How to find your next Bitcoin or Ethereum?

Worried about missed opportunities on Bitcoin or Ethereum? Not sure where to begin your crypto quest, let’s start with DYOR (“Do your own research”)

To be frank, everyone is looking to make quick bucks, and with Crypto being the new money machine, everyone is in search to figure out the next 10x, 50x, or 100x coin. People usually resort to families, friends, Facebook, YouTube influencers, or Elon Musk tweets to invest their hard-earned money on a coin with less particle use and more hyped-up emotions.

Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile, and with 100’s of coins popping up daily, how does one go about finding a cryptocurrency that will take off in the future? That’s when DYOR comes into the picture.

a) Let’s start with initial research: Start with websites like Messari, Binance Research, or ICO tracking websites like ICODrops to get information about the projects, insights into the technologies and framework used, Initial token distribution, the team behind the project, etc.

• Messari and Binance Research are online database tools for the crypto industry that provide data insights, pricing, and research on crypto assets through an open-source library of information. You can easily get information about the Company’s Profile, Markets, Historical data, roadmaps, Team members, Research reports, Blog posts, News articles, or Social media posts. You can browse hundreds of curated screeners and charts, including crypto funds portfolios, asset classifications, exchange listings, advanced ROI analysis, and much more.

Home Page: https://messari.io/

Home Page: https://research.binance.com/

• ICODrops provides the list of Active/Upcoming/Ended ICOs, Info, and analysis for each project, like how much money the token has raised, Token distribution, Fundraising goals, Token Type, etc. It also has an Interest level, which is a rating system designed to inform users about noteworthy token sales.

Note: ICO (Initial Coin Offering) is just like IPO, a popular method of fundraising where a company sells a new cryptocurrency to raise money.

Home Page: https://icodrops.com/

2. Extend your research to examine the project: Information on the Messari and Binance Research is sometimes outdated, so once you have identified the coin/project to invest in, head straight to their website and Read case studies, Roadmap, Whitepapers, Blogs, any featured news, Key innovations or features, collect information on Staking, Mining, Rewards.

Focus specially on :

• Roadmap: The Roadmap is a summary of coin development and how a set of functionalities will be delivered across multiple code releases. This would help to understand what is delivered and what is coming next. Remember, Constant Progress is a key to successful implementation.
• Whitepaper: I know Whitepapers are more technical in nature, but still go through the first few pages, and you will get a gist of the project. Read “Why” this coin, the Consensus Mechanism, Security, Potential Use case, Future Research, and Potential risks involved in the project.
• People behind the project: found out about the Team and Investors, check their LinkedIn profiles, check founder/co-founder interviews on YouTube, How active are they on social media? Are they making headlines in the crypto space? Community interaction like hackathons or any notable project will give you more insights into current and future works.

The website also provides up-to-date information on Market cap, Transactions per day, Total Transactions, Total Stacked coins, Active Validators, Active delegators

3. Exchange listing and Ecosystem: It is always a good sign when a coin is listed on a popular exchange such as Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, etc. However, most of the new coins take some time to appear on these established exchanges. Then, How to decide on your next 100x coin?

• Go to Coingecko, Coinmarketcap, and check on the circulating supply, trading volume, market cap, Supply (i.e., estimated number of coins in supply), etc. and
• Understand their Ecosystem:
  a) Is it available on major exchanges/Wallets?

Example — Polygon Matic: https://polygon.technology/matic-token/

b) Is it usable on DeFi (Decentralized finance) or NFT (Non-fungible token) Products? Find out more on top DeFi projects and the Top NFT Marketplace listed on the website.

c) Is it integrated with Cross chain protocols? Find out about Top lending protocols.

For example: Harmony Ecosystem

After combing through every detail and digging websites/whitepapers, you will surely be able to make a judgment call, and along the way, you will also gain a lot more insights into the Crypto world… a win-win situation!

P.S. This post is not sponsored by Messari, Binance Research, ICO, or any coin. I’ve added a screenshot for clarity purposes. Thank you!

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How to find your next Bitcoin or Ethereum? was originally published in The Capital on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.