Bitcoin Forum

As a newbie investor/ speculator in alts, I am keen to learn from the collective wisdom of the forum - what do you look for in a project that makes it a good one to back with some money? There’s so many out there and I fear many may be scams or not truly decentralised projects.

Thank you all for your help!

Don't listen to what people say on forums, for one...

do your own due diligence... It's not because some developer says his coin can do some trick that it really can... It's not because some shiny website says some coin can do some trick that it can, you have to research it for yourself, make sure it works that way for yourself, don't take anybody else's word for granted... This space is litterally full of scams right now, very little legitimate projects...

Trust your instincts ,  check thier roadmap and whitepaper if its good, check the background of all the members of the team of they legit or not,some project uses fake information just to scam people.

Research, research and research some more.

If you don't understand cryptosystems, find out how they work. Buying blindly is what gamblers do. Investors know what they are buying.

If you don't understand market behavior, research why people do really dumb things for what they think are "good reasons."

You will sleep better and make better decisions based on your level of competance, trusting authority figures to tell you what is good is also being beholden to thier failures and agendas. Also, the more you know the more likely you can spot BS and know when someone actual knows their shit.

Instincts are good, but they can be honed based on your knowledge base. It's much easier to hodl a legitimate project or buy more on a downturn when you understand what you are investing in.

Goodluck!

Do your research, that's the best way to identify if it's legit or not.

Do background checks of the whole staff, it's better if they have accomplished old project and succeeded :)

And of course better read everything on the whitepaper and oh, look how they promote their project. that's a factor if it's going to be successful

Note that good project does not equate to investment growth.  Many shit coins give good returns.  Sad, but it happens more often than I care for.

In my personal experience since I'm participating numbers of signature bounty campaigns I set to it that it's a good ICO or project before joining the bounty campaign buy checking 2 angles.
One: the bounty campaign is started out managed by the higher ranked forum members. Good ICOs and Cryptocurrency project have no problem with resources that is why they can hire good and well experienced bounty campaign managers otherwise I'm getting rid from lower ranked members like newbies and junior members.
Two: I will read everything about their coin related documents like their white papers, YouTube channels and their community integrity as well. Without good community their coin is just as worse as a garbage.

In my opinion, you should #DYOR -Do your research on projects, look at their team, advisors, social media engagement and of course what service the project is providing and its potential in future.

You're a newbie and i will not suggest you do a lot of research about that but you can try to follow the social media group, here's my hint about to find the best ico, the majority of the best ico will reach a lot of demand. That means if you are seeing the ico with a lot of people in social media group and then it has reflected the hype of the ico itself.

As I visit the announcement and bounty pages of top Altcoins in coinmarketcap.com and this forum, most of them are managed by higher ranked members like senior,  hero and legendary  members.
Good projects and ICOs are managed by good and experienced bounty campaign professionals.

Conflict of interest.  Objectivity is clouded...they are doing work to earn.  I won't bet my money on any of those w/o doing my own research still.  I've seen posts by Hero members who seem to know nothing...sorry.  Being old doesn't guarantee being wise...same as being an old member.

Lucky I've found this section, so many important advice I can read from all of you here. Crypto is making a big noise nowadays and so many people like me are now researching what is this all about.   

[/quote]You're a newbie and i will not suggest you do a lot of research about that but you can try to follow the social media group, here's my hint about to find the best ico, the majority of the best ico will reach a lot of demand. That means if you are seeing the ico with a lot of people in social media group and then it has reflected the hype of the ico itself.
[/quote]

Thank you Psynthax - where can I find more about ICOs?

okay..I have been using this trick and it works for me (so farvso good). Projectsvthatbget a lot of early backers (twitter followers, telegram group members and many bounty hunters). I have used that as a criteria and so far it's been good for me. You should also consider the kind of people managing the project(very necessary)

yes you are right. just take a look for project that delivered allready something. there are many coins without any tech but 1000 promises.

Thank you all so much, I’m grateful you took the time to help a newbie like me - I am glad I posted and have gained some useful insights already; lots more to learn!  :)

Good luck to all!

Daniel Jefferies says it best in "Mastering Shitcoins"

https://hackernoon.com/mastering-shitcoins-the-poor-mans-guide-to-getting-crypto-rich-2e469b762ba9

just trust yourself! no one really knows anyway.  ;D personally i avoid "too good projects". sure, there is money to be made but i somehow prefer to pick my own investments and not always go with the hype too much

Identifying true and good projects from scams is very difficult, it needs thorough researching and analysis. You can investigate the team behind the project if they are true, also their vision and goals of the project.

Excellent question OP

Right now, it is only important that a crypto is "CHEAP" so shilltards will pump it.

South Korean middle school student wants cheap coinz.

https://www.ccn.com/south-korean-students-flock-to-cryptocurrency-despite-establishments-warnings/

Young people are gravitating to altcoins that trade at lower values than bitcoin, according to analysts. Jim Jinhua, a leader of the Korea Blockchain Industry Association, which includes 14 virtual currency exchanges, said young people, thanks to their mobility, can do better with altcoin investments providing they can ascertain the better values.

...gotta take an aspirin now, too much idiocracy makes brain hurt ...  :(

to be honest, do you own dilligence. I look for already existing teams, roadmaps, earlier projects and the value proposition of the project