John Bollinger Flags Possible Bitcoin Bear-Market End on 'W'-Reversal Watch

HONG KONG — John Bollinger, the technical analyst who developed the Bollinger Bands indicator, has raised the prospect that Bitcoin's bear market may be nearing its end, pointing to a potential 'W'-shaped price reversal forming on the chart as $BTC stages a rebound. Bollinger suggested that if the pattern runs to completion, price strength could "break" the entire prevailing downtrend — a conditional but structurally significant call from one of the most cited names in technical analysis.

What a 'W' Reversal Actually Means

A 'W' formation — also known as a double bottom — is a classical chart pattern in which price carves two successive lows at roughly comparable levels before recovering. The thesis is that sellers exhaust themselves on the second leg, leaving buyers in control. Bollinger's framing ties the bear-market verdict to whether that second leg holds and price follows through, making his view explicitly conditional rather than a flat-out bottom call.

The Bollinger Bands tool itself measures volatility by flanking a moving average with dynamically adjusted upper and lower bands. A price coiling inside tightening bands or rebounding from below the lower band can precede a directional move, though Bollinger Bands are a contextual reading aid, not a mechanical signal.

The Gap Between a Setup and a Confirmation

Pattern recognition carries a well-documented limitation: 'W' formations are identified in hindsight at least as often as they are traded in real time. A sharp rebound off a low qualifies as the beginning of the pattern, but only a sustained move above the intervening peak between the two troughs would technically confirm it. Bollinger's language — that strength "could" break the downtrend — reflects that distinction.

For $BTC watchers, the weight of the observation rests on the source. Bollinger's indicator remains standard equipment across professional trading desks, giving his chart reads an audience that extends well beyond retail. Whether spot volume and on-chain flows corroborate the technical setup is the question that separates a credible formation from a completed one.

Related reading

• Jupiter (JUP) Price Forecasts Point to $2.03 Ceiling by 2030 as Fed Policy Shapes Solana DeFi Outlook
• India's Central Bank Presses Lawmakers to Shield Banks From Crypto and Private Stablecoins