Bull vs bearWhat are bull and bear markets?

A bull market describes a longer period of price growth, growth in the value of a stock, or in our case of the cryptocurrency market. A bear market is the exact opposite: a longer period in which the value of a stock or Bitcoin keeps decreasing. Below we explain both terms, starting with the bull side.

A bull market is a period in which prices rise steadily over a longer time. The phrase is borrowed from traditional stock markets but applies to any asset, including bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Most analysts consider a market to be in bull territory once prices have risen by 20% or more from a recent low and continue to climb.

A bull market is driven by optimism. Investors expect prices to keep going up, more buyers enter the market, trading volumes grow and media coverage turns positive. New projects launch, retail interest spikes and crypto can briefly become a mainstream conversation topic.

The most famous crypto bull markets so far:

The animal in the name isn't a coincidence. When a bull attacks, it strikes upwards with its horns, the same direction as rising prices. The bear, on the other hand, strikes downwards with its claws when it attacks. The two animals turned into shorthand for the two market directions.

You'll find this symbolism in the famous Charging Bull statue on Wall Street, in front of the New York Stock Exchange. It celebrates rising markets, and you'll often see crypto enthusiasts share photos of it during periods of optimism.

A bear market is the opposite: a longer period in which prices fall continuously. Most platforms call a market "bearish" once it has dropped by 20% or more from its recent high and the downward trend persists.

The mood is pessimism. Investors take profits or cut losses, trading volumes shrink and media coverage turns sceptical. Some projects fail, weaker exchanges close and retail traders move to the sidelines.

The two best-known crypto bear markets:

Crypto markets typically swing between bull and bear cycles, with shorter rallies and corrections inside each cycle. A few rules of thumb:

• A temporary dip of 5-15% inside a longer uptrend is not necessarily a bear market, it's often called a correction.
• A brief rally during a long downtrend is not always a new bull market, traders sometimes call this a bear-market rally or dead-cat bounce.
• Cycles in crypto have historically been linked to the Bitcoin halving (roughly every four years), but past patterns don't guarantee future results.

The honest answer is: nobody can predict exactly when a cycle turns. What you can do is recognise the signs and decide on a strategy that works for you in both phases, for example dollar-cost averaging (buying a fixed amount each month) so the timing of any single purchase matters less.