The cryptocurrency market is yet to reverse the downward trend that prevailed all though 2018. Most assets are still trading near their 2018 lows with attempts to recover limited by the rising selling pressure. In fact, in a recent article published on Coindesk, the project lead at Decred, Yacom-Piatt attempted to demystify some of the complexities that crypto investors as well as the projects themselves are facing. Yacom-Piatt says in the article:

“There is a minority that is incredibly well informed and a majority who are quite uninformed. This knowledge gap often benefits the well-informed at the direct expense of the uninformed, so the former are incentivized to maintain this arrangement.”

In other words, investment in the cryptocurrency market is more difficult compared to the traditional market where there are quarterly reports with clearly cut out regulations. Success depends on the ability of the investor to stay well informed hence raising his or her competence level. Similarly, most investors do not understand the working of most of the projects in the industry. At end of the day, everything is left to the element of trust where investors believe that the team behind the project has strong ethics and integrity to do right by them.

It is vital for investors to take time and understand that investment is more or less a game. This means that the more one understands the intricate working of the game, it raises the chances of success. This does not mean you must be one of those developers to be reckoned with. However, the situation requires you to be aware of the inner workings of the market in addition its role in the industry. Having this kind of knowledge will help you rise above the hype that is made by marketers and, therefore, make better investment decisions.

Top 2 cryptocurrencies to hold in the current bear market

Most of the investors and traders are referring to the current trend in the market as the crypto winter. This section will present an overview of two digital assets that are great for HODLing amid the bear market.

Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin is still the market leader and an example that the world can have an alternative currency without the constant monitoring by governments regulators. It was the first currency that introduced currency scarcity, ability to avoid censorship, immutability among other vital features.

The asset has in the past shown the ability to recover and even achieve a historic all-time high after surpassing gold as the most valuable asset in the world. Moreover, its popularity has continued to grow over the last decade. Besides, reports show that over 4,000 Bitcoin ATMs have been installed around the world and this number is growing by at least 5 new ATM machines daily.

As far as fundamentals are concerned, not much has changed over the last one year. However, the Lightning Network is growing rapidly. Bitcoin is arguably one of the strongest digital tokens to stock up during this bear trend.

Cardano (ADA)

Cardano is usually referred to us as one of the most ambitious projects in the industry. It is a “smart contract platform” that has been battling platforms like Ethereum. The platform although not as aggressive as most projects in the industry, has been working on ensuring that it achieves high levels of scalability using its academic background and unique approach to development in the crypto industry.

It has one of the most qualified teams in the industry under the leadership of Charles Hoskinson, the CEO of IOHK who has in the past worked on Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC). The development team at Cardano is very keen on keeping the protocol updated. Besides, the network has entered the Shelly phase this year, although it still maintains that long-term approach to the the market.

Cardano is driving adoption in parts of the world that are underrepresented such as Africa, Asia and South America. The mission is make an impact in the lives of the people in these regions.

The crypto winter is here with us and the way things stand in the market, the period could last longer. However, assets like Cardano show that there is a long-term picture in the market and that HODLing could eventually yield positive results as the market reverses in the near future.