‘Bitcoin bull cycle is over,' CryptoQuant CEO warns, citing onchain metrics

CryptoQuant’s head chief says Bitcoin’s bull market could already be over — changing his stance from earlier in the month when he said the Bitcoin bull cycle will be slow but “is still intact.”

“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 X post.

All signals are currently bearish, says Ju

Ju said that all Bitcoin onchain metrics indicate a bear market. “With fresh liquidity drying up, new whales are selling Bitcoin at lower prices,” Ju said. 

It comes only days after Cointelegraph reported that Bitcoin funding rates, which reflect the cost of holding long  or short positions in crypto futures , are hovering close to 0%, indicating increasing indecisiveness among traders.

Ju’s claim is in stark contrast to his March 4 post, where he said the Bitcoin bull cycle will remain slow but “is still intact,” pointing to neutral readings on key indicators.

“Fundamentals remain strong, with more mining rigs coming online,” Ju  said  in a March 4 X post.

Other analysts aren’t as bearish. Swyftx lead analyst Pav Hundal told Cointelegraph that “there is no reason to panic.”

Hundal explained that while investors are “spooked” by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, “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.”

At the time of publication, Bitcoin is trading at $83,030, down 14.79% over the past month,  according  to CoinMarketCap data.

Some analysts think that given that the global M2 money supply has just reached new highs, Bitcoin could be set for an uptrend.

“I’m saying Global Money Supply just made another new ATH. We are about to see Bitcoin rally again,” crypto analyst Seth  said  in a recent X post.

Likewise, CoinRoutes CEO Dave Weisberger said that if the historical trend persists, Bitcoin could reach all-time highs by late April.

“Expect Bitcoin to hit a new ATH within a month if its BETA correlation to money supply holds,” Weisberger  said  in a March 17 X post.

However, based on historical data, Bitcoin’s current price is 67% lower than the lower bound should be, according to former Phunware CEO Alan Knitowski.

“At this stage of the cycle, the lower bound of the historical range should be around $250,000,” Knitowski  said  in a March 17 X post.

Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten  recently told Cointelegraph that  “there’s more than a 50% chance we will see all-time highs before the end of June this year.” Bitcoin’s current all-time high of $109,000 was reached on Jan. 20, just hours before Trump was inaugurated as US President.