Every market is full of ups and down and there is nothing anyone can do about it. It happens to stock markets and any other market you can think of, so I do not see how cryptocurrency market should be an exception and the fact that it is decentralized even makes it more volatile.
Yeah, and that is one thing we need to always realize and know that in most cases, we just have to either know how to adjust with the trends based on our decisions, or at least try as much as possible to be patient enough to wait and be focused on the future. Bear trend will always be a thing in every market, and it is not something that has to do with only the cryptocurrency market alone, so in every case, it is either you know how to trade, to be able to take advantage of it, or understand it is a normal thing but what is important is to concentrate on what the future holds.
There are many lesson learnt from 2018 cryptocurrency bearsh market. The important lesson i have learnt so far is to never trust what people say but what people do. The whole speculation about bitcoin rising up to $50000 was false and misleafing. I have been burnt, but I have learnt my lessons!
The main lesson anyone should be learning when it comes to bear market is that there is no cause for alarm and it is a normal thing for the market to experience every now and then, depending on the previous condition that led to it in the first place. We also have to understand for most people who keep saying it has taught them not to HODL for too long, to also realize that when you are trading the market without knowledge because you want to take advantage of the fluctuation, you are setting yourself into more trouble of losing even more than you can imagine.