7 ways experienced crypto investors print money in a bear market

Original article from CyrilXBT

Compiled by Odaily Planet Daily Golem ( @web3_golem )

When the market crashes, most people will do one of the following two things:

• Panic selling, then exiting the market.
• Using leverage in a desperate attempt to recoup losses

But seasoned crypto investors might do something quite different. Instead of blindly engaging in directional speculation, they turn to repeatable cash flows and advantages.

The following 7 strategies can help you make money in a falling market, just like a seasoned investor, without having to precisely time the bottom.

Hold the assets you truly want and earn returns.

If you plan to hold BTC, ETH, or other mainstream cryptocurrencies long-term, then why not let them generate returns for you?

Revenue channels

1. Pledge/Liquidity Pledge
2. Blue-chip DeFi lending (Aave, Compound, etc.)
3. Transparent yield products offered by centralized exchanges

Why it works in a bear market

As long as you are willing to hold the asset for the long term, volatility will not cause you heavy losses. Instead of trading frantically during price fluctuations, it is better to wait patiently, which can actually lead to profits.

However, you should stick to investing in mainstream assets and top protocols, and avoid investing in tokens with uncertain prospects, so as not to be tempted by double-digit or triple-digit annualized yields (APY).

The returns are viewed as an additional bonus, rather than the core reason for holding assets.

Learn from the mindset of an experienced investor: "I will hold these assets no matter what. The gains only make up for the losses."

Points and airdrops

In a bear market, getting airdrops isn't about randomly clicking on junk links; you need to target your specific needs.

Selection Criteria

1. Protocols that may issue tokens
2. It already has actual users and support.
3. Prioritize active users, rather than "guests" who only click once.

Why it works in a bear market

Even if prices fall, the protocol still needs users, and competition actually decreases in a bear market because most people no longer pay attention.

The profits from a single powerful airdrop can exceed the profits from several months of small transactions.

However, you should focus on infrastructure and core DeFi (L2 layer, bridges, restaking, wallets, etc.) and invest a small but stable amount of money. You can use a simple table to record your projects and reasons for earning freebies.

Remember, skilled players treat airdrops as a stable source of income, not a lottery ticket.

Inquiry/Arbitrage: Profiting from Inefficient Markets

If you are simply profiting from price discrepancies, you don't need to predict the direction.

How to arbitrage

Arbitrage involves buying low on one trading venue and selling high on another. Request for Quote (RFQ) involves placing large over-the-counter (OTC) orders with spreads.

This strategy can be applied from simple CEX-DEX price discrepancies to more advanced cross-exchange arbitrage.

Simplified version:

Track several trading pairs on 2-3 major centralized exchanges and 1-2 decentralized exchanges. Watch for periodic 0.5-1% spreads and trade using low fees.

Advanced version:

Use bots or tools to alert you to price spread changes. Maintain reasonable trade sizes and focus on execution speed and commission rates.

Why it works in a bear market

Volatility = frequent price discrepancies; panic selling can create temporary price gaps between trading venues and trading pairs.

You don't need to guess whether prices will rise or fall; instead, you profit by filling the price gap.

Provide liquidity (but avoid becoming exit liquidity).

LPs often suffer losses if they provide liquidity indiscriminately, while experienced investors treat it as a professional business.

How to master LP

Provide liquidity to Automated Market Makers (AMMs) like Uniswap and select stable trading pairs or underlying assets. You will receive transaction fees and additional rewards (tokens/credits).

To avoid liquidation, you can start with stablecoin trading pairs or highly correlated trading pairs (e.g., ETH-stETH, USDC-USDT).

Use narrow-range fluctuations only if you understand rebalancing; otherwise, keep your strategy simple.

If impermanent loss consistently prevails, a change in strategy is necessary.

Why it works in a bear market

Even in a bear market, people will still trade, and trading volume may surge.

If you strategically choose trading pairs, transaction fees can offset losses from price fluctuations.

Think like a market maker, not a gambler:

"Is the profit I gain sufficient to cover such price risk?"

Lightweight market making on a limited number of trading pairs.

You don't need to be as aggressive as market maker Jump; you just need to trade systematically.

Using grid trading

Grid trading involves placing both buy and sell orders near the current price to profit from the price difference and transaction fees.

Small accounts can be operated manually or using a simple grid bot, choosing 1-3 trading pairs that you are familiar with.

If you don't have a familiar trading pair, you can directly choose major currency pairs or large-cap stocks with high liquidity to avoid trading "ghost coins".

Define your "position range": the maximum amount of assets you are willing to hold.

Don't overcomplicate your strategies. Even basic grid trading can be profitable as long as your position size and range are reasonable.

Why it works in a bear market

Highly volatile markets with low trading volume can lead to widening spreads. You pay a fee every time people cross these spreads to buy or panic sell.

This isn't about predicting candlestick chart trends, but rather selling shovels during a gold rush.

Cultivate content, stay clear-headed during times of panic, and reap the rewards.

The focus never disappeared. It simply shifted from "just posting memes" to "what should I do now?"

Cultivating Content

This is a good time to write long posts, news briefs, and in-depth analyses. If possible, you can also create short YouTube videos or updates in niche areas such as social media, podcasts, etc.

Choose a specific area (AI, L2, RWA, contracts, restaking, etc.) and publish content according to a plan, for example, publish 2 topic posts + 1 newsletter per week.

Focusing on a clear framework and avoiding hype is the key to standing out.

Once you've built your influence, you can monetize through sponsorships, referral links, paid subscriptions, and consulting/advisory collaborations.

Why it works in a bear market

People desperately need clear and transparent information and filtering mechanisms. Crypto projects still need to be distributed, especially after the hype dies down.

Your research already existed; the content simply amplifies it.

In a bear market, signals are more important than dopamine, and funds will flow to signals.

Consulting and "think tank" advisory services

Once you can think clearly and express yourself effectively, people will be willing to pay for your services.

Services available

1. Help teams build narratives, design token economics, or develop listing strategies.
2. Provide industry and project advice for fund/OTC trading platforms
3. Support founders in market positioning, presentation creation, and community strategy development.

The key is that you need to crystallize your past experiences as ideas and identify your strengths (research, token economics, storytelling, business development, etc.), and then start with small-scale, high-value deliverables. 1-2 high-quality clients are more valuable than 10 clients who waste your time.

You can charge monthly consulting fees, share of growth revenue, or token distributions.

You will transform from a "struggling trader" into an operator who receives compensation from multiple participants.

Why it works in a bear market

Great teams don't stop developing during a bear market. When retail investors leave, they actually focus more on narrative, research, and strategy.

They prefer to pay someone who truly understands the market rather than just find any agency.

The Bear Market Thinking of an Experienced Investor

When the market crashes, experienced investors won't:

• Track each candlestick
• Triple the leverage
• Praying for a miraculous bottom to appear

They will tighten their strategies and ask themselves:

How can we profit from action, not just from direction?

Which skills will generate a compounding effect in the next cycle?

How to transform from a liquidity provider to an infrastructure builder?

If you want to avoid following the crowd, you can choose 2-3 of the above 7 strategies, make small investments and manage them systematically for several months rather than several days.

This way you can get through this phase and be in a favorable position when the next real trend emerges.