The 2018 cycle taught us that bear markets last longer than most expect—18 months of decline from peak to trough—and the 2020 cycle showed us that recovery doesn't follow a straight line: Bitcoin fell 50% in March 2020, then took 8 months to reclaim that level. What we know now is that volatility within a cycle is not a signal to abandon thesis, but a test of conviction. The traders who survived both cycles weren't the ones timing dips; they were the ones who understood that cycles are measured in years, not weeks.