Crypto glossary
Bear market
A bear market is a prolonged period of falling prices and weak sentiment, commonly defined as a decline of at least 20% from a recent peak.
In crypto, bear markets are often deep: bitcoin fell roughly 80% from its peak in 2018 and more than 75% in 2022, and many altcoins lost over 90%. Prolonged downturns are also called crypto winters, a period when trading volume, funding for startups and media attention all shrink.
Bear markets are frequently triggered or deepened by failures. The 2022 downturn included the collapse of Terra in May, the bankruptcies of lenders such as Celsius and the fall of the FTX exchange in November.
For investors, bear markets mean lower prices and long recoveries, but they also clear out excessive leverage and weak projects. Many long-term holders use them to accumulate through dollar-cost averaging, accepting that the bottom is only visible in hindsight.
Example
An investor who bought ether near $4,800 in November 2021 watched it fall below $1,000 in June 2022, a drop of about 80% that is typical of a crypto bear market.
Related terms
Latest articles on Bear market
- BIT Research Declares Bitcoin Bear Market Over, Eyes $185K–$215K Cycle Target
- Bitcoin’s RSI Breaks 85 in a Move Never Seen in Bear Markets
- Bitcoin Faces a Critical Test: Can BTC Break Free From the Bear Market?
- Bitcoin at a Turning Point? BTC Network Activity Falls to 2018 Bear Market Levels
- Is the Crypto Bear Market Ending? Matt Hougan Predicts a $100 Trillion Institutional Migration to Blockchain
