There are many in the crypto space that repeat the mantra, “You build in a bear!” It’s a great sentiment for those who are builders, but what keeps the average user motivated in a bear market?

For me, it is a number of things.

First, I stay motivated by participating in more interactive DAO’s and communities. HOPR is a great technology that supports privacy in Web3. I love the aim of this protocol, but I can’t offer much to the technology side. What I can do is participate in the gamified system they setup for staking. You participate in a number of actions and receive a NFT that is used to boost your staking APY. Sometimes, you get an extra NFT here or there, so you can make a few extra xdai (HOPR lives mostly on Gnosis) by selling them on Eporio (NFT marketplace). I can’t build but I can play. You play in a bear!

Second, I stay motivated by testing. No, I can’t write code but some protocols make it very easy to test their product and they can incentivize that testing. I recently participated in KYVE’s incentivized test network (they are still testing, but the incentivized part is done). The KYVE team gave a number of simple ways to participate and earn points. The top 10,000 participants will receive KYVE’s token when the protocol goes to mainnet. For all those who aren’t builders, now is a great time to participate in testnets. You test in a bear!

Third, I stay motivated by learning. I am writing this article to participate in RabbitHole’s quest involving mirror. The first 1000 participants get an NFT as a reward. The incentive is great, but so is learning about all of the protocols across Web3. I might not feel up to the technical skill to build, but I can learn about the different protocols across all the L1’s and L2’s. You learn in a bear!

Finally, I stay motivated by buying. I didn’t get into crypto because I thought it was a bad investment. I got into crypto because I believe in the technology and the philosophy that surrounds it. A bear market is no good for my initial investment, but I am not in this for the short term. Now is the time to buy for the bull. I don’t put in more than I can afford, but I do invest what I can. You buy in a bear!

So that’s what keeps me motivated during this downturn. There is always an opportunity even if you can’t build. Bear markets are not just for building. They are for playing, testing, learning and buying. And in that way the bear becomes the bull.