Investors love bull markets, which are periods during which prices – of stocks, commodities, or cryptocurrencies – are rising. 

In day-to-day speech, we refer casually to rising prices bull runs. But professional investors reserve the term “bull market” to widespread price gains of 20% or more. A short-term rise is just rising prices, fluctuations in the market. Bull markets last longer. In the U.S. stock market, the average bull market lasts 8.5 years.

Investors who make large buys because they are optimistic about rising prices are often referred to as bulls.

Bull markets end when prices drop 20%.

Here’s a handy way to remember the difference between bull and bear markets. Consider the way bulls and bears attack. A bull catches you in its horns and throws you upward – and in a bull market, prices rise. A bear swipes down with its paw to push you to the ground, and a bear market represents falling prices.