I noticed that before throwing money into any crypto, you really need to understand what you're looking for. Otherwise, it's just gambling. So I thought I’d share my 3 criteria for identifying a promising cryptocurrency that’s truly worth it.

First, there's the concrete utility of the project. You shouldn't confuse a real project with just a meme coin riding a trend. I wouldn't recommend Dogecoin or Shiba Inu even if they can make big short-term gains. The thing is, to evaluate that, you can look at the Total Value Locked (TVL), which shows how much funds are actually being used on the blockchain, and the number of active users. It’s like Netflix with its hundreds of millions of subscribers—proof that it’s viable.

Second criterion, the team behind the project must be solid and reputable. You can check the whitepaper to see if it’s well thought out, and look on LinkedIn to see what the team has done before. For example, the founder of Polkadot contributed to creating Ethereum—that’s quite a background.

Third, community engagement matters a lot. An active and large community on X, Discord, or Telegram is a good sign. Look at Solana after the FTX scandal—it's really the community that got it back on its feet.

Well, speaking of concrete results, I looked at how my 2023 picks performed. Ripple doubled, Cardano increased by 2.5x, Polkadot doubled, Polygon too. Even BNB, despite its legal issues, achieved 2.4x including March 2024. That’s pretty solid validation.

Now let’s talk about 2024. Avalanche, for example, has become a top 10 with a market cap close to 20 billion euros. The blockchain is really fast, scalable, and easy for developers. The interesting thing is that the founder of AAVE and a co-founder of Chainlink support the project. The price already exploded in 2023, but I think there’s still room to grow. Currently, AVAX is around $9.55.

Cardano is another promising cryptocurrency to watch. Launched in 2015 by one of Ethereum’s co-founders, it’s an open-source blockchain for decentralized applications. The founder clearly said he wanted to dethrone Ethereum—that’s why it’s called the Ethereum Killer. Ambitious, but the tech is there. ADA is currently at $0.26.

Really, you need to take the time to understand well before investing. Promising cryptocurrencies are those that combine real utility, a competent team, and an engaged community.