Popular trader and analyst Michael Van de Poppe has charted what he believes to be the longest bear market in crypto history, spanning four years from 2022 to 2025. He consequently predicts the market is poised for its largest bull cycle yet.

This opinion is reinforced by the price action of Bitcoin (BTC) and major altcoins like Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL), which have recently overcome significant resistance and are pushing towards new highs.

The Bull Run and Bear Market Paradox

Many in the community share Van de Poppe's bullish outlook. Anticipation of a bear market's end often fuels optimism, increased risk-taking, and price surges.

However, bull markets often present a paradox to bear markets. While positive sentiment, sustained price increases, and high trading volume typically signal a bull run, this enthusiasm can lead to FOMO-driven investments and meme coin frenzies, ignoring fundamental market analysis. This can result in some cryptocurrencies making significant independent moves. Altcoins focusing on utility and infrastructure development may gain favor, contrasting with the often-ignored innovation and partnerships during bear markets. In short, market psychology completely reverses, with actions deemed reasonable in a bear market appearing irrational during a bull run, and vice versa.

Potential 2017 Cycle Retest

In a previous post, Van de Poppe suggested the market could mirror the bullish performance of the 2017 cycle, characterized by a bottoming-out period followed by significant upward momentum. Bitcoin experienced five major pullbacks (lasting two to three months each) before reaching new highs; these pullbacks ultimately proved insignificant.

Van de Poppe anticipates a similar pattern, with the current bullish cycle nearing its bottom and initiating a new upward trend. He projects 12 to 18 months of upward momentum, echoing the 2017 surge. He concludes that the extended bear market positions the market for significant adoption and price gains.

Bitcoin and Altcoin Correlation

During the reviewed period, Bitcoin demonstrated strength, rising 2.5% to $95,504, with daily trading volume surging 29.6% to $39.8 billion. Crypto analyst Dan Gambardello further supports this positive outlook, predicting a Bitcoin price between $130,000 and $300,000 in the current cycle.

This Bitcoin momentum positively impacted other leading altcoins such as Cardano (ADA), XRP, Solana (SOL), and Dogecoin (DOGE), historically correlated with Bitcoin's price. In the past 24 hours, ADA, XRP, SOL, and DOGE increased by 0.5%, 0.9%, 2.05%, and 3.15%, respectively.