conclusion: this time it is different. you cannot compare the bull run of 2017 one-to-one with the situation today.
reason: if you look into the chart of the pre 2017 ATH you will recognize that after the burst of a mini bubble the low after was never lower than the high of the former mini bubble. but this time the low is lower than the pre high. that leads to pure panic in the market. you can called it manipulation of the market.
Either it is manipulation OR it is that it has been much easier to speculate into shitcoins this time. People do not have to go via BTC this time to buy their favorite dog-moon coin. This also means comparisons between BTC 2017 and 2021 charts are not very meaningful. Comparing how the mcap of the entire crypto market behaved makes much more sense (unfortunately). If you look at total market cap you will see an extreme parabolic rise and consecutive higher highs with a clear blow off top (that many are arguing is missing in this bull run).
In other words, the lower lows and rather slow decline could be caused by craze just shifting to other sites, i.e. shitcoins.
Not something I personally like to see, but certainly something to consider.