We are still in the bear market I believe. But what I see and observe is that some traders are taking advantage of the market dip which makes them profitable also. I guess bear mode is important because the market needs to go through a cycle and bear cannot be avoided.
It can be said that the bearish trend is simply necessary for the market. It's like a compressing spring and the longer and stronger it compress - it will straighten stronger and the uptrend will be more powerful. We will not have growth without a bearish market.
I like this point of view and it hits the nail on the head. I am not around for years yet so hard to judge whether a strong contraction always leafscto a strong bull but it makes sense in a way unless it is caused by an event like MT Gox. That 2 year bear market was probably a lot tougher than this one