The head of major cryptocurrency analytics firm CryptoQuant has declared Bitcoin's bull market over, reversing his earlier optimistic stance from just two weeks ago. The announcement comes amid growing uncertainty in digital asset markets and diverging analyst opinions about the world's leading cryptocurrency.
"Bitcoin bull cycle is over, expecting 6-12 months of bearish or sideways price action," CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju said in a March 17 post on X, formerly Twitter. His assessment stands in stark contrast to his March 4 statement, where he maintained the Bitcoin bull cycle would remain slow but "is still intact," citing neutral readings on key indicators.
Ju now points to all Bitcoin onchain metrics indicating a bear market. "With fresh liquidity drying up, new whales are selling Bitcoin at lower prices," he explained, referencing blockchain data that tracks large-holder behavior.
The change in outlook coincides with Bitcoin funding rates hovering near 0%, reflecting increasing trader indecisiveness in cryptocurrency futures markets. This metric represents the cost of holding long or short positions and typically signals market sentiment shifts when approaching the zero mark.
Not all analysts share Ju's pessimistic view. Swyftx lead analyst Pav Hundal told industry publication Cointelegraph that "there is no reason to panic." Hundal acknowledged that investors are "spooked" by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs but maintained that "all the numbers show a global economy that is pointing in the right direction."
"Money will move to on-risk assets when the market is ready to take on risk," Hundal added.
At the time of publication, Bitcoin trades at $83,030, representing a 14.79% decline over the past month according to CoinMarketCap data. The cryptocurrency reached its all-time high of $109,000 on January 20, coinciding with Trump's presidential inauguration.
Some market watchers remain bullish despite the recent downtrend. CoinRoutes CEO Dave Weisberger suggested Bitcoin could reach new all-time highs by late April if historical patterns persist. "Expect Bitcoin to hit a new ATH within a month if its BETA correlation to money supply holds," Weisberger wrote on March 17.
Crypto analyst Seth similarly pointed to global money supply metrics as a potential catalyst for upward movement. "I'm saying Global Money Supply just made another new ATH. We are about to see Bitcoin rally again," he stated in a recent social media post.
However, former Phunware CEO Alan Knitowski offers a more sobering assessment based on historical data. According to Knitowski, Bitcoin's current price is 67% lower than where it should be at this point in the market cycle. "At this stage of the cycle, the lower bound of the historical range should be around $250,000," he wrote on March 17.
Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten recently expressed cautious optimism, telling Cointelegraph that "there's more than a 50% chance we will see all-time highs before the end of June this year." This balanced perspective highlights the divided sentiment among industry leaders as Bitcoin navigates an uncertain market environment.