There are also some bounties that don't rely on ICOs, so you should definitely check your options out. Of course, when projects distribute bounties as a percentage of their amounts raised, this will matter a lot, but some bounties are fixed on tokens already in supply, while others even continue bounties as part of continued distribution of tokens - usually for the purpose of long term widespread distribution.

Ultimately, you have to identify your own objectives for participating in bounties. Do you want quick profits on speculatory markets or do you also want to support projects you believe in and use their tokens for their intended utility?

Good advice for starting out. I might suggest another option that could be helpful in cutting down research time (though of course, nothing beats doing your own research!). Find a bounty management service that you trust and look at the list of projects working with them. That's of course easier said than done, but there are some organizations, like AmaZix, that do a lot of pre-screening to ensure only the highest quality projects work with them - and that being said, AmaZix also does a lot, lot more than simple project management of rewards (that's their structure for bounties now).

You'd be surprised to learn that most managers will accept most projects as long as they can satisfy payments - but AmaZix has about an 80% rejection rate for applications - which must be paid for to have AmaZix even consider them. That doesn't guarantee anything, for sure, but it gives you a certainty that projects pass minimum criteria for a number of aspects, including business viability.

Doesn't seem like a realistic option, doesn't even match their business lines nor their direction with blockchain, I would say. You've to remember especially that they've just only been dealing with their privacy scandal - which they haven't emerged fully from yet. The language of their recent actions seem to imply that they're on a path towards "derisking" their business.

An exchange would be a step in the opposite direction. KYC for onboarding? In a US jurisdiction? Not going to happen.

Just to comment on reputation, and that reputation means little or next to nothing when the platform is hacked. Of course, the very best platforms have high-grade security, but you know what they say, everything is eventually hackable.

In short, even blockchain can theoretically be hacked one day, but that is not yet proven, so that is what you should trust. It is never safe to store crypto on any platform that doesn't give you SOLE OWNERSHIP of your private keys.

If you intend on making cryptocurrency a long-term engagement, learn how to use it properly. Avoid using third-party services. Control your own funds, the way crypto intended.

The Rewards Program has just been launched: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4508456.0

We're giving away 50x$100 in CodexCoins in a free lottery. Don't miss it!

Perhaps it is best to make it clear that tokens, coins and any other digital asset cannot be converted, not literally speaking anyway. Any platform or service that allows you to convert is actually just doing the conversion internally (that is, the balances they show you are accounting figures on their own database).

Exchanging is what actually happens - you sell your ERC20 tokens, and receive Ether. The process is called exchanging, which is why exchange platforms are called such (you're exchanging tokens for Ether/ETH).

MyEtherWallet is simply a wallet. Practically, wallets are how you to "store" your funds, although that itself isn't really true as all assets are stored on the blockchain. You use MEW to view your owned assets, and use it to control your funds via your private keys.

Take the advice of most users here in trying to rank up, as well! You can do this by reading more than posting (highly recommended in the bct forum guidelines as well), and doing your best to contribute to the forum with constructive and helpful comments.

Meanwhile, you should take a look at AmaZix's Community Rewards, of which Signature Campaigns are generally part of. Junior Members are welcome on our campaigns - although you should check each campaign for specific rules regarding participation.

The Rewards Program has just been launched: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4469189.0

We are also drawing 50 prizes of $40 each, don't miss out!

Good to see many success stories being shared, but I also hope that you pay a little bit of attention to certain aspects of sustainability... think big picture and think long term. Join only projects that you're willing to truly believe in, truly support and truly help to grow, because that is the true "secret" to success. Remember that value goes in two directions, in fact, that's the best thing about it. You give value to a project and it will give you back that value.

This has been the case with some of the oldest projects (Bitcoin for example!) and especially in a crowded space, it will be the case with new projects.

Maybe not 99% of TA, as there definitely been more than a few analyses pointing to a longer and more sustained down trend. Even the headlines of the past week have been more or less 50/50 on bull and bear predictions from the experts.

It just goes to show that any TA should only be used as guidance, not as hard facts. Still, the markets are fickle and can move very quickly. This is also a weekend reaction, Monday should bring even further reactions.

There are some things you can evaluate on paper, many suggestions provided by users here in above posts are all useful and can help you make your decision about good projects to participate in. But don't forget that the main purposes of these programs is to help the project spread awareness and promote their product/service/brand/idea.

This means that you should have genuine interest in them and can honestly talk about the project as a genuine supporter.

Spend some time in the various platforms of the project to chat and discuss with fellow supporters and project owners. This gives you a better idea about how the project is managed and/or if they are indeed worthy of your support.

It's a good point to mention that "the whole point of crypto is to stay anonymous" (even though that's actually not the whole point). If you truly believe your goal is to stay anonymous, then you should be looking for more decentralized options. Using decentralized exchanges or P2P exchanges. Or supporting projects that don't infringe on your rights.

You should remember that you're not forced to participate in these programs requiring KYC, and that if you do want to participate, you have to respect their wishes to be compliant within their respective jurisdictions.

As specified in post and the one following that, KYC procedures will be clarified in time: "The exact and final process for KYC for participants will likely only be confirmed after we complete our own assessments and legal input."

Whatever it is, however, you should rest assured that our KYC processes will be compliant with accepted privacy laws in relevant jurisdictions. Your consent and full disclosure of  how to access and/or remove your personal information after completing KYC, will always be ensured.

You must understand that we are implementing KYC not simply because of fraud but to ensure industry and regulatory compliance. This is as much to protect partners as it is to protect participants like yourselves because you will be receiving tokens and we want to ensure you receive them as compliant participants as well.

I would advise against using individuals as escrow, unless you are certain of the reputation, and unless you are certain the investors would believe in the credibility of the escrowers. This forum does have several individuals who have held ICO funds in the past. There are also smart contract options as specified by users above, this is perhaps most recommended as a trustless escrow system, but you would of course need to ensure you trust the security of the coding! In the end, it's probably worth it to code your own escrow smart contract, there are several open source examples for the Ethereum network already available. One example is: Localethereum.com and EscrowMyEther.