Besides BTC and ETH, which other "golden" assets are there in this recent decline?

When the market crashes, most people's attention is focused on Bitcoin and Ethereum, watching their prices race. But true hunters look for those "golden" assets that are either wrongly slaughtered or shine against the trend in panic. During the May 18th drop, 150k people were liquidated across the network. I noticed abnormal performance in two sectors and several tokens that may be worth your in-depth research.

The first is "income-generating" protocols in DeFi. For example, AAVE, which experienced a much smaller decline than the overall market during this drop, even turning green briefly during trading. Why? Because AAVE's real annualized income has reached tens of millions of dollars, and it has a token buyback mechanism. When the market is in panic, assets with cash flow support are like beacons in the night. Another is MakerDAO (MKR), whose stablecoin DAI remains pegged amid volatility, with stable protocol income. These DeFi tokens, in the long term, have stock-like properties, making them suitable for inclusion in spot holdings.

The second is "new species" in SocialFi. During this decline, a platform token called "XYZ" (just an example, please research yourself) not only didn't fall but rose by 5%. The logic is: users can earn tokens by posting, interacting, and predicting markets on the platform, with low correlation to the overall market movement. When the crypto market is generally cold, projects with strong social attributes and gamified design can attract users to stay. Of course, the risks are high—poor liquidity, projects that may vanish overnight. It's recommended to use only small funds (no more than 5% of total holdings) to chase high odds.

Additionally, don't overlook the stablecoin sector itself. Although USDT and USDC are not investment assets, holding stablecoins and engaging in liquidity mining during market turbulence is a low-risk way to "pick up gold." For example, on Gate.io's stablecoin financial products, annualized yields of 8%-12% are common. When others panic and liquidate during a crash, you can earn steady interest and wait for the market to calm down before using this money to buy the dip—effectively doubling your gains.

Returning to the two questions discussed. Regarding geopolitical risk: if the US and Israel truly go to war, tokens related to energy and gold (like PAXG) might be short-term speculative targets. About timing for buying the dip: I wouldn't buy "gold" in large quantities on the day of the crash. Instead, I would observe for 3-5 days to see which tokens recover first and see increased trading volume. Those with "less decline and quick rebound" often have strong backing from whales or communities.

Finally, a reminder: finding "gold" doesn't mean I recommend you buy immediately. Be sure to do your own research, check project official sites, social media updates, and on-chain data. In bear or sideways markets, surviving longer is more important than making quick profits. Gold needs time to be refined—don't turn yourself into fuel.