A bear is an investor who expects the price of an asset, such as Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, to decrease. They aim to profit when prices drop, often by selling high and buying back later at a lower price.
Crypto has seen its fair share of brutal bear markets. One of the most infamous was Bitcoin’s 410-day slump between 2013 and 2015, a stretch long enough to test anyone’s conviction.
Bears don’t all see the world the same way, though. Some are reacting to big-picture doubts about crypto’s future, while others are simply betting on short-term moves in a specific coin or token.
Mainstream analysts and big institutional investors tend to be more openly bearish on crypto. Their argument is usually the same: huge price gains can’t last forever, and blockchain hasn’t proven it has lasting real-world use.
Dedicated crypto traders, on the other hand, might flip bearish around particular events. With Bitcoin, for instance, long bear phases often show up before halving cycles, which, ironically, usually kick off the next bull run.
Why People Turn Bearish
People develop bearish views for many reasons, including:
- Economic or political instability
- Negative news about crypto or specific tokens
- Technical chart signals showing weakness
- High prices that seem impossible to sustain
What’s the difference between a bear market and correction?
These two terms related but not the same:
- A correction is a short-term price drop of about 10% or more from a recent peak.
- A bear market lasts much longer, typically a 20% or greater decline, alongside falling confidence and slower trading activity.
