Bull Market

A bull market is a sustained period of rising prices in an asset or market, conventionally defined in equities as a gain of 20 percent or more from a recent low. The name comes from the way a bull attacks, thrusting its horns upward, in contrast to the downward swipe of a bear.

Why it matters

Bull markets are when most wealth is made on paper and most investing mistakes are seeded. Rising prices attract inflows, media attention, and leverage, which feed further rises; the psychology of not wanting to miss out does the rest. In bitcoin's short history, bull markets have been extreme even by speculative standards, with cycle gains measured in multiples rather than percentages, historically clustered in the 12 to 18 months following each halving of new supply. The 20 percent threshold that defines a stock bull market can occur in bitcoin within a week, which is why cycle analysis there leans on drawdowns from prior peaks instead.

In the gold vs bitcoin debate

The two assets have historically run bull markets on different fuel. Gold's great runs, 1971 to 1980 and 2001 to 2011, tracked inflation fear, negative real yields, and distrust of monetary policy. Bitcoin's cycles have tracked adoption waves and supply halvings, though the January 2024 approval of United States spot ETFs pulled it closer to gold's macro driven flows. When both rally together, as in stretches of 2024 and 2025, commentators read it as a shared verdict on fiat currency debasement.