Crypto people who make money all understand one principle: going with the trend yields much higher returns than fighting against it. Especially in lending protocols like ListaDAO, the flexibility of strategy determines whether you earn passively or suffer losses.

During a bull market, being more aggressive can help you outperform the market. Earlier this year, I increased the collateralization ratio to 180%, using the borrowed stablecoins to continue buying BNB. It sounds extremely risky, but as long as the market is strong enough, the returns can double. What’s the key skill? Quick reaction. Once the candlestick shows signs of fatigue, immediately reduce leverage—don’t wait until the limit down to react.

In a bear market, strategies completely reverse. At the end of last year, when the market was dead, I unwound all leverage and shifted to two paths: earning interest by holding USD1 (though only 4%, but better than losing money), and seizing arbitrage opportunities when stablecoins de-peg. It’s normal for stablecoins to de-peg during panic; holding USD1 for arbitrage at such times is like picking gold from the ruins.

The most impressive move was in September last year. I felt the market was about to top out, so I immediately swapped half of my BNB into USD1 and froze it in the account. Within three months, the market indeed plunged 30%. When I redeemed BNB with my USD1, I bought much cheaper tokens. This is a perfect cycle of cashing out at high and re-entering at low.

How to decide whether to be aggressive or conservative? Look at the daily chart’s relationship with the moving averages. Be bolder when the price is above the MA; pull back when it falls below. If you really don’t understand charts, then use the simplest indicator of human sentiment: start reducing positions when everyone around is shouting bull market, and gradually add when no one mentions Bitcoin. The market’s essence is inherently counter-human.