Top crypto picks for 2018: building a futureproof portfolio

If you thought 2017 was a ripper year for crypto, I think you're in for a big surprise in 2018! I'm not a serious finanical investor nor a professional giving advice but I wanted to share a few projects I'm excited for moving into 2018. Please follow up on this post by doing your own research and I hope you come to some of the same conclusions I did.

I get quite a few people PMing me asking me to share how I decide to invest in a coin. I use a rather strict methodology to ensure I only invest in future-proof technologies. It also means the coins I invest in will be more likely to survive dips and bear markets.

My methodology

I think the most important rule is to not chase pump and dumps. Research every coin that you think has potential and make decisions from there.

Personally I only invest in coins with:

Solid and usable technology

Clear future use-case

Transparent researchable team

Evidence of active GitHub or code or working product

Token has value within the project (inherently part of the ecosystem)

If a coin is missing one of these characteristics, it needs to be super strong in another field to make up for it. Honestly the biggest gains I have made are the projects I researched thoroughly, believed in and then HODLed, even through all the dips.

Core picks

These are the projects I believe have proved themself worthy of the long hold. I liken them to bluechip shares, they will hold (relative) value through dips but still have the potential to increase exponentially with adoption.

Raiblocks - Rai does one thing, and one thing well: fast and free transactions. It is honestly the perfect currency. The only know issue currently is potential spam attacks but the devs say they are working on this. It currently lacks data storage and smart contract functionality, but that can all be added later through different layer solutions. Really excited for this one!

IOTA - DAG based data-network build for machine to machine transactions where you complete proof of work for 2 other transactions before yours is processed. People also seem to forget that IOTA software is only half of the picture; The IOTA devs have been working on processor hardware that can complete proof of work at a machine level. Expect big things of IOTA in the next few months as they ramp up annoucements.

Monero - The best privacy coin. As long as everyone is able to see all your transaction and wallet history, crypto will never be suitable for real-world adoption. Monero is tackling this problem head on.

Factom - A token which builds off other blockchains to store financial contracts and data. Multiple grants from Dept of Homeland Security and Bill & Melinda Gates foundation. Working with Linxens (one of the largest RFID and passport manufacturers in the world) on Smart Identity products. They already have multiple Fortune 100 customers that will be annouced in Q1 2018 who are already implementing their products.

OmiseGo - Finance and payment provider. Once they launch their own blockchain in 2018, all their current transactions will be routed through it with portions of the dividends being paid to OMG holders.

Binance Coin - Binance is now the number one altcoin exchange in the world. Their token is used to lower fees and they have been burning them to lower supply. With a limited number of tokens and the exchange traffic increases, the price of BNB tokens will be a good litmus test of the crypto environment.

Request Network - Full suite of auditing, finance and payment software powered by the blockchain. They launched their testnet on the Rinkeby Ethereum testnetwork the other week and it is absolutely fantastic. It will eventually expand to include other cryptos and fiat. One of my most exciting and promising holds.

Volatile picks

While I wouldn't consider these picks risky by my methodology, they lack the long term credibility and are probably more prone to volatile behaviour. Higher volatility means higher potential gains, but higher chance of loss.

UTrust - Payment platform system with the world's first inbuilt cryptocurrency consumer protections. If you missed REQ, now is your time to get in at the ground floor. Huge team and looks very solid.

Chainlink - Decentralized oracles for linking real world applications with blockchain applications. I know 4chan has shilled Chainlink to death but if they can deliver what they promise it will be a top 20 coin.

Quantstamp - Smart Contract auditing. Token holders also receive a free airdrop of every smart contract they audit. Backed by Ycomb. Ready to pop!

Bounty0x -A decentralized bounty hunting platform enabling anyone to manage bounty programs, and bounty hunters to receive payment for completing bounty tasks. Already have a working product and have gained some notoriety for hunting down the EtherDelta hacker. Solid concept and very low marketcap currently.

Horizon State Decision Token - Australian startup focusing on providing a immutable polling and election results. One of the best uses of blockchain technology I have ever seen. They already have their product integrated in MiVote and are launching fully next year.

Eidoo - A managed wallet with identity addons. Fantastic team and very professional looking.

Modum - Real time tracking for (legal) drugs in Europe. Credible team and has a working product. A solid pick that will see more attention as it's real-world roll-out starts

Happy new year 2018!

EDIT

Loads of PM's asking why I didn't include "X" coin, but i did realise I missed 3 of my holdings from my core picks. My apologies =)

Neo - Smart contract and do-it-all platform. Often refered to as chinese ethereum with good reason. NEO has a huge developer community and HongFei has tweeted recently about being in talks with the Chinese government to provide a standardised platform to stick to their regulations. Perfect vehicle for Chinese capital to flow into the crypto ecosystem.

Stellar - Partnership with IBM speaks more then I can shill. A solid project

Ethereum - Ever taken a glance over the top 300ish coins and realised how many of them are ERC20 Ethereum based tokens?Ethereum will flourish in 2018 as more DApps are released. Can't go wrong with Ethereum