Whether you’re looking to expand your already-established crypto portfolio, or perhaps looking to diversify your investments come the new year, you’ll want to stick around for this one. In this article, we’re guiding you through the dos and don’ts of how to find new crypto coins.

From the far out there to the “mainstream” options, we’re showing you what to look out for and how to determine whether it’s a worthy investment or not. While the crypto markets are still prone to bouts of volatility, there is a keener interest in cryptocurrencies than there has ever been before. Here’s how to stay on top of the game.

How To Find New Crypto Coins

A great first step in discovering new coins is to take a look at upcoming ICOs. ICOs are Initial Coin Offerings that provide investors with early access to a cryptocurrency while at the same time providing the project with start-up capital.

In 2017, there was a significant ICO boom that saw hundreds of thousands of cryptocurrencies enter the market. Unfortunately not all ICOs are created equal, and while many went on to build innovative businesses, there were also plenty of exit scams and fraudulent projects.

With the right amount of vetting, investors can discover new projects to invest in. There are several platforms on which investors can find ICOs with information like their upcoming pre-sale and public sale dates, buy-in price, soft and hard cap, and team profile.

Where To Find New Crypto Coins

Below we’ve outlined some of the top options providing access to new coins and ICO information. While these provide great vehicles to find the coins, we strongly suggest you conduct your own research outside of the listing platform.

ICO Bench

Through a professional rating system, ICO Bench scores ICOs and new crypto coins based on parameters like whitepapers, teams, hard caps, etc. Each project is rated by being put through the assessment algorithm, review from external experts, as well as legal review.

The platform uses the knowledge of crypto traders and experts to comprise the reports and displays the ratings alongside valuable information about each project.

Top ICO List

This rating platform lists upcoming or active ICOs, presenting information pertaining to the project as well as basic starred reviews from other traders. With quick links to the projects’ websites and whitepapers, the listings also include an overview of what the project aims to do.

ICO Drops

ICO Drops is an independent database of active, upcoming, and recently ended ICOs. Providing a short summary of each project, the database shares only the need-to-know information alongside links to the whitepaper, website, the private sale, etc. Some projects on the platform hold a rating value based on several criteria, while some are sponsored or not rated, as indicated on the list.

CoinMarketCap

Known to provide real-time data on anything and everything happening in the crypto industry, CoinMarketCap also has an ICO division. Here users can find access to upcoming, ongoing and ended ICOs in their Complete ICO Calendar. Each coin has its own page with access to important information pertaining to the ICO as well as relevant links.

ICO Listing Online

This platform is an independent ICO rating and listing platform which has established a good reputation and a sizable blockchain community. Each project is vetted (although the details on how this is done are not available on the website) with a rating out of 10. Each listing has a page displaying valuable information, from the sale dates to the project’s roadmap and everything in between.

How To Vet New Crypto Projects

So you’ve found a project that interests you, now what? Before you dive into the deep end you’ll need to do a substantial amount of research in order to determine whether any project is worth investing in.

Of course, getting a good rating on a listing site is valuable, but we recommend taking a few more steps before parting ways with your money. Below we break down several questions to investigate once you’ve found a project that you are interested in.

  • Is the idea unique?

Liken Bitcoin’s impressive returns to the fact that it introduced digital currency payment systems to the world. Many altcoins have emerged with a similar concept, lacking further innovation or ground-breaking concepts. Look for projects that present something new to the industry, even if just a new twist on an old concept.

  • What blockchain platform will the project be using?

This question comes into play when establishing what currency the tokens trading pair will be linked to. For example, if the project is built on Ethereum (as many are), then ETH will be required to buy the token and used for trading the coin for some time moving forward.

It’s also worth investigating whether the token will be built on its own blockchain, which is generally quite impressive when paired with the correct project leadership.

  • Does the project have a clear exchange plan?

A good sign of any ICO token is whether it is listed on a big exchange. Check to see whether exchanges have announced any plans to list the coin during its ICO phase.

  • Does the project have a high currency distribution?

Typically, projects with a lower number of tokens available for purchase in the ICO sale window fetch better on the open market. Look for projects that are not initially looking to make vast amounts of money in their ICO, but rather preserve the integrity of the coin and manage the early investors input.

  • What does the project’s leadership look like?

This is a big one. Look to see who will be behind the project and what experience they have in the industry. This is typically published in the whitepaper or on the platform’s website but always do your own investigating to see what their credentials are. Veterans in the industry form the most favourable teams.

  • Have you read the whitepaper?

It might sound tedious but checking on a project’s whitepaper is an important part of doing the research. From this document you can gage the seriousness of the project, as well as find a comprehensive breakdown of its technology and purpose.

Depending on the project’s development, there might also be blogs, videos and contributions from the team to further assist in understanding the project’s use case and what it has to offer.

  • Does the project already have a community and how active is it?

While social media isn’t typically a place to collect reliable information, in this case, it can tell you a lot about a new crypto coin. Particularly in the realm of its potential.

If the coin is widely talked about, this is a good indicator that it has the potential to do very well. However, if the coin is in the news headlines, chances are strong that you’re too late to the party.

Look for communities on platforms like Reddit to see what they’re saying and get a sense of the project’s sentiment. Be wary of paid sponsors and messaging that sounds generic, there are a lot of paid partnerships out there (particularly on Youtube) and they do not provide a genuine opinion on the matter.

As Always, DYOR

When it comes to crypto it’s imperative to do your own research. While building a long term crypto portfolio has its advantages, investing in new coins can also bring about some sizable returns. As with any investment, ensure that you manage your risk and only invest what you’re willing to lose.


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