Bitcoin Bull Runs: A 10-Year Pattern You Need to Know

Looking back at the last decade of crypto cycles, there’s a surprisingly consistent playbook. Here’s what the data tells us:

The Pattern

Each bull run starts when BTC bottoms out and lasts 12-20 months of parabolic growth. Then comes a brutal bear market reset.

2015-2016: From $152 → $780 in 17 months. Quiet, steady climb.

2017: The hype cycle. Started at $1K, blew past $19,891 by December. That run lasted just 12 months but created the most FOMO ever.

2020-2021: THE BIGGEST. COVID crash bottomed at $3,850 in March 2020. Then BTC didn’t just break $20K—it kept running all the way to $69K by November 2021. That’s 20 months of madness. Life-changing gains for early runners.

2023-2024: Started fresh at $16,500 post-FTX collapse. Hit $73,738 in March 2024 (14 months). New ATH, but the narrative shifted—less euphoria, more institutional adoption.

What’s Next?

The halving happened April 20, 2024. Historically, the next bull run kicks off 6-12 months later.

That puts us looking at late 2025 (Oct-Dec) as the likely entry point, with peak potential in late 2026.

But here’s the thing—exact dates vary by exchange, and market bottoms aren’t always clean. The pattern holds though: crash → bottom → 12-20 month moon mission → repeat.