What Comes After a Bull Run? Bear Market Patterns and Preparation
What happens after a crypto bull run? How past bear markets unfolded, warning signs of a turn, what to expect in 2026–2027 and how to prepare your portfolio.
After a crypto bull run, history up to mid-2025 shows a consistent pattern: a sharp reversal, a long bear market in which bitcoin fell by more than three-quarters and most altcoins fell further, a wave of failures and a quiet period before recovery. Nobody can say when the next turn will come, but understanding these patterns helps you prepare before it does.
This guide explains how past bear markets unfolded, the warning signs investors have watched, what could be different in 2026 and 2027 and a practical preparation plan.
How Past Bear Markets Unfolded
| Cycle | Peak period | What followed |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Late 2013 | A long decline through 2014–2015, worsened by the collapse of the Mt. Gox exchange |
| 2017 | December 2017 | A bear market through 2018; bitcoin fell by more than 80% and most ICO tokens collapsed |
| 2021 | Late 2021 | A bear market through 2022; bitcoin fell by more than three-quarters, and Terra, Celsius, Three Arrows Capital and FTX failed |
Some patterns repeated:
- 1The first drop is often dismissed as a healthy correction.
- 2Relief rallies convince many that the bull run has resumed, before lower lows follow.
- 3Leverage unwinds through cascading liquidations.
- 4Hidden problems surface, as lenders, exchanges and projects that relied on rising prices fail.
- 5Attention fades, trading volumes fall, and prices often move sideways for months.
Our articles on what ended past crypto bull runs and the 2021 crypto bull run go deeper.
Warning Signs Investors Have Watched
No signal reliably marks the top, but these have often appeared late in rallies:
- Extreme greed on sentiment measures such as the Fear & Greed Index.
- High funding rates and record open interest, showing heavy leverage.
- A flood of new tokens and copycat projects.
- Mainstream hype, such as crypto ads everywhere and friends asking which coin to buy.
- Prices failing to rise on good news, suggesting buyers are exhausted.
- Rising stress at lenders or exchanges, such as withdrawal delays.
Use these to reduce risk gradually rather than to make all-or-nothing calls. Our guide to signs of a crypto market top lists more.
What Could Be Different in 2026 and 2027
Some argue future bear markets may be milder, because of:
- Spot ETFs (approved in the US in January 2024), which bring longer-term institutional holders.
- Corporate treasury holdings of bitcoin.
- Clearer regulation in some major markets.
Others point out that new structures can create new risks: ETF outflows, treasury companies under pressure or leverage hidden in new products. Neither view is proven. Plan as if a deep bear market is possible, and treat a milder one as a bonus. Related reading: Will There Be a Crypto Bull Run in 2027?
Preparing Before the Turn
Preparation works best while prices are still rising:
- 1Take profits by plan. Sell portions at predefined levels or rebalance regularly. See how to take profits in a crypto bull run without regret.
- 2Cut leverage. Leverage turns a bear market from painful to devastating.
- 3Hold some dry powder. Keep a portion in stablecoins or cash, with issuers and platforms you trust.
- 4Move long-term holdings to self-custody. Exchange and lender failures cluster in bear markets.
- 5Review your altcoins. Ask which ones you would be comfortable holding through a long downturn.
- 6Set aside money for taxes on realized gains, and keep records.
- 7Make sure you will not be a forced seller. Keep an emergency fund outside crypto.
Our guide to protecting your portfolio in a bear market covers defensive moves in detail.
Living Through a Bear Market
If a downturn comes:
- Avoid catching falling knives with large lump sums; gradual buying spreads the risk.
- Watch for recovery scams, which target people who lost money and promise to retrieve it for a fee. Read recovery scams.
- Check counterparty health. Withdraw from platforms showing signs of stress.
- Keep learning. Bear markets are when many investors build knowledge and research projects calmly.
- Look for survivors. Projects that keep building and retain users through a downturn often look very different from those that only thrived on hype.
Which Assets Have Held Up Better
Bear markets have not treated all crypto assets equally. In past downturns, a few broad patterns appeared:
- Bitcoin generally fell less than most altcoins, and its share of total crypto market value tended to rise.
- Large, established networks usually fell sharply but survived.
- Small caps and narrative tokens suffered the deepest losses, and many disappeared.
- Projects with real users and revenue were more likely to keep building, though their tokens still fell.
These are tendencies, not guarantees. Our article on which crypto sectors survived past bear markets best looks at the evidence in more detail.
Scenarios for the Period After a 2026–2027 Rally
- Classic bear market: a deep decline of a year or more, consistent with past cycles.
- Shallower correction: institutional demand cushions the fall, but altcoins still drop sharply.
- Prolonged sideways market: no dramatic crash, but years of range-bound prices that test patience.
A plan that survives the first scenario will handle the other two. Our article Is the Crypto Bull Run Over? How to Tell Peaks from Pullbacks expands on this point.
If you want to go further, read Crypto Bull Run 2027.
Bottom line
What comes after a crypto bull run has, so far, been a long and painful bear market. Prepare while prices are rising: take profits by plan, remove leverage, secure your holdings and make sure you will never be forced to sell. Track the market as it actually is on the live Bitcoin price page, not as forecasts say it will be.
Questions fréquentes
What usually happens after a crypto bull run?
In past cycles, bull runs were followed by bear markets lasting roughly a year or more, in which bitcoin fell by more than three-quarters from its peak and many altcoins fell much further. Leverage unwound, weak projects failed and attention faded. Eventually prices stabilized, often for a long period, before the next recovery.
How long do crypto bear markets last?
Past major bear markets, after the 2013, 2017 and 2021 peaks, each lasted around a year or longer from peak to bottom, followed by extended periods of sideways trading. That history is limited, and future bear markets could be shorter, longer, deeper or shallower.
How can I tell if a bull run is ending?
No single signal is reliable, but common warning signs have included extreme greed in sentiment indexes, very high leverage and funding rates, a flood of new token launches, mainstream hype, and prices failing to make new highs despite good news. Use them to adjust risk, not to try to time the exact top.
What should I do to prepare for a bear market?
Take some profits during the rally according to a plan, reduce or avoid leverage, keep part of your holdings in stablecoins or cash, move long-term holdings to secure self-custody, keep tax records and make sure you would not need to sell crypto during a downturn to cover living expenses.