When talking about markets, both mainstream and crypto,”bullish” and”bearish” frequently come up in headlines and conversation, although such usage typically depends on financial knowledge and expertise. What do both terms mean?
Bullish and bearish refer to market sentiment, seen collectively or expressed by a person. Conversely, bearish refers to unfavorable price expectations. Someone holding a bullish lean is sometimes referred to as a”bull,” or even”bulls” if a group or faction of this market is bullish.
Why use bulls and bears since the animals of choice for this terminology? The answer possibly lies in the way the 2 animals attack their prey. Bulls strike in an upward fashion, driving up their horns through their goal. Bears, on the other hand, start high and assault downward with their arms and weight.
This explanation of the terminology’s roots, however, is just 1 possibility, according to Investopedia. “The actual origins of these expressions are uncertain.” The verbiage can also stem from bearskin concessions long past.
Oxford Learner’s Dictionary clarifies bullish as:”feeling confident and positive about the future,” or”resulting, or connected with, an increase in the purchase price of stocks.” Bearish means:”revealing or anticipating a fall in the prices of stocks.”
A desire for bearishness?
Bullish and bearish wants depend on a range of factors. Generally, traders can care less about whether or not a market or asset is bullish or bearish, provided that they can trade in the directions (called going long and short). Dealers frequently move in and out of places more frequently than investors, using shorter time horizons for their own plays.
Instead of needing bullishness over bearishness, or vice versa, traders may care more about if they are correct within their bullish or bearish assessment, profiting on transactions as long as they are true in deciding which path a given asset goes, based on the trading strategies utilized. Some traders’ strategies, abilities or tendencies may prefer 1 market condition across the other, nevertheless.
Investors, on the other hand, generally buy in to positions and hold them for longer intervals, profiting on the price rise, so they logically may need bullish markets. An investor may take a long-term short position or market an advantage should they have a bearish opinion on an advantage, although the most anybody can make (in pretty much every case ) is 100% profit if they brief at the absolute top and ride the asset to zero. On the flip side, assets can practically rise in price infinitely, offering potential gains of at least 100%.
Dialing into crypto specifically, why would an investor or trader wish for Bitcoin (BTC) or any given altcoin to decline in price, even if they’re bullish overall about the crypto market? One reason could be their position. If a trader is bearish on BTC — expecting upcoming falling prices — they could enter a short trade on BTC and, consequently, logically desire its price to diminish, as they would profit on the asset’s drop.
Dealers can also be short-term bearish and long term bullish, or vice versa. They may, as an example, expect Bitcoin to retrace in price over a period of days or weeks, but ultimately rise and return to an up, multi-month trend.
Investors or dealers can even hold a bearish short-term view and bullish long-term perspective, needing lower prices in the near term to buy certain assets at comparatively cheaper prices. Conversely, a market participant could have a short-term view with a long-term bearish outlook. They might think costs will go up because of hype or other aspects, so they may buy or go long in the brief term, while ultimately hoping to sell their positions eventually because they believe the market for a bubble or something of the character.
It’s important to note that in markets, defining long-term and short-term can be subjective.
A look at what could produce a bullish or bearish bias
Each person’s bullish or bearish view is likely based on a vast assortment of elements, such as charts, news and basic understanding. A market participant might believe Bitcoin or an altcoin is bearish for a time based on certain chart conditions or patterns.
They may also view assets bearishly on a longer-term foundation after negative statements, like a particular government regulatory actions. One may hold a bullish view for a time based on an upcoming event, like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s Bitcoin futures trading launch in 2017.
People can also hold a general bearish or bullish view on an advantage as a whole. MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor sees Bitcoin as a brand new method to store worth .
Therefore, several factors play into various pieces of bullishness and bearishness. Timeframes, perspectives, opinions and events can impact a person’s perspective on an asset or asset class. Ultimately, each person has to come to their own conclusion regarding what they believe.
