Recently, I see a lot of content about which cryptocurrencies to buy, but few truly analyze which ones to avoid. A well-known analyst with half a million followers on Twitter made an interesting list, and I find his approach quite useful for those who want to protect their portfolio.

What immediately strikes me is a fact he shares: if you had invested $10,000 in XRP in 2018, today you would have exactly the same amount. Nothing. Zero growth in six years. This should make us reflect on which projects truly deserve our attention.

So, what are the cryptocurrencies to avoid? First of all, outdated projects. In the crypto sector, there are many old projects that simply haven't innovated enough. They lack truly useful technology, and their growth potential is practically nonexistent. In the long term, they will always decline compared to Ethereum or Bitcoin. This is already visible in the charts.

Then there are artificial tokens, which concern me the most. The supply is completely controlled by the team or venture capitalists. The price does not reflect the real value, and the risk of a 99% crash is always around the corner. Worldcoin, for example, is a perfect case study of this model. Currently at $0.28, but the supply control structure remains problematic.

XRP at $1.45 is often cited as an alternative to Bitcoin, but it is essentially a fork of BTC with an inflated valuation. It’s not the worst cryptocurrency overall, but if you choose between XRP, Ethereum at $2,300, or Bitcoin at $81,000, the other two are more solid choices. The same reasoning applies to Cardano, which at $0.27 has lost much of its initial aura.

Ethereum Classic split from Ethereum in 2016 and has remained almost identical to ETH since then, but without development. At $9.46, it’s little more than a blockchain ghost. Bitcoin Cash, created to increase block size, simply repeats the concept of BTC without real improvements.

Monero is interesting because it has the allure of anonymity, but since 2022, the price has stagnated at $412.93. With outdated technology and increasing regulatory risks, it’s not the best investment.

Old play-to-earn tokens like Axie Infinity are dead. The hype has disappeared, the FDV is very high, and early investors have already cashed out. Projects like this essentially represent liquidity traps.

dYdX at $0.16 suffers from terrible unlock schedules that create constant selling pressure. The same problem affects many layer 2 solutions like Starknet at $0.05. These Layer 2 projects often have low market caps, inflated FDV, and no real community support.

The main point is this: when you look at a cryptocurrency to avoid, look for warning signs. Always check the unlock schedule, governance structure, and actual utility. Not all cryptocurrencies to avoid are scams, but many are simply projects without a future that will make you waste time and money. Do your research before investing.