During the peak of market sentiment, almost all projects talk about growth, expansion, and the next breakout point; however, what truly reveals the essence of a team is not the rapid progress in a bull market, but whether it can maintain judgment when the cycle cools, liquidity tightens, and industry expectations begin to be revised downwards. It’s about whether they know what to do and what not to do.
If a new round of bear market arrives in 2026, what will projects rely on to navigate the cycle? Will it be financing to survive, narrative support, or a truly clear product direction, organizational resilience, and execution efficiency? Whether it’s Aventus emphasizing 'agility, survival, and only addressing real needs,' or Mandala's judgment that 'bear markets are actually more suitable for building,' both point to the same fact — the industry is bidding farewell to the phase driven solely by imagination and entering a period that tests fundamental skills more rigorously.
From this perspective, the bear market may not just be a stress test; it is more like a screening. It will amplify all vulnerabilities, such as vague strategies, distorted demands, imbalanced cost structures, and organizational inertia in responding slowly to market changes. Conversely, it will also leave behind those who are truly disciplined, prepared, and able to continue pushing products after the noise subsides.
For today's Web3, the key to navigating cycles may no longer be 'waiting for the market to return,' but whether we can transform ourselves into a project worth keeping for the future during the market downturn.
In PolkaWorld's latest live broadcast, how do builders from the Polkadot ecosystem projects Aventus and Mandala view the bear market?
Kristin: Now we are approaching the end of the first quarter of 2026. Can you share the main priorities for the next few months? Or is there anything the community can look forward to?
Moreover, there is another very important question: if a new round of bear market arrives in 2026, are you prepared for it?
Balal: Actually, I have been thinking about this issue for a long time, as it may be the most important question in everyone's mind right now.
What I want to say is that at Aventus, we are highly sensitive to the current situation. Whether it's the macro environment or the internal industry environment, we are paying very close attention. We think about every narrative, every trend, and the overall direction of the market.
So for Aventus, the only answer we can give is: we must be very agile. We must be able to change direction quickly and significantly to better respond to market changes. I believe that any blockchain project, Web3 protocol, company, or DAO that moves slowly in a bear market will be eliminated.
I personally entered the crypto industry at the end of the last bull market, about four years ago. Three months later, the bear market began.
I remember when ETH's price fell below $1,000. I remember one day while having dinner, the ETH price suddenly dropped below $1,000, and that feeling was truly despairing. The entire industry was in a very anxious state at that time. Many people were crying, feeling hopeless, not knowing what would happen next.
During such times, the only thing you can do is to survive until the market recovers. And the market will eventually recover.
This is a very important fact: all markets have cycles, with ups and downs.
So we know that the entire industry is now aware that the situation is not good. But at such times, you must return to reality and truly build products with practical use cases, rather than doing things that have no real significance.
Companies and protocols living in their own bubbles are likely to disappear in the next six months, a year, or even two years if they do not listen to the community, do not open up construction, are not transparent, and are unwilling to get feedback from real users.
At Aventus, we are very clear that we are primarily building infrastructure. Therefore, we not only pay attention to the infrastructure development within the Polkadot ecosystem but also to the changes in other ecosystems across the entire blockchain industry.
We actually have many new members on our team, coming from different industries and various blockchain ecosystems. Therefore, we are also very aware of what is happening elsewhere. We know Aventus must change.
So what you will see this year is a very agile and responsive Aventus, responding to community users, developers, and business partners. In the future, we will only build products that are truly needed and desired by users.
Looking back at Aventus's past development, there have actually been very good phases. But to maintain long-term competitiveness, the only answer is always: stay agile, act quickly, and build rapidly.
That is also why we are pushing for automation. That is also why we are moving towards decentralization.
This way, we can gradually step back from the center and allow true innovation to happen naturally on the network. This is the direction of Aventus's development. Overall, it is indeed a rather difficult time right now, and the next period may still be quite challenging. However, our team is very smart and agile, maintaining high awareness of everything happening in the industry.
So in the coming months, we will only do what the industry truly needs. Of course, we hope our strategies and plans will work and ultimately bring the results we expect. But we are also very clear that the risks of working in this industry are continuously rising.
This is actually the biggest difference between bear and bull markets. In bear markets, everything is riskier, everything is more tense, and resources are scarcer. Therefore, everything you do must be very precise and well-executed.
This is the current state of Aventus.
Kristin: I agree with your view. Bear markets are difficult for everyone, not just builders, but also for retail investors, VCs, and traders. Everyone is going through a tough time.
As you said, stick to your strategy and hope it will succeed.
Teams that can survive the bear market often go further because they have passed the most severe tests.
Michael: This is my third bear market.
So for me, while we all prefer bull markets, there is actually a benefit to bear markets: I tend to relax a bit. Because in bull markets, everyone only focuses on prices, prices, and more prices. And in bear markets, everything becomes much quieter. A lot of noise disappears.
If you temporarily set aside the idea of making money and stop thinking only about prices, then the bear market is actually what everyone refers to as the 'builder's market.'
We are actually very aware of the cycle we are currently in.
As I said, I have experienced three of these cycles, so we are prepared.
The construction of the Mandala project is actually driven by multiple organizations, including foundations, academies, and three other companies involved in the construction. Most of these organizations actually have other sources of income and do not solely rely on fundraising or selling tokens. So we do not need to rely on these methods to sustain operations. Therefore, we are actually prepared. We are now enjoying this focused building phase, and currently, the hype and noise in the market have also decreased significantly.
In my view, this is the best time for building.
Of course, I must also admit that during the last two market cycles I experienced, I did not fully understand this. But now my experience tells me that those who remain focused and continually invest during a bear market often achieve success in the next bull market.
This is your time to lay out your future.
This is your time to dive deep into the ecosystem and find the projects worth investing in.
This is your time to choose the 'horse' you want to bet on for the future.
True success is actually built during bear markets.
Kristin: Indeed. Maintaining good financial health is very important, and having multiple sources of income is actually a good strategy during a bear market. As long as we can maintain good financial health, we won't be too concerned about whether it's a bull or bear market. The most important thing is to focus on what we really need to do.
Today's discussion has a lot of information and may take some time to digest, so our program for today ends here. Thank you for sharing, and thanks to all the audience for participating today.
We will continue to follow your progress and look forward to inviting you back to discuss together in the future.
That's all for today, wishing everyone a wonderful day.
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