade at a premium, GBTC has brought forward tens of billions of dollars of future demand. But there are other mechanisms, including the bankruptcy of Mt.Gox and the confiscated Bitcoins of Silk Road.
These "lock boxes" keep the price of Bitcoin higher than the price of the free-flowing market, which is good, but these assets are now being unlocked, thanks to ETFs and the passage of time. As a result, Bitcoin must attract tens of billions of dollars in new demand to maintain the status quo.
Matt Hougan added that the market has eliminated most of the outstanding issues, such as the stabilization of GBTC assets, but has not eliminated all outstanding issues, resulting in pressure on today's cryptocurrency market.