Battle of Strategies: "Crypto for Retirement: Senior HODLer vs. Junior Trader"

As technology advances, traditional pension systems are increasingly challenged, and the idea of ​​securing a comfortable retirement with digital assets is becoming a global trend. But how exactly is this done?

The dev.ua editorial team is launching a new special project, «Battle of Strategies.» Our goal is to pit different approaches to digital capital management against each other. One camp is scolding for active daily trading, futures, and aggressive trend-following. The other is for the cold-blooded strategy of «buy fundamental coins, stake them, and forget about them for years.»

While you choose your side in this confrontation, our official partner — the leading crypto exchange OKX — reminds you: regardless of the path you choose, the main thing is to have a reliable and convenient tool at hand.

While we are looking for an adept of aggressive speculation, our first participant enters the ring — Andriy Makarov, Co-founder and COO of one of the main crypto media in Ukraine, Incrypted. Andriy represents the side of a conscious, strategic approach to the market.

We asked him the key questions about time, money, risks, and the future that concern anyone considering a «crypto-retirement.»

Round 1: About time and market phases

dev.ua: How much time does your activity as a trader take up per day or week? Can you combine it with your main job if the goal is capital for the future?

Andriy Makarov: I am not a particularly active trader in the classical sense of the word. Rather, I take point actions in the market, if such a definition is suitable for our challenge at all.

When answering this question, you need to clearly distinguish the phases the market is in. In «slow» periods — for example, like now — excessive activity can rather harm your deposit. A huge number of people lose money simply «out of boredom»: they climb into the terminal when they want to earn money or when it seems to them that they just have to open a deal right now. Although there are no real, concrete opportunities in the market at this moment. Therefore, in a stagnant or falling market, doing nothing (or doing the minimum) is also an excellent, working strategy.

In a slow market, we prepare: there is less hustle and bustle, but more in-depth research, analytics, and learning something new. In an active market, you simply won’t feel like it.

But when the active phase (bullish trend) comes, the situation changes in a mirror image. You need to be in the market constantly, literally 24/7, and monitor new opportunities. At the same time, it is critically important to focus on those sectors where there is greater utility and where you have a personal advantage. The main rule of the active phase is to get involved as much as possible while the market is literally «giving away money». But, again, you need to do this with a cool head, without FOMO (missed opportunity syndrome) and unnecessary fuss.

Round 2: Hard Math and the Retirement Plan

dev.ua: Let’s do some numbers. An imaginary investor is currently 42 years old. He wants to retire at 58 (in 16 years) and have at least $500,000 in capital. If he were to start trading right now, how much initial capital would he need and what strategy should he choose?

Andriy Makarov: If I were to answer right away and with maximum confidence, I would say this: to be guaranteed to make $500,000 purely from active trading, you need to have at least $1,000,000 at the start. And even more is better (smiles).

Seriously, it all depends on your strategy and expected returns. The crypto market is tricky. Using active trading, you can really increase your capital many times faster than on the stock market. But with the same probability, you can lose absolutely everything. The result depends entirely on the rigidity of your strategy, risk management, or — which happens most often to beginners — on the complete absence of any systematicity.

Advice from dev.ua and OKX: If you don’t have a million to start with, but you want to test your risk tolerance without losing your real savings, don’t be lazy. Instead of immediately investing your «pension» money in futures, it’s better to test your hypotheses through demo trading on OKX. This is a free real market simulator that will save your nerves and wallet during the learning phase.

Round 3: Technology vs. Speculation. What to Analyze?

dev.ua: What is your asset selection based on? What is better for long-term planning: fundamental analysis of blockchain and tokenomics or technical analysis of charts, candlesticks, and liquidity?

Andriy Makarov: For investing, I definitely choose fundamental analysis. It answers the most important strategic question: «What to buy?». While technical analysis (charts, levels, indicators) serves only as an applied tool for finding the ideal entry point — that is, it answers the question «When to buy?».

It is important to understand that classic stock market metrics (like P/E or EBITDA) do not work in cryptocurrency. True crypto fundamentals are based on three pillars:

1. Real on-chain metrics: TVL (volume of blocked funds), real network activity, number of active wallets, and protocol profitability.
2. Rules of the Attention Economy: community strength, media reach, and narrative relevance (AI, RWA, L2 solutions, etc.).
3. Competent tokenomics. This is the basis. We at Incrypted have analyzed in great detail in our videos and extensive educational materials how the hidden mechanisms of token inflation work and why it is critically important to monitor the schedules of fund unlocks.

In essence, fundamental analysis allows you to find a strong, undervalued project with a clear and healthy economy, where global money is flowing right now. And technical analysis simply helps you not to buy this found asset at its peak («at the highs»).

Round 4: Where to hide your «pension» from scammers?

dev.ua: Staking, custodial wallets, centralized exchanges… Where is it safer to keep your conditional «pension fund» and how not to wake up poor due to the scam of another major exchange or DeFi protocol?

Andriy Makarov: The principle of «Not your keys, not your money,» which was born at the dawn of Bitcoin, still remains the main and unbreakable rule of security.

This means that non-custodial wallets (and ideally hardware, «cold» devices like Ledger or Trezor that don’t have a constant internet connection) are the only truly secure option for long-term storage of large amounts.

Regarding centralized exchanges (CEX), various staking platforms, or custodial wallets: keep only the amounts you need right now for specific transactions, trades, or operational operations. All long-term savings should be under your personal control.

Expert Comment: By the way, if we talk about the part of the capital that is still spinning in operational activities, choose top platforms with transparent Proof of Reserves reports. For example, in the OKX Web3 wallet, you can flexibly combine both worlds: trade on an exchange with deep liquidity and simultaneously use a fully decentralized non-custodial wallet right inside one application.

Round 5: Plan B

dev.ua: What will you do if in 10–15 years cryptocurrency does not replace the classical financial system, the trend comes to naught, and your assets turn into digital candy wrappers? What is your plan «B» for retirement?

Andriy Makarov: I don’t think from the beginning that cryptocurrency should completely replace classical finance. Rather, the opposite will happen: it will become an organic, inseparable part of it. Moreover, crypto is likely to absorb a huge share of the traditional financial market through such instruments as RWA (tokenization of real assets) and tokenized shares.

Therefore, the question of the future is different: it is not about whether crypto will be worth anything in 10 years. It will definitely be valuable. The question is — WHICH crypto will survive and take this market share? But in order to understand this and transfer capital in a timely manner, you need to constantly keep your finger on the pulse of the industry. Which, in fact, is what we at Incrypted do every day.

In the next part of the «Strategy Battle» we will listen to the side of aggressive trading: how much can you earn on futures with leverage if you trade daily, and whether such a risk is justified in the long term. Together with our partner OKX, we will show what real trading «at maximum speed» looks like. Stay tuned for updates on dev.ua!