Bull Market

A bull market is an extended period in which prices rise and sentiment is positive. The term comes from the image of a bull thrusting its horns upward. In crypto, bull markets have tended to arrive in multi-year cycles, with major runs peaking in 2013, 2017, 2021, and the 2024 to 2025 period that followed the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Bull markets typically begin quietly after a long decline, accelerate as media attention and new participants arrive, and end in a period of extreme optimism with rapid price gains in speculative assets. During a bull market, altcoins and memecoins often outperform Bitcoin by large multiples, and leverage and risk-taking increase.

The hardest part of a bull market is recognizing the end. Each cycle has featured confident predictions that prices would keep rising right up to the peak. Participants who plan in advance how much they will sell and at what points tend to fare better than those who decide in the moment.