10 Tips for the Crypto Bear Market

The crypto market’s a-changing. And that change is bringing with it, well, changes. Here, we show you how to navigate like a pro.

In the tides of the bear market, you may spend long periods of time not checking or interacting with your crypto assets – which means you need to know whichever wallet you’re keeping them in is completely secure. 

Meanwhile, a basic audit of your crypto gameplan, and a brush-up on your knowledge of the space, are both important things to consider as you wait it out. In this article, we give you some tips on how to stay safe during the bear market, and leverage the time to set yourself up for long-term success. 

Here we go!

Step 1) Secure your Crypto!

During a downturn in the market, you may be focused on HODLing your crypto, meaning it will spend long periods of time in the same wallet. This means it is more important than ever to know the risks and trust your wallet! Here are a few resources to help you with that. 

HODL Securely 

To HODL your coins securely, you need to consider a couple of  basic but very important points (a) whether you are in control of your own private keys and (b) whether you are securing them correctly. For an overview of things you should be looking at, check out our piece on how to HODL securely here

Self-custody: Take charge of your Private Keys

Private keys are the bread and butter of our crypto ownership, and the only way YOU can guarantee total control of your crypto is by managing those private keys yourself. “Not your keys, not your coins” is not just a catchy little phrase: it’s important to the safety of your crypto. 

Storing your tokens in an exchange’s online wallet means you’re trusting the exchange to keep custody of your crypto assets. This leaves your coins vulnerable to anything the exchanges might face: this could be a hack, a market crash, or a change in regulation could leave you locked out of access to your tokens. Managing your private keys autonomously sidesteps all of these possibilities so you can have peace of mind as you wait.

Avoid the risks, and move your tokens to offline secure storage. Easy breezy, secure those keysies!

Secure your NFTs

It’s not just your coins and tokens that need your attention during the bear market – your precious NFTs need to be properly secured aswell. Unlike fungible coins and tokens, an NFT is completely unique: it might be a POAP related to an event you attended with friends, a limited edition fashion piece by your favourite designer or a unique creation by a respected NFT artist. The point is that all of these have value beyond money: they also also carry a sentimental value that is personal to you, meaning they’re irreplaceable. This is why it’s so important to secure your non-fungibles right now.

If the idea of your NFTs being spirited out of your wallet sent a shiver up your spine, check out our article about how to Secure your NFTs using offline storage, and keep them safe!

Step 2) Chart your Course

The whole point of crypto was giving regular people like you and me an alternative means of managing our value. In crypto, there’s no red tape and no cumbersome banking processes – but with all that freedom comes responsibility, in particular, having a clear idea about your objectives and approaching the task with a level head. Here are a few tips on 

Beat FOMO with Dollar-Cost Averaging

Investing in an asset because of FOMO is a bad idea at any time, not only when the market is pumping. But if you’ve already resolved to get involved with a given crypto project, using dollar-cost averaging (DCA) is a nifty way to approach to mitigate your risks as you do it.

Volatility is characteristic of the crypto space, so adopting a measured approach as you execute your master plan makes sure the power stays in your hands. Read the full guide on dollar-cost averaging to learn more.

Fundamental Analysis – A Crypto Superpower

Crypto is full of hype, especially when the market’s up. But why would you rely on that, when you can assess projects for yourself? 

Conducting a fundamental project analysis simply means applying some business and common sense to the market, researching the token economics (or tokenomics) and its possible future based on the idea and the team behind the project. By using this time to understand how to conduct a fundamental analysis for yourself, you’ll be in a great position assess the space when you do become active again, or even right now if you see an interesting opportunity.

Find out more about conducting a fundamental analysis

Half Full or Half Empty?

Price volatility means different things to different people; for some it’s a time to exercise caution, and for others it’s an opportunity to buy in. In both cases, understanding the process of transitioning between crypto and fiat is essential in order to execute your plans effectively. For this, check out the full guide on on and off-ramps.

Understand How to Store Value

And finally, charting your course means understanding the pros and cons of whatever system or currency you’re interacting with. One of the key questions in this regard is whether an asset is an effective store of value – a consideration that applies to both fiat and crypto.

This might sound like a pretty basic question, but there’s more to it than you might imagine. That’s why we wrote you a guide for understanding stores of value – giving the power back to you as you navigate the system.

Step3) Become an Expert – It’s Time to Learn

And most importantly – a bear market is a perfect time to increase your crypto knowledge without the buy-pressure, and gain valuable new insights by getting your head around the nitty gritty of crypto and blockchain. When things get moving again, you’ll have an upper hand as you assess what’s in front of you.

Learn to Read Smart Contract Data 

Smart contracts are the foundation for crypto, DeFi projects, NFTs, and dApps. They’re the self-executing agreements that enable users to interact with each other WITHOUT needing a legal middleman to conduct processes. But once a smart contract has been signed, it cannot be unsigned. So it’s imperative to know what you’re agreeing to can save you big time down the line. Thus, to prepare effectively, it’s great to know how to read a smart contract.

Understand how to size up an NFT project

From art to property, the landscape of digital ownership is changing and we’ve got NFTs to thank! The new assets have their own nuances (newances) and there’s incredible potential for where the industry can go, so getting to know the ABCs about NFTs can set you up for solid success when the market moves again. We’ve got the Ultimate NFT Toolkit just for this.

Get to Know Your Wallet

We’re not here to look after your keys, but we are here to make sure you can look after your own keys with the best, most secure elements in place. Ledger devices provide the best protection in the market, and it does that via three elements: the strongest security components and a team of security experts constantly testing and improving Ledger’s hardware.

Want more detail on how we’re making sure your private keys stay secure? Check out our article on how to hack a hardware wallet, and why the Ledger Nano is unparalleled when it comes to protecting your crypto.

Being ready to take the leap when crypto spring rolls around

Knowledge is power, and having as much understanding in the scene as possible sets you up nicely when the ice of the crypto winter starts to melt. Keep safe, keep reading, and keep curious – staying engaged means you’ll always get the best out of your crypto, no matter what the market’s doing.

Knowledge is power.

Protecting your crypto is our reason for being at Ledger – but there are some things only you can take charge of. Here, we explain the basics of protecting what’s yours.