A Brief Guide On How To Find Crypto Gold

When Bitcoin was introduced in 2009 no one in his wildest dreams would have imagined that it would reach a value equal to 20,000 USD in 2017. Now, bullish investors are sure that it will go as high up as 100,000 USD in 2017.

There is no doubt that Bitcoin has made a lot of people very wealthy in a few years. No form of investment can claim to match the growth of Bitcoin, causing the world to seriously look at cryptocurrency as the bets form of investment.

Altcoins

But while Bitcoin is numero uno in the world of cryptocurrencies there are other coins known as alt coins which have been quietly attracting a large number of investors. The main reason for investing in altcoins is the huge price difference when compared to Bitcoin. If you want to buy 1 Bitcoin today it will cost you 10,255 USD (as shown on Coinmarketcap.com when I checked a minute ago) plus fees. True, you can buy a fraction of a single coin but then the high price is as much a turn off as it is an attraction. Compare it with altcoins some of which are available for a single dollar or less.

An ICO or initial coin offering is just like an IPO in the offline world, in fact is much more exciting for those who are aware of the potential of investing in cryptocurrencies. The very first thing that you have to do is to look for upcoming ICOs by referring the the following sites:

icoalert.com
icobench.com
icostats.com
icowatchlist.com
icorating.com

When you go to any of these sites you will find several upcoming ICOs listed. The problem, however, is that quite of few of them are expected to fail. While Bitcoin was a new concept stressing on decentralization and transparency of transactions, every altcoin is also based on the same model and hence there is nothing new in the basic concept. That is the reason why Bitcoin still holds sway but then it is a good reason to look for something else related to the ICO of an altcoin.

Now this will come with experience but when you check the website of an ICO you will immediately come to know whether the it is going to be legit or not. Telltale signs for weak or scammy ICOs are obscure or confusing language on the landing page, an aggressive selling of the concept sometimes even promising you the moon if you participate in the ICO or much worse, no proper information at all.

Smart contracts

Smart contracts define the fine detdails of an ICO. I found the easiest way to explain smart contracts on blockgeeks.com:

Smart contracts help you exchange money, property, shares, or anything of value in a transparent, conflict-free way while avoiding the services of a middleman.

The best way to describe smart contracts is to compare the technology to a vending machine. Ordinarily, you would go to a lawyer or a notary, pay them, and wait while you get the document. With smart contracts, you simply drop a bitcoin into the vending machine (i.e. ledger), and your escrow, driver’s license, or whatever drops into your account. More so, smart contracts not only define the rules and penalties around an agreement in the same way that a traditional contract does, but also automatically enforce those obligations.

Don't just skim through the details of the cryptocurrency but also look for details like duration, the number of coins that will be introduced , bonuses for early purchases etc.

White Paper

The white paper contains all the details that are relevant to the new cryptocurrency. Many new coins are not clear with the purpose that it is introduced. Make sure that the coin that you intend to invest in has a clear defined purpose.

Blockchain

It is also important to know which blockchain it will be launched on because it can influence the price of the coin. Depending upon the blockchain it is launching on, it will require the currency that the blockchain supports to purchase the new coin.

Exchange

When Bitcoin Cash was listed in exchanges it meant the validation of the new coin and the prices skyrocketed. If the proposed coin is going to be supported by exchanges like Coinbase, it is a very positive sign and usually means that the new offering will soon establish itself with the support of the exchanges. People use exchanges to buy and sell the currency and without their support, any new offering will find the going tough.

Team

Last but not the least, the team behind the ICO is going to define what kind of success the implementation of the currency will achieve. If you see team members with an experience in known reputed companies like Apple or Yahoo then you know that it has good chances of success.

Feedback

One more last thing. It will also be a good thing to check for feedback about the ICO on sites like Reddit and the cryptocurrency forums. I have seen good reviews of ICOs on Steemit from crypto experts who frequently publish articles on the subject.

You could also find groups on Discord to ask questions about the ICO. There are many ICO investors on Steemit and Discord and you will plenty of good advice, based on which you can take your investment decisions.

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