"Doing well in the bear market" in the crypto world is a rare superpower. It means that while most plummet 80%, 90% or more, these coins might only drop "just" 60-70%, or show signs of quicker recovery, or, most importantly, the project continues to be active, developing, and building despite general pessimism.
Coins that tend to show this resilience (and that you may find below ranking 100) generally have some characteristics:
Real Utility and Use Cases: They are not just memes or promises. They do something concrete: scale a blockchain, solve an interoperability problem, power a data network, generate revenue for holders, etc.
Active Development and Clear Roadmap: The team continues to work and deliver updates and new features, regardless of price.
Strong and Engaged Community: A community that believes in the long-term project tends to "hold" more during downturns.
Solid Tokenomics: An economic model of the token that makes sense, perhaps with attractive staking mechanisms, token burning, or a fair distribution that does not flood the market.
Specific Market Niche: Projects that dominate a particular niche can maintain their relevance even in tough times.
How to look for them (below ranking 100):
On CoinMarketCap or similar sites:
Filter the Ranking: As before, look from positions 101 downwards.
Analyze the Project (Not Just the Price): Click on the coin. Read the description, visit the project’s website. What problem does it solve? Who is behind it? Is there a working product?
Check Development Activity: Look at the project’s GitHub (if available) – is there frequent activity?
Social Media and Community:Is the community’s Twitter, Discord, Telegram active? Are there discussions about the project, not just about the price?
Price History (Again, but with a different focus): Look at the 1-2 year chart. Even if it dropped in the last bear, did it recover remarkably? Did it maintain important support levels? A chart with ascending peaks and troughs over the long term is a good sign.
Liquidity and Exchanges: Is it traded on reliable exchanges with reasonable volume? This ensures that you can exit if needed (or enter during a drop!).
Examples of Types of Projects (That May Reside Below Ranking 100 and Deserve Research for Potential Resilience):
Again, these are suggestions for types of projects and examples that often fit this profile and may be below ranking 100 at a given time, they are not guarantees of future resilience nor buy recommendations:
Some DePIN Protocols (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks): Projects that use blockchain to build real-world infrastructure networks (wireless, energy, data) – have tangible utility. (Examples in the niche may vary in ranking).
Interoperability Projects (Cross-chain) outside the Top 50: Solutions that connect different blockchains. The need for this does not disappear in bear markets. (Ex: Quant - QNT, if below 100; or smaller projects in the niche).
Promising Layer 2s or Sidechains (that have not yet exploded into the Top 50): Scalability solutions for larger blockchains. The need to scale continues. (Ex: Some L2s or smaller ecosystem projects).
Governance/Utility Tokens of DAOs or Ecosystems with Real Revenue: DeFi or GameFi projects that actually generate revenue and share it or use it for the benefit of the token/ecosystem. (Ex: GMX or GNS in the decentralized derivatives niche, depending on ranking; or other protocols with financial utility).
Projects with Very Strong Market Niche: Focused on a specific sector (supply chain, RWA - Real World Assets, decentralized data) and showing adoption.
