BlockBeats news, December 20, on-chain analysis company CryptoQuant released a report stating that the demand for Bitcoin has significantly slowed down, which may indicate that a bear market is approaching. Since 2023, Bitcoin has experienced three major waves of spot demand—driven respectively by the launch of the U.S. spot ETF, the results of the U.S. presidential election, and the Bitcoin treasury company bubble—but since early October 2025, the demand growth has fallen below trend levels. This indicates that most of the new demand in this cycle has already materialized, and the key pillars supporting the price have also disappeared.
On the other hand, the derivatives market also confirms a weakening risk appetite: the funding rate for perpetual futures (365-day moving average) has fallen to its lowest level since December 2023. Historically, this decline reflects a reduced willingness to maintain long positions, a pattern that typically occurs in bear markets rather than bull markets.
Technically, the price structure has deteriorated with weak demand: Bitcoin has fallen below its 365-day moving average, a key long-term technical support level that has historically been the dividing line between bull and bear markets.
However, the downward reference point indicates that the bear market is relatively small: historically, the bottom of the Bitcoin bear market is basically consistent with the realized price, currently close to $56,000, which means that the decline from the recent historical high may reach 55%—the smallest decline ever recorded. The expected mid-term support level is around $70,000.
