Originally posted by Darren M
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With crypto it really helps if you're already a "computer guy" and can assess projects fairly well and tell if it is something that is needed or wanted. But even if its a good project (that has a reason to exist) you still need to see what its competition is from other cryptos, and see how far ahead they are. My rough criteria are:
1. Good dev team. What else has each member done?
2. Brings something to the table. Has a good reason to exist. Project will fill some need in the world.
3. Doesn't have too much competition from other cryptos seeking to do something similar, or the same thing. (See Dash vs Bitcoin Dark also Bytecoin)
4. Doesn't smell like a scam. This one is a bit trickier, and is just a gut feeling type of deal. Superiorcoin smelled kind of stinky to me, turned out it was. Often just the name can help you decide. People have named coins after their dogs. Yeah.
5. Somewhat lower number of coins, ideally in the 10's of millions. Also, has over 500,000 per day in trade volume.
6. Has some form or fashion of progression that you can follow. This one wouldn't apply to ICO's or just new coins, but rather ones that you're considering that have been out a good while. If there is a year or two that it went dark, I'd probably avoid it. Some of them WILL go extinct, and you don't want to be in it when it does. Check their latest Roadmap, and read up on their Reddit page. Reddit is very, very useful for keeping up with how they're coming along.
Also watch out for the exchanges. They do get looted every once in awhile, although that has improved a bit. Use the two factor authentication with google authenticator. Makes you have to enter a random number that pops up in the authenticator every 10 seconds. Also use email authentication. Best thing you can do is get the correct wallet and put it on your desktop. Transfer all your coins to your desktop wallet. Then print out a paper wallet of your authentication keys. Wouldn't hurt to image that hard drive over to another hard drive just in case the main hard drive dies. Been known to happen. Be VERY careful to never accidentally send the wrong coins, to the wrong wallet. You do that, and your coins are gone. All it takes is one screwup like that.
You'd think it would just say something like "Invalid address" and just not complete the transfer. No, it just erases your coins. This goes for any coins of any kind. They must go to the correct wallet. So for example Reddcoins, go to your Reddcoin wallet. You send them to a bitcoin wallet and they'll disappear forever.
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