What Is a Bull Market in Crypto?

A bull market is a long stretch when prices mostly go up and people expect them to keep going up. In crypto a bull market is usually measured in months rather than days: bitcoin's climb through 2020 and into late 2021 was one, and so was 2017. The name comes from the way a bull attacks, throwing its horns upward.

What does a bull market look like from the inside?

Rising prices are only half of it. Trading volume swells, new tokens launch every week, exchanges struggle to process sign-ups, and people who have never mentioned crypto start asking you what to buy. Money tends to move outward in a rough order: bitcoin first, then Ethereum, then smaller coins. The networks get busy too, so fees climb — one swap on Uniswap costs far more on a frantic day than on a quiet one.

It feels like a rising tide in a harbour. Nearly every boat goes up, which makes it very easy to believe you are a talented sailor.

Why do bull markets end?

Because they run on expectation, and expectation runs out. Prices rise while new buyers keep arriving; when the supply of new buyers thins, the same optimism runs in reverse. The endings have been sharp. Bitcoin peaked near $19,700 in December 2017 and traded around $3,200 a year later. It peaked near $69,000 in November 2021 and was near $16,000 by the end of 2022. Nobody rang a bell at either top, and nobody can tell you where the next one sits.

How should a beginner treat one?

Carefully, because a bull market is when the most money is lost by people who are sure it cannot happen to them. Two habits do most of the work: buy a small amount on a schedule rather than a large amount in one excited afternoon, and move anything you intend to keep into a wallet you control instead of leaving it on an exchange. Scams peak along with prices — free giveaways, guaranteed doubling, a friendly stranger offering to manage your money — because that is when people ask the fewest questions.

If you are new and everything you hold is green, that is the moment to write down what you would do if it all fell by half, while you can still think clearly. Then read what market cap actually tells you, and where to keep your coins.