Cryptographic projects are full of an infinity of animals, all of them represent some particular characteristic or are the logo or image with which we identify some of them, so we have for example foxes, penguins, etc., but no animal symbolizes the cryptographic market so much like bears and bulls.
background image taken from freepik.es
Since I started in the world of crypto investments one of the first things that caught my attention was that the bear market was compared to a bear, while the bull market resembled a bull, but why? Do these animals have to do with the market? What is the true meaning of this symbolism? If, like me, these questions seem interesting to you, stay with me, and let's learn where the fame of these two animals in the market comes from financially.
Bulls and Bears, market trends
When a market is strong, solid, with an upward trend (constant price increases) it is identified with the bull. In this type of market, those who have the power are the buyers, they are the ones who move the market upwards, in economic terms we can say that a market identified with the bull is one in which demand exceeds supply, thus raising the price of cryptocurrencies.
Otherwise, we have a market referenced by the bear. This type of market is characterized by having a downward trend (prices are constantly decreasing), those who exercise control of this type of market are the sellers who push the market prices down, this is a consequence of superiority of supply oversupply demand.
But why are bears and bulls antagonistic?
Each of these animals represents opposite situations from the market point of view, however, both are large, strong, aggressive, and vigorous animals. Both animals have very similar characteristics of strength and character, however, they represent two so different aspects of the market that it is difficult for us to understand both representations, to understand it, we will have to go a bit to the past and refer to one of the theories that explain the symbolism of the bear and the bull.
Wall Street and the origin of bears and bulls
As many know, the famous Wall Street is the representation or maximum world reference of the market system, not only it's very active and bustling activity, the large volumes of capital that move daily and the hundreds of films based on this market have made worthy of that title, but modern history the position as the forerunner and innovator of many of the financial market mechanisms that are implemented today.
This clarifies in advance, that the reference to bears and bulls comes from Wall Street, not from the blockchain. This dates back to the 18th century, at that time the director of the Dutch West Indies built a wall on the south side of the island of Manhattan (the US was not yet an economic power), to protect the town from attacks by wild bears, the wall also prevented the bulls from escaping. Over time that wall was torn down and in its place was built Wall Street, the most famous financial emporium in the world.
If we put a little in context, for the ancient inhabitants of New York the bull was the symbol of abundance, food, safety behind the wall, on the other hand, in the cold winter behind the wall, the only thing that You could find yourself hungry, desolate, and of course, bears.
Other theories of the meaning of bulls and bears
In addition to the theory about the origin of Wall Street and the symbolism of abundance of bulls and lack of bears, two other theories could explain the influence of these animals on the symbolism of market behavior. One has to do with a very ancient custom and the other with the attack characteristics of each of these animals.
One of the things that most characterized the extinct Roman Empire was the circus, in this type shows it was very common to see combat to the death between men called gladiators or the execution of criminals for the amusement of the attendees, but in addition, the animals were also put on to fight, the fights between bears and bulls is one of the most important and showy that could be organized, perhaps from there that symbolic "antagonism" between both animals were generated.
imagen taken from freepik.es
A final theory, perhaps the most deeply rooted within the world trading community, has to do with how each of these animals attacks. On the one hand, we have the bull whose lunges are made with a movement from the bottom to the top of its head and horns, which describes an upward movement (graphing an upward trend) and on the opposite side, we have the bear, whose attack technique consists of In launching strong claws or blows up and down, using a downward movement (which would represent a downtrend), this could also represent the two different existing market strategies.
Now I would like to know your opinion on this topic, did you know the meaning of this symbolism? Which of the theories seems the most appropriate to you? Do you know of any other theory that can explain the origin of bulls and bears within the financial environment?
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