Can Bitcoin Duplicate the 2018 Bear Market? The Answer Will Surprise You!

Bitcoin (BTC) has suffered a brutal bear market in 2022, but there is something that resembles the 2018 bear market. The cryptocurrency's price is once again found in a no man's land as it's struggling to find a clear direction near the $20,000 psychological level, the same way it was struggling at the $6,000 level back in 2018.

Bitcoin 2018 Bear Market

The current price structure resembles the 2018 bear market more than you think. The price has been consolidating for about 5 months with a base near the $17,500 level.

However, Bitcoin has been in a bear market since November 2021, when it peaked at around $69,000 – an 11-months bear market.

We can draw some parallels with the 2018 bear market, which peaked in December 2017 at around the $20,000 level. Bitcoin's price bottomed 12 months later, in December 2018, at around $3,150.

If we closely compare the two bear markets, we can draw other striking similarities. In both cases, Bitcoin's price found a temporary bottom during the summer period in June 2018 respectively June 2022.

Additionally, the price action went into consolidation, developing a descending triangle pattern that led to the final breakout to the downside.

Looking ahead: Bitcoin may only have one more leg to the downside to go before the bear market ends. So, if Bitcoin is trying to duplicate the 2018 bear market, it will need to drop to $10,000 to mimic the 50% drop we had in December 2018.

However, considering that Bitcoin is not as volatile as it once was, such a huge drop may not be in the works. Instead, we may have a more "mild" drop to the $14,000 support level.