Bear Market and Bull Market: The Wealth Code for Retail Investors

In the crypto market, bear markets often allow retail investors to make money more easily than bull markets. This is not a paradox, but rather because asset prices are undervalued and market sentiment is extremely pessimistic during bear markets, providing patient and disciplined investors with an excellent "discounted buy-in" opportunity. Conversely, bull markets are driven by market frenzy and price bubbles, making retail investors prone to chasing highs and getting caught, ultimately "earning the index but losing money."
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Bear Market: The Valley of Value
When the market panics and sells off, high-quality assets are mispriced, creating a golden window for "picking up bargains."
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Bull Market: The Breeding Ground of Risks
Market sentiment is high, prices detach from fundamentals, and retail investors tend to buy at the top, becoming the "last to buy in."
Why is the bear market the "ATM" for retail investors?
The core logic of a bear market is "price returning to value." When the market panics and sells off, asset prices fall far below their intrinsic value. For retail investors, this provides an excellent "discounted buy-in" opportunity. Historical data shows that investors who bought Bitcoin at the 2018 bear market bottom (around $3,200) achieved over 20 times returns by the 2021 bull market peak (around $69,000). This is not luck, but the victory of the simplest investment principle: "buy low, sell high."
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Bear Market Survival Rules
✅ Dollar-Cost Averaging Strategy: Ignore short-term fluctuations, invest a fixed amount at regular intervals to dilute costs.
✅ Value Investing: Study project fundamentals and only buy assets with genuine long-term value.
✅ Position Control: Always keep some cash on hand, waiting for the market panic to create a "golden pit."
Why is the bull market a "meat grinder" for retail investors?
The core feature of a bull market is "emotion-driven prices." When the market enters a frenzy, prices can deviate significantly from fundamentals, forming huge bubbles. Retail investors are often attracted to enter late in the bull market, when prices are already high. They see the "wealth myth" but ignore the risk of "cold at the top." When the bubble bursts, these retail investors who bought at high points become the "bagholders," ultimately suffering losses and exiting.
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Bull Market Trap Avoidance Guide
❌ Chasing Highs: Avoid blindly entering during rapid price increases, as it is easy to get caught.
❌ Full Position: Never invest all your funds at once; keep a safety cushion.
❌ Believe in Rumors: Rumors abound during bull markets; do not trust them blindly and maintain independent thinking.
Historical Data Shows: Bear Markets Are the "Seedbed of Wealth"
Looking back at the history of the crypto market, each bear market bottom marks the start of the next bull run. In the 2015 bear market bottom, Bitcoin was around $200; by the 2017 bull market peak, it reached nearly $20,000, a gain of over 100 times. In the 2018 bear market bottom, Bitcoin was about $3,200; by the 2021 bull market peak, it reached approximately $69,000, a gain of over 20 times. These data indicate that bear markets are the "seedbed of wealth," while bull markets are the "harvest period of wealth."