In case you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past week or so, allow me to set the stage for you. Since rumors of the Sia Obelisk ASIC Miner broke out around June 19, causing the investments of many Sia investors (including yours truly) to double in only a few days, there has been a lot of negativity and FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) being thrown around in the crypto world. Perhaps the most outrageous rumor that was released over social media was that a car crash had supposedly killed the founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin. However this FUD was debunked only a day later when Vitalik himself appeared on Twitter to prove that he was still alive. Still, there were even more strange events that transpired over the past topsy-turvy week, including a “flash crash” of Ethereum from $317 to about $0.10 in a matter of seconds! Needless to say, Murphy’s Law has been in full effect as investors have resorted to panic selling, resulting in over a week’s worth of “red days” - with prices of all cryptocurrencies continuing to plunge each day. 

We are currently in a bear market folks!   

What’s a Bear Market?   

Without opening a copy of The Wall Street Journal or another business magazine, I can give you a ballpark description of a bear market as a prolonged period of time in which prices of many commodities and assets decrease significantly on account of many investors selling at the same time. Notice that one bad day or two doesn’t signify a bear market. There has to be at least a week of plunging prices before you can officially declare a bear market.   

What causes investors to panic and sell? Usually a whole lot of FUD – similar to this insane collection of bad news we have been receiving lately.    

Why is this happening?   

Once again, a whole lot of FUD being delivered over a short period of time is the main culprit in this situation. Moreover, cryptocurrencies are just now reaching mainstream attention so naturally people, mostly newbies to the crypto world, have begun the annoying conversation of “Are we reaching a bubble?”    

Moreover, there have also been a lot of technological changes implemented recently across different cryptos – the Sia Obelisk news as well as the all-too familiar HF-19 on Steemit, which has thus far been very positively received by our entire community. There is also the upcoming BIP 148 UASF software update that is scheduled to occur with Bitcoin in August that already has people sweating and panicking. Most presumably due to a lack of basic understanding of Blockchain technology (updates aren’t all that bad people!), we are continuing to see the price of Bitcoin plunge every day, now around $2400, as we get closer to August.    

But enough talk about FUD and red days – how does the current bear market affect YOU on Steemit?   

Your posts are worth a lot less in USD   

Thanks to the decreasing price of STEEM and SBD, your posts are suddenly worth a lot less in USD. For example, I recently earned about $97 for a health post I was particularly proud of which has now sunk to $75, thanks entirely to the drop in STEEM and SBD.    

But don’t even worry about it! That’s why I mentioned in my last post that you should NEVER pay any attention to the amount of money that you’re making per post – focus always on your reputation score! The dollar amount of each post will always fluctuate due to the current market value of STEEM and SBD. However just remember that the actual amount of STEEM and SBD that you earn for a particular post will remain the same. As soon as the prices start pumping again, STEEM and SBD will also increase in value and thus your posts will be worth even more in the near future!   

People are buying a lot more STEEM   

This is actually pretty self-explanatory – as prices continue to drop, STEEM and SBD become a lot cheaper than before and thus people are going dumpster diving and loading up on more STEEM. It’s a liquidation sale at Macy’s – everything must go! People are discovering that it is more valuable to buy STEEM at these low prices because you can simply use your cheap BTC to buy more STEEM and hold it in STEEM Power. Remember folks, we’re all in this for the long haul so continue to invest in the long-term success of our Steemit platform by holding more in STEEM Power!   

Crypto enthusiasts are sad and have nothing to talk about   

This is pretty funny but actually very true. People who would normally spend the entire day on social media and in their Telegram chat groups gabbing nonstop about cryptos and how they’re planning to use their profits to buy Lamborghinis are just plain depressed right now. With all this red etched across their Blockfolio accounts, they have literally lost the will to talk about cryptocurrencies anymore! Even the video that @trevonjb put up this morning of his live chat displayed a thumbnail photo of him getting ready to bawl like a baby. Trevon is a cool guy and an awesome Steemian to follow every day because he is very knowledgeable about everything related to cryptocurrencies, so I know he was only poking fun at those miserable little crypto fans.   

But don’t hang your head and flip that frown upside down already! Everything that goes up must come down and everything down eventually jumps back up. There is a pump on the horizon – most cryptocurrencies are literally coming back up as I write this sentence – so stock up on your favorite cryptos and hold until we get to the moon!   

People are posting a lot more on Steemit   

This is by far the greatest development to come out of this bear market. People have decided to stop following their Blockfolio apps so closely and have instead started to post a lot more frequently on Steemit. Why is that? How many other blockchain platforms will reward you with cryptos for putting in the hours to create original, high quality content for everyone? Even crypto mining is not as profitable or rewarding as posting and participating consistently on Steemit every day. Heck, ever since I joined Steemit, I forgot I was even investing in any other cryptos and have started migrating more of my crypto funds to hold in STEEM Power. In fact, I’m waiting for Sia to jump up over $0.02 in order to sell it all and invest long term in STEEM Power. Steemit FTW!   

Stay strong and STEEM ON!   

So there you go folks – as long as you have Steemit in your lives, there is no such thing as a bear market. It is simply a figment of an imagination obsessed with trading every second of every day. Forget that stress and come over to Steemit – where you are rewarded for your hard work and dedication every day 24/7. Enter Zen From Here (thanks @jerrybanfield!) – Enter Zen on Steemit and stay positive!   

References: 

1.  https://www.reddit.com/r/siacoin/comments/6j1gyg/obelisks_sia_asics_full_details/  
2.  http://boards.4chan.org/biz/thread/2608981  
3.  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-caused-the-ethereum-flash-crash-2017-06-22  

Image Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9   

Until next time, keep acing life!