What is Bear market?
A sustained period of falling prices and pessimism. In crypto, historical bear markets have routinely cut major coins 70–90% from their highs.
A bear market is a sustained decline — months to years of falling prices, evaporating volume and fading interest. Crypto's versions are brutal even by market standards: major coins have historically fallen 70–90% from their peaks, and each cycle's bear has killed off thousands of smaller projects that never returned for the next spring.
Bears are where discipline gets tested and where the boring strategies earn their keep: position sizes you can hold without panic, scheduled buying that continues mechanically, and realised losses put to work through tax-loss offsetting. They're also where survivorship is decided — the projects still shipping in year two of a bear are a meaningfully different set from the ones marketing in the bull.
See it in practice
Related terms: Bull market · Dollar-cost averaging · HODL · full glossary
FAQ
How long do crypto bear markets last?
Historical ones have run roughly one to two years peak-to-trough, but the sample is small and the variance large. Anyone quoting a precise schedule is extrapolating from a handful of data points.
Should I sell everything in a bear market?
That's a personal decision no glossary should make. What the record shows: panic-selling lows and buying back euphoria is the retail wealth destroyer, which is why position sizing you can sleep with matters more than forecasting.
General information only, not financial advice. Definitions are maintained in our fact database and reviewed with the daily rebuild.