Crypto Bull Run May End This Summer, Some Experts Believe
The cryptocurrency market is always known for its hard volatility waves, as well as bull and bear markets changing each other – astounding bull runs are often followed by sobering bear markets. As 2025 continues to unfold, the big question looming over the cryptocurrency space is whether the current bull run is going to last further and deeper into 2025 or, if not, when it is likely to end.
Some experts believe that the market may start losing momentum soon enough and say goodbye to it eventually after the summer is over. In order to understand where the market might be heading now, let’s look at the facts and examine the factors which are driving the bullish market wave at the moment and what may bring it to a halt.
High Odds of Rally Ceasing Later This Year
2024 was highly remarkable for the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin rapidly soared to new all-time highs in November and December, which drew large attention both from investors and mainstream media.
Ethereum and top altcoins also went up significantly as their ecosystems got to expand quickly thanks to their advancements in decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and layer-2 solutions (the latter was mostly the case with Ethereum and a few other chains). The interest and actual adoption demonstrated by financial institutions also added oil into the fire of this bull market.
A big driver for Bitcoin was the approval of spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) last January. These ETFs presented by such wealth management giants as BlackRock, Fidelity, Bitwise, etc, were a turning point for BTC as they allowed financial institutions and traditional retail investors to gain access to Bitcoin.
Throughout 2025, these ETFs steadily added to their holdings, buying BTC to back their shares and gradually diminishing the circulating Bitcoin supply and driving the demand for BTC higher.
Another key driver last year was the Bitcoin halving, which reduced the block reward from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC by slashing it by half. These halving events take place once in every four years and that was the fourth halving already and currently the market is still going through the post-halving period.
However, historically, bull runs do not last forever. While halving events trigger significant bull runs, experts agree that bull markets driven by halvings last from 12 to 18 months. Should this pattern play out, the crypto market may begin to cool off later this year already. Besides, when the market soars, investors begin to lock in profits. If long-term holders and financial institutions decide to cash out, this might put pressure on the market and drive prices way down.
Trump’s Future Policy Creates Uncertainty
After the loud promises made by the newly-elect US president Donald Trump to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and acknowledge digital gold as a reserve asset for the US economy, recent actions of the president have cooled down the Bitcoin rally a little, making Bitcoin tank below $100,000 a few times already.
Trump’s ambitious plans include regaining control over the Panama Canal and buying Greenland from Denmark or perhaps even taking control over that territory using military force. Threats made by Trump to Panama and Denmark include the increase of trade tariffs for goods export from these countries.
Earlier this week, Bitcoin plunged from roughly $105,000 to $98,300. By now, BTC has recovered to slightly above $100,000 again – that plunge took place after Trump increased tariffs for goods exported from Colombia after the country’s president rejected US military planes carrying deported asylum seekers. Markets, including Bitcoin, reacted immediately.
Besides, Trump’s foreign policy threatens to make drastic changes around the world. In particular, he has signed an executive order to withdraw the US from the World Health Organization (WHO) and he also threatens to end the US membership in NATO. These developments, if they take place indeed, may have a significant negative impact on the Bitcoin price which is quite sensitive to changes in the geopolitical movements.
Chances of Bull Run Lasting Longer Remain
Still, many experts argue that the bull market could extend much further than 2025. One of the key roles here is played by financial institutions that continue to buy Bitcoin rigorously. Those are, of course, spot ETFs, with BlackRock as a clear leader holding $60 billion in Bitcoin now, and MicroStrategy which has announced the second more than $1 billion worth of BTC purchase over the past week.
Finally, the Bitcoin bull run will certainly continue and get stronger if Trump indeed orders to build a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. So far, the US president has already signed an executive order to form a task team to analyse if it is worthwhile for the US to embrace Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies as strategic assets. The crypto community on X is now full of heated debates on whether a potential crypto reserve should consist only of Bitcoin or if it should also include other top cryptocurrencies, such as XRP, ETH, SOL, etc.
