Bear markets are nothing new in crypto. While the S&P 500 experienced a gradual increase since the Great Recession and posted only one year with a decline in the span from 2009 to 2021, the cryptocurrency economy has been through roughly three bear markets in that same time frame. Most of those bear markets caused declines of more than 70%.

However, despite these huge swings in price, the cryptocurrency asset class has gone from consisting of just one cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), to thousands that are now collectively worth more than $800 billion. At one point in 2021, the value of all cryptos hit a high of $2.9 trillion.

Although there are thousands of cryptocurrencies today, not all are cut from the same cloth. I won't spare words -- some are completely pointless. If there's anything that past bear markets have taught us, it's that just because a cryptocurrency is around today doesn't mean it will be here when the next bull market returns. 

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Source Fool.com