Why I’m still buying XRP, HBAR, and real-world assets in this bear market

When prices are down, sentiment is low, and everyone seems distracted by the next shiny thing, it’s tempting to walk away from crypto altogether. But for some investors, this is exactly when they double down on assets they believe will power the next financial system—while also stacking real-world essentials like land, soil, and food.

Staying in the game during a brutal bear market

The current market has shaken out a lot of people. Many who bought near the top are sitting on heavy unrealized losses, and leverage is being wiped out across exchanges. As painful as that feels, this kind of reset can be healthy. It clears out excess speculation and forces the focus back onto fundamentals.

Instead of chasing meme coins or high-risk leverage, a more conservative strategy is to keep accumulating assets with real utility: XRP, XLM (Stellar), HBAR (Hedera), and a few other carefully chosen projects. The mindset is simple: survive the bear, stack what you can, and be positioned for the next wave of adoption.

Why focus on XRP, XLM, and HBAR?

The core thesis behind accumulating XRP, XLM, and HBAR is that these networks are being chosen, tested, or explored by serious institutions as rails for the next generation of finance. They aren’t just speculative tokens; they are ledgers designed to move value efficiently.

We’ve already seen examples like the DTCC working with Stellar, enterprise-grade activity building on Hedera, and tokenization and payments use cases growing on the XRP Ledger. Together, these point to a future where a handful of high-utility networks handle a large share of global value flows, instead of tens of thousands of random tokens competing for attention.

If you want a deeper dive into why some investors see XRP’s long, painful drawdowns as an opportunity rather than a death sentence, it’s worth reading this breakdown of XRP’s dip as a potential generational buying opportunity.

Accepting the reality of buying tops and averaging down

Many holders bought XRP at $2–$3 during the hype and are now sitting 50–70% below that peak. That hurts. Even disciplined traders who longed XRP near the top have had to face the reality of being underwater.

One way to handle this is through disciplined dollar-cost averaging (DCA). That means continuing to buy at lower levels over time—$1.33, $1.22, $1.21, $1.07, and so on—rather than trying to perfectly time the bottom. The goal isn’t to nail every trade; it’s to steadily improve your average entry price while you still believe in the long-term fundamentals.

This same approach can be applied to HBAR and other utility-focused assets: accumulate on weakness, avoid leverage, and give your thesis time to play out.

The garden analogy: custody, growth, and yield

A simple way to think about digital assets is to compare them to growing berries at home.

The pot: your custody solution

The first step in gardening is having a solid container. In crypto, that’s your custody. It might be self-custody (hardware or software wallet) or institutional-grade custody. Either way, this is your “whiskey barrel” or planter—the foundation that keeps your assets safe.

The soil: your setup and security

Next comes the soil: good, healthy dirt and compost. In crypto terms, this is your overall setup—secure backups, strong passwords, good operational security, and a clear plan. If your “soil” is poor, your assets (the plants) will struggle, no matter how good they are.

The plant: your XRP, XLM, and HBAR

The plant itself is your token: XRP, XLM, HBAR, or another carefully chosen asset. Once it’s safely planted in your custody “pot” with solid “soil,” you can focus on letting it grow over time.

The runners: multiplying your bag

Strawberry plants send out runners that can root in new pots and become new plants. Raspberry bushes can be split and transplanted into multiple containers. You don’t always get a 100% success rate, but over time you can turn one plant into many.

In crypto, this is like using your existing holdings to generate more of the same asset—through yield, staking, or lending—without constantly selling and buying back. You might lose a few opportunities or make a few mistakes, but if you’re thoughtful, your overall position can multiply.

Becoming your own bank with XRP DeFi

One of the most exciting developments on the horizon is institutional-grade yield and DeFi on the XRP Ledger. The idea is simple: you’ll be able to lend out XRP or XRP-backed assets, earn yield, and interact directly with on-chain protocols—without middlemen taking a cut between you and your returns.

This is the “harvest” phase of the garden analogy. Once your plants are strong, they start producing fruit season after season. Likewise, once the XRP DeFi ecosystem matures, long-term holders may be able to earn passive income while keeping ownership of their underlying XRP.

That said, caution is essential. Even if the yield is attractive, it’s critical to:

• Conduct serious due diligence on any protocol you use
• Avoid putting all your XRP into a single platform
• Understand smart contract and counterparty risks
• Never risk more than you can afford to lose

For a broader view of how some investors are positioning during downturns to benefit from future yield and adoption, you can also check out this guide on what one investor is DCA-ing into during the crypto crash.

Hyperliquid: another utility-focused play

Beyond XRP, XLM, and HBAR, some investors are watching Hyperliquid (HYPE) as a high-conviction, utility-based token. The thesis is that it has a real moat and real usage, with price levels like $50–$55 acting as support and potential upside back toward $75–$100 if the market cooperates.

None of this is guaranteed, and it’s not a recommendation to buy or sell. It’s simply an example of how some traders look for projects with genuine traction and clear use cases, rather than chasing every new narrative.

Why utility and real assets matter more than ever

With AI, IPOs, sports, wars, and macro crises dominating headlines, it’s easy to forget about digital assets entirely. But beneath the noise, the “new rails” of the financial system are still being built.

The long-term bet is straightforward:

• A small number of utility-driven networks will handle a huge share of value transfer and tokenization.
• Institutional money will increasingly use these rails for settlement, tokenized assets, and payments.
• Holders of the underlying assets (like XRP, XLM, HBAR) could benefit from both price appreciation and on-chain yield.

At the same time, there’s a parallel push to own real, tangible assets: land, food, precious metals, and productive property. Growing your own berries, vegetables, and other food at home may not be glamorous, but it’s a direct way to reduce costs, improve quality, and build resilience for your family.

Principles for surviving and thriving in crypto

Putting it all together, a simple, durable strategy might look like this:

• Focus on utility: prioritize assets with real-world use cases and institutional interest, not just hype.
• Avoid leverage: don’t risk liquidation or forced selling in volatile markets.
• Diversify custody: use a mix of self-custody and institutional-grade solutions; never keep everything in one place.
• DCA through the pain: keep stacking during bear markets if your long-term thesis is intact.
• Seek passive income carefully: explore DeFi and yield only after thorough research, and never risk your core stack recklessly.
• Balance digital and physical: alongside crypto, consider real estate, precious metals, and even simple things like food production.

In the end, the goal is generational wealth: assets that can be passed down—whether that’s bags of XRP, XLM, HBAR, real estate, metals, or even thriving blueberry and raspberry bushes that keep producing year after year.

The tourists may have left the market, but the builders and long-term thinkers are still here. If you understand the fundamentals and stay patient, this bear market can be a time of quiet accumulation and preparation for what comes next.