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If you’ve spent any time in the cryptocurrency world, you’ve likely heard someone confidently say, “we’re in a bull market.” This phrase gets tossed around so often that it loses its meaning. Let’s break down what it really means, why crypto bull runs are different from anything else in finance, and what usually happens during them.
The Basic Definition (And Why Crypto Breaks It)
In traditional finance, a “bull market” is a period in which prices rise by 20% or more from recent lows. The term comes from the way a bull attacks—thrusting its horns upward—while a bear swipes downward.
Crypto ignores that 20% benchmark.
In stocks, a 20% gain over a year is considered a strong sign of a bull market. In crypto, 20% is just an average day. A real crypto bull market usually means prices have risen hundreds or even thousands of percent over a few months to a couple of years. Bitcoin’s run from 2020 to 2021 went from around $4,000 to nearly $69,000—a roughly 17x increase. That’s not just a bull market by traditional standards; that’s a financial event.
What Actually Causes a Crypto Bull Market
Crypto bull runs are not random. They are propelled by a mix of factors, and after watching a few, you can spot the identical elements every time:
**1. The Bitcoin halving.** About every four years, the reward miners get for producing a Bitcoin block is halved. This reduces new supply. Historically, every halving (2012, 2016, 2020, 2024) has been followed within 12 to 18 months by a massive bull run. Whether this is a cause or a coincidence is debated, but the pattern is striking.
2. Macro liquidity. When central banks print money, lower interest rates, or increase the money supply, that liquid money has to go somewhere. A significant portion tends to flow into riskier assets, and crypto is at the high end of that risk spectrum.
3. Organizational adoption. The 2020-2021 cycle saw MicroStrategy as well as Tesla buying Bitcoin. In the 2024-2025 cycle, the approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in the U.S. brought in pension funds, hedge funds, and traditional Wall Street money that had previously been excluded.
4. Narrative. Crypto relies on stories. DeFi summer in 2020. NFTs in 2021. AI tokens and memecoins in 2024. Tokenization of real-world assets in 2025. Each bull market has its main story—often several—and capital shifts between them.
5. Retail FOMO. Eventually, your taxi driver, dentist, and that cousin who never invests in anything start asking about Bitcoin. This is both a sign of bull markets and, eventually, a warning signal.
The Phases of a Crypto Bull Run
Bull markets are not a straight line up; they have stages. Knowing which phase you’re in is important:
The Disbelief Phase. Prices have hit bottom, but nobody believes it. Everyone is still rattled from the previous bear market. Headlines are negative. Savvy investors are quietly accumulating.
The Recovery Phase. Bitcoin starts climbing steadily. People say, “it’s just a bounce; we’ll retest the lows.” Savvy investors keep buying. This phase usually offers the best risk-adjusted returns.
The Belief Phase. Bitcoin breaks its previous all-time high. Suddenly, everyone believes again. CNBC starts running daily crypto segments. New altcoins begin to surge. This is where the excitement builds.
Altseason. Money flows out of Bitcoin into Ethereum, then into large-cap altcoins, then into mid-cap ones, and finally into lower-quality tokens. By the end, even meme-based tokens are skyrocketing. People quit their jobs to day-trade. It feels like free money.
The Euphoria Phase. Tweets about Lamborghinis. Magazine covers calling crypto “the future.” Traditional finance people who once labeled it a scam are now starting crypto funds. Your barista offers altcoin tips. Historically, this is when it all comes crashing down.
What Goes Up: The Asset Hierarchy
Money in a bull market doesn’t flow randomly; it moves in a predictable order:
1. **Bitcoin moves first.** It’s the reserve asset of crypto. When BTC rises, everything else usually follows.
2. **Ethereum follows.** As the second-largest asset and the main platform for altcoin activity, ETH typically lags Bitcoin by weeks or months, then catches up.
3. **Large-cap alts.** Coins like Solana, XRP, and Avalanche begin to outperform.
4. **Mid-caps and sector plays.** Whatever the cycle’s narrative—DeFi, gaming, AI, memecoins—those sectors take off.
5. **Microcaps as well as meme tokens.** This is the gamble. Tokens with no fundamentals and trendy images can rise 1,000% on hype alone.
This sequence is what traders mean when they talk about the “Bitcoin dominance” chart falling—money is flowing out of BTC into other assets.
The Psychology That Defines Them
Bull markets are 80% psychology and 20% fundamentals. What makes them so wild—and thrilling—is how they affect people’s thinking:
– Everyone thinks they’re a genius.** You buy a coin, it skyrockets, and you assume you’re a skilled investor. (You’re not; the market just lifted all boats.)
– Risk perception vanishes. Putting your entire net worth into a token launched two weeks ago by an unknown developer suddenly seems smart.
– Time horizons shrink. “I’ll hold for years” turns into “why didn’t this pump in the last 48 hours? I need to sell.”