Crypto OG: 10 Bear Market Survival Rules I Learned in 2018
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Crypto OG: 10 Bear Market Survival Rules I Learned in 2018
Successfully protected profits and principal during this NFT crash by leveraging 18 years of experience and lessons learned.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsWritten by: NFT God
Translated by: TechFlow intern
In 2018, I suffered major losses during the cryptocurrency bear market. I applied those lessons to successfully protect my profits and principal during this NFT crash. Below are 10 very simple principles for surviving in this market.
1. Maintain a large ETH reserve.
One of the key reasons this market has dropped so sharply is that many people were over-leveraged and too fearful to buy during the downturn. If blue-chip NFTs were priced like this two months ago, their floor prices would have been swept instantly. Watch for "golden dips" and stockpile ETH.
2. Before buying anything, ask yourself whether this project will still exist in five years.
If you can't think of a reason why it will, don't buy it. Cheap blue-chips like CloneX and Kennel Ape Yacht Club are almost guaranteed to survive the next five years.
3. Allocate no more than 5% of your funds to Degen plays.
For me, it's better to keep this at 0%, but occasionally I still look into "meme" projects just to stay engaged—sometimes, projects like Goblintown can generate big returns.
4. Buy on the way down, sell on the way up.
If you're buying during strong upward volume spikes, you're likely already too late, increasing the risk of catching a falling knife and making it hard to exit. When I profit from meme projects, I try to sell as much as possible during rallies, then wait for blue-chip NFTs to drop before buying back in.
5. Eliminate all emotions.
Only when you're emotionless can you avoid chasing pumps and panic selling. One of the hardest emotional tests is watching a project you've been tracking suddenly spike in price.
6. Don’t be distracted by minute-to-minute price movements.
ETH and NFT prices are extremely volatile, especially during times like these. Don’t let short-term fluctuations affect you. Stick to your thesis and ignore fleeting price actions.
7. Recognized art holds high value during bear markets.
I allocate 20% of my capital to artwork I genuinely like. Royalties are disappearing, and companies can no longer continuously add utility to NFTs—art itself is now the cheapest form of utility.
8. Stay alive.
If your bankroll is shrinking, stop trying to make quick gains from low-market-cap projects—there’s usually a reason they’re small. If your capital is limited, avoid degen projects at all costs. You need that money to participate in high-conviction blue-chips.
9. Accumulate ETH when its price falls below what you believe it will be in five years.
For example, if ETH is trading at $1,000 today and I believe it will definitely be higher in five years, I start dollar-cost averaging to build a solid ETH reserve.
10. Write down all your experiences and lessons—never repeat your mistakes.
Had I not lived through 2018, I would have lost most of my assets this time around. Learn from me—write down every lesson you’ve learned in this space and never repeat them.
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