Bear market means that encryption market is droping. There is no profit and growth space. At the same time, it's very unstable. And it will last for a long time.
That is the characteristic of a bear market but if we ask who are the bears, i think it is the whales as well considering that they are the ones that have the resources to do the dump to increase the supply in the market. That's the one disadvantage of crypto, whales and bears can manipulate the market to the scenario that they want.