# Bear Market Na Better Filter


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*Na Pepper, Head of Marketing for Alephium write this one.*

*The opinions and views wey dey inside this talk na the author own o, and e fit no represent the official position of Alephium.*

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This current bear market don dey drag well well pass wetin I like … pass wetin any person for here like. But if you look am well, anybody wey don pass through different crypto cycles, bull runs and bear runs before know say things fit change very sharparly — either for better or for worse.

I remember say for 2017, about 435 projects been raise money successfully; dem for their ICOs. Whether dem get technology true true or not na another matter. Their pitches been dey very ambitious — sometimes e dey even scatter head. Their whitepapers plenti, but as e carry be, na quantity over quality matter. Every person wan collect their own share of the action. Billions of dollars been commot from“retail investors” hand — that one mean say ordinary people — dey enter projects wey promise to “decentralise everything” and many other big-big things.

I dey wonder how many of those projects still dey active, dey work today and which one of them dey do better work for 2026. Most of them don commot before 2018 finish kpata kpata. But as e carry be, no be the bear market gon gor kill them. Once prices stop to dey rise to fit attract people, projects wey no get anything for under their bullish talk dey quick quick dey empty. Some even chop the name vaporware, or worse.

Then 2022 come come, and the cycle come start again with another pikin of blockchain projects dem. Terra/LUNA been fire gun wey start. Once e happen, about $40 billion been disappear for three days. After that one, Celsius, Voyager, BlockFi and FTX been follow for back. I remember that time well well. Na that one scatter my head well well for this my work. For that time, I dey work for one big company, and as e be nobody know wetin the next day — or even the next hour — go carry come. As I sit down dey watch wetin dey happen, I see say developer activities don reduce, communities donscatter, and some projects wey people been call “Ethereum Killers” don turn into “Ghost Chains.”

Na so market dey behave. Collapse go happen. Some projects go disappear from history and e no good. But that no be that one sweet me well well sef. The part wey really sweet me na to see wetin remain after the collapse happen — after the rubbish don clear and the dust don settle. I dey very interested for people wey survive, and the things wey dem get for common.

### Wetin the 2018 Crash Been Filter Commot

When I carry eyes put back for 2018, I remember say most of the projects wey no survive that time dey behave the same way. Dem raise plenti money through ICOs wey dey ground that time based on promises wey technology dey give, instead of technology wey already dey work true true. Their communities sef, na mostly price appreciation dem sabi. Dem never really experience blockchain utility. Some research wey dem do for the bear market even use GitHub activity check am. The research show say after some projects finish their fundraising, their GitHub activity dey fall commot from cliff.

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But projects wey survive dey also get some things in common. As e carry be, Bitcoin, no get marketing budget, no VC de back am, no grant programme cha cha and all those kind thing. But Bitcoin don already get product, community, continuity and conviction — ontop of say even media dey attack am from different angles. Ethereum get Virtual Machine wey dey work and plenti developers dey already build applications on top of am. Na him make am survive. Litecoin and Monero been build strong technical communities and dem no gree stop to dey ship. Chainlink been fashi the entire bull market and come spend the whole bear market dey build hard on oracle infrastructure. That infrastructure later come become important part of DeFi and today, all of them still dey here for ground gidigba.

You fit even call these projects yeye at the time wey dem dey build. Chainlink no be the better thing. Bitcoin dey divide people mind. People no beleive Ethereum. Dem been carry bad mouth dey finish Monero. People dey even ask whether Litecoin still get any better need. But all of them get products and communities wey believe in them, despite any how price be.

### Wetin the 2022 Collapse Been Show Us

2022 dey different from 2018. By that time, projects wey survive the first filter or scatter as market consolidate don dey much more sophisticated. The whole industry don develop well well. We already get DeFi protocols, liquid staking platforms and L2s wey get better usage and revenue. After people don learn the hard way for 2018 say projects need better products, attention come shift. People come dey care more about the honesty and integrity wey the foundation carry — for both the people and the technology.

Terra/LUNA get everything for ground. Better product. Billions of dollars for TVL. Large community wey get strong conviction. Public team. But e get one major problem wey been dey: A serious gbege for the design. Na that design flaw be wetin come destroy am. The algorithmic stablecoin mechanism no fit survive a sustained depeg event. So no matter how much wey Terra/LUNA build, the weakness wey dey underneath been eventually make everything to start to dey scatter.

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The crypto wey make am for 2022 look different from the ones wey make am for 2018. Their ability to survive dey depend heavily on decisions wey dem make early for their architecture, and how well those decisions dey allow them to survive serious pressure. Ethereum complete the join bodi wey him do for bear market. For me, that one make sense because e need years of preparation and better hand wey go deliver am. Uniswap sef been do well. Dem continue to dey generate fees and to become a major market leader even for the bear run. Aave sef been continue to dey operate without major incident. These projects dey mint money, their architecture dey make better sense, and dem dey continue doing wetin dem promise. I believe say those things get plenty reason to do with why dem survive.

### Five Things Wey Survivors Get in Common

When I look both cycles, I believe say the filter dey put hand for ground look for the same qualities:

1.  Active development during bear market No be only for bull market. Projects wey dey build true true even when price dey fall.
    
2.  Capital efficiency This one concern projects wey get low spending, lean teams and economics wey fit carry themselves.
    
3.  Communities wey get real conviction No be people wey just dey follow incentives.
    
4.  Strong architecture This one mean say the important decisions wey dem make before dem start make sense, and dem no use shortcuts wey later give dem serious problems for road.
    
5.  Genuine use case Something wey no need bull market before e make sense. Something wey still make sense even when market dey commot blood.
    

### How Alephium Face Be For This Bear Market!

I don dey here for one year, but I don do my research and I don look Alephium well well— especially the things wey dem dey carry am do, him ecosystem and him achievements.

Here na wetin I know say be true:

1.  Alephium launch on 8 November 2021, that one na just two days before the market reach him highest.
    
2.  From the beginning, Alephium been enter full bear cycle wey be bad market.
    
3.  Alephium been raise only about $5 million, and e no get institutional backstop o.
    
4.  During the bear market ( bad market), Alephium people drop Leman, Rhone and Danube network upgrades, and the network never suffer outage cha cha.
    
5.  Him mining community remain dey gidigba for ground.
    
6.  Alephium hash rate continue to dey grow even after the $ALPH ATH don pass long tay tay. That one show say people dey believe us.
    
7.  2026 don become the test concentrated test so far, especially with the bridge exploit wey happen, that one force the team to enter an unexpected period of delays and serious challenges wey dem surmount.
    
8.  The developers never stop to dey build, despite the bridge issue and the bear market wey been dey for ground.
    
9.  The ecosystem continue to dey build too, as community members come dey launch different games to help people enjoy themselves well well as the market dey slow.
    
10.  Powfi continue to dey move enter mainnet even as everything carry be, and e dey ready to deploy once the bridge relaunch.
     

From where I dey stand, Alephium dey look like better survivor. For this industry, nobody fit guarantee say something go last or success. But e get chains and protocols wey get the kind profile this historical filter dey favour well well.

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### The Filter Still Dey Work

This filter wey I don talk about for this article fit dey brutal, and e fit also take time. But e real.

Bear market no go commot talk the exact day e don finish. Instead, things dey carry him hand change small small. One day, we go wake up come see say: “The storm don pass.” The rain don stop. As the storm clear, we go see the projects wey no stop to dey build cha cha. The ones wey continue to dey accumulate commits. The ones wey try to dey maintain their communities. Projects like Alephium.

My point be say, the projects wey make am dey always deserve closer attention than the noise wey dey around dem dey suggests. When the next cycle eventually come come, who know the kind better potential wey we fit unlock? The bear market na filter. And as the filter still dey run, the projects wey continue to dey build, survive and deliver na the ones wey still dey stand when the dust finally settle.

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***Disclaimer***

*This is a community-run blog for third-party contributors. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not reflect the official Alephium project. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal or investment advice. Cryptocurrency carries risk and is highly volatile. Information may be incomplete or outdated. Always conduct your own research. We disclaim liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on this article.*