There are simply too many factors, but the whales are not waiting, whales recognize that this is the perfect opportunity to buy as many coins as possible so they are not going to let this opportunity go, but then you may ask yourself, if that is the case why the price is not going up? And that is not happening because the whales are taking their time, they do not want to make the price of coins more expensive because then they will have to pay a bigger price to get those coins.
I concur. Whales are the most responsible for the current downtrend in the market these days. They're experts in manipulating prices and spreading FUD to obtain coins at cheaper prices, for quick profit grabs once everything rises back up again. In some point, governments have also influenced in the distrust of people around the world against cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, but Whales have been all over this again and again.
There's a cycle in this, as it has been shown in the past years of Bitcoin's upsurge in the market. Every time Bitcoin rises in value, other altcoins do the same and they stay like that for quite some time. But, when Bitcoin starts to fall, and altcoins follow, the period for their recoveries is usually slow, making many investors desperate. In my case, I wouldn't worry that much about the recent bear market (although prices have been rising in small increments lately), as it's something normal related to cryptocurrency. There are huge prospects for Bitcoin in the long term, as there's room for growth to allow any people around the world to transact in a digital ledger that's free from middleman.
Eventually, once Bitcoin upgrades to the Lightning Network, and other altcoins follow, people will demand them more than anything else in life, causing a huge bull market within crypto land. With Bitcoin's limited supply, deflationary model, incomparable security, and strong branding, I'm sure that it'll rise to levels that were never imagined.