A crypto ICO, short for initial coin offering, is an event where a project raises capital by offering tokens for the first time to the general public.
The best ICO crypto projects come with the potential to generate life-changing returns – with Ethereum arguably the most famous example.
Ethereum first offered ETH tokens to the public for just $0.31 at its ICO in 2014, with the price peaking at $4,878.26 in 2021 – an increase of 1,573,532% in just seven years for ICO investors.
ETH is a notable outlier, however, and as with all crypto investments, ICOs come with inherent risk.
In fact, they are considered to be even riskier than investing in established coins as there is no proven market for their utility.
This guide explores the best crypto ICOs to consider and examines the risks to take into account before making an investment. We also offer a list of the best upcoming ICOs for 2023.
The Best Crypto ICOs of 2023
Let us start by taking a look at the best ICOs that are to set take place this year. We’ll analyze the new crypto ICOs listed below in the next section.
- Bitcoin Minetrix – A new stake-to-mine cryptocurrency offering cloud mining credits to token holders that stake $BTCMTX. Earn high staking rewards and collect Bitcoin mining power with Bitcoin Minetrix. The $BTCMTX ICO is looking to raise $32 million.
- Launchpad XYZ – All-in-one crypto portal helping crypto users spot the best new opportunities and help push mass adoption into Web3. Includes alpha Telegram group that has delivered multiple 1,000%-plus signals. More than $1.75 million raised in the ICO.
- yPredict – Utilizing AI-powered technologies, such as NLP and predictive models, yPredict equips investors with the tools to confidently navigate the dynamic world of cryptos – $3.9m raised in its ICO.
- Chimpzee – Green ERC20 token taking a proactive approach to the environment with $15k donated and 20,000 trees planted, even before presale completion. Offers 20% APY rewards and has raised $1.35 million so far.
- eTukTuk – A sustainable transport revolution by promoting EVs in developing economies, offering a strong charging infrastructure, and creating a unique token ($TUK) ecosystem on the Binance Smart Chain with staking rewards.
- Scorpion Casino – Regulated and licensed social online gambling platform that offers attractive daily yield opportunities through its passive redistribution method. More than $1m now raised.
- Pikamoon – Play-to-earn metaverse where players can collect and battle NFT creatures. More than $3.9 million now raised in the ICO, which is in its final stage.
- Wall Street Memes – Brand-new meme coin with over a million social media followers, while its developers have a proven track record of success in the space. This campaign raised a massive $25 million on presale, and has been soaring after listing on the OKX and Huobi exchange.
- Cloak Protocol – Newly launched ICO rizoffering an innovative blend of privacy, profitability, and community empowerment via zero-knowledge proofs and staked governance.
- RizzMonkey – Brand new meme coin that has just recently launched its ICO and is quickly building hype and interest in the space.
- BlueSky – A new model for online communications that allows for cross platform migration and a standard identity format on social applications. Initially started by Jack Dorsey of Twitter and allows for custom content moderation.
- Meanwhile – A simple yet brilliant concept that allows for life insurance denominated in Bitcoin. Fully compliant with the US tax code and offers a guaranteed death benefit.
A Closer Look at the Best ICO Crypto Projects
Before investing in a new crypto ICO, it’s vital to research the project behind the new token. To determine the top projects for our crypto ICO list, we evaluated the platform’s prospects as well as its roadmap.
In the following sections, we discuss the best ICO crypto projects that are set to launch in 2023. As such many of these altcoins are also considered to be the best future cryptos.
Finding the best crypto presale to invest in is easier said than done. Typically, investors will search for niches and gaps in the market that have huge potential.
1. Bitcoin Minetrix – New Stake-to-Mine Crypto Offering Bitcoin Mining Power, ICO Recently Launched
We recommend Bitcoin Minetrix ($BTCMTX) as one of the best initial coin offerings in 2023. This revolutionary cryptocurrency platform converges token staking and cloud mining.
The process of cloud mining involves individuals getting access to rented mining power through third-party corporations. This reduces the cost of mining for individuals. However, third parties often indulge in fraudulent activities and try to scam investors. By leveraging blockchain technology, Bitcoin Minetrix is solving this problem.
By tokenizing cloud mining, Bitcoin Minetrix will offer transparency and complete security to the user. Investors can leverage the $BTCMTX token and stake it on the Ethereum-powered smart contract. Your staked tokens can be used to earn cloud mining credits, which are non-tradable ERC-20 tokens.
The credits can be burned to earn Bitcoin mining power. You will get an allocated mining time, which will reward you with a percentage of mining revenues. This helps reduce the entry barrier since individuals do not need to purchase any equipment or hardware. Furthermore, since Bitcoin Minetrix will leverage the cloud mining equipment of other companies, it is more cost-efficient.
Bitcoin Minetrix is already enjoying a strong start to its ICO. The cryptocurrency has a total supply of 4 billion, 2.8 billion of which have been allocated on presale. The presale will consist of ten rounds, each allocating 280 million tokens. Currently, on the first round, $BTCMTX can be purchased for $0.011 per token. The price will rise to $0.0119 by the final round – an 8.1% increase.
In only two days, the presale has raised more than $140K. Bitcoin Minetrix wants to raise $32 million by the end of the presale. Read the Bitcoin Minetrix whitepaper and join the Telegram channel to learn more about this cryptocurrency.
Hard Cap
$32 million
Total Tokens
4 Billion
Tokens available in presale
2.8 Billion
Blockchain
Ethereum Network
Token type
ERC-20
Minimum Purchase
$10
Purchase with
USDT, ETH, BNB
2. Launchpad XYZ – All-in-one Web3 Dashboard for Traders and Investors
One of the biggest challenges facing crypto investors is keeping track of everything happening in the market. There are existing tokens experiencing major price movements, new tokens holding presales and ICOs, NFT mints, and so much more to monitor.
Launchpad XYZ is a streamlined, all-in-one dashboard to help traders and investors keep an eye on the most promising opportunities in the crypto market.
This Web3 platform offers customizable tools, proprietary metrics, and actionable data to cut through the noise and help users find the next big token or NFT.
One of the best tools this new platform offers is its alpha Telegram group, which can be accessed through NFT ownership and offers tiered membership.
In the last few weeks alone, the group has highlighted multiple 1,000%-plus signals, including a buy signal on LINQ that saw 7,000% gains.
Other features include a trading terminal with custom-built tools and metrics and the Launchpad Quotient (LQ), which uses 400 data points to give a score to new crypto projects.
Other features available in Launchpad XYZ include market sentiment analysis, crypto market news, and in-depth research into new coins.
Eventually, the project will also have a full library of data on tokens, NFT collection, play-to-earn games and more to help experienced Web3 users maximize their profit-making potential and help Web2 users onboard into the space quickly and smoothly.
Launchpad XYZ’s $LPX token is central to the functioning of this new dashboard, offering a number of benefits for users, including discounted trading fees, access to exclusive new crypto presales and NFT mints, and benefits from Launchpad partners.
The ICO has gotten off to a hot start, raising more than $1.75 million so far. Interested investors can check out the Launchpad XYZ Telegram group to get all the latest updates about the presale.
Presale Started | April 27 |
Purchase Methods | ETH, USDT, Card |
Chain | Ethereum |
Min Purchase | N/A |
Max Purchase | N/A |
3. yPredict – Combines Advanced Crypto Analytics and Research Capabilities with Trading
The yPredict presale is an upcoming ICO project powered by AI tools. yPredict aims to use AI and ML to help crypto traders increase their profits. The $YPRED presale currently offers tokens at a price of $0.10 each and has already raised over $3.9 million.
With an expected listing price of $0.12, early investors will still see a 20% increase in the price of tokens by the time it reaches exchanges.
Moreover, with a leading exchange, BitMart, already confirming a listing, the current price offers a solid upside potential.
yPredict derives valuable insights from identifying over 100 chart patterns, examining news cycles and social media sentiment, evaluating numerous technical indicators, and scrutinizing asset transactions.
AI and ML-powered predictive models can be marketed on the yPredict platform, granting developers a passive income stream corresponding to the model’s precision.
Additionally, Coinsult has completed a full token smart contract audit and doxxed and KYC-verified the yPredict team.
A hard cap of $6.5 million and 80% of the total 1 billion tokens are offered during the presale. yPredict employs a three-tiered freemium membership model, enabling various YPRED token applications on the swift and efficient layer-2 Polygon network.
According to yPredict’s whitepaper, access to the platform’s features and insights is distributed across three membership levels (free, active, and pro), which can be obtained using YPRED tokens.
For more information on this AI tool, enter the yPredict Telegram group.
Presale Started
Q1 2023
Purchase Methods
MATIC, ETH, BNB, USDT, Card
Chain
Polygon
Minimum Purchase
200 tokens
4. Chimpzee – Integrated Sustainability Focused ICO Plants 20,000 Trees & Helps Investors To Earn Passive Rewards
Chimpzee (CHMPZ) is a high-quality ERC20 crypto with a lot of beneficial elements. It has planted over 20,000 trees to save the rainforest and further donated $15,000 toward wildlife conservation, all before its presale has completed.
Thus far the ecosystem has raised $1.35 million out of its $1.8 million hard cap. The campaign has also given away 5 million CHMPZ to 2 winners.
The aim of the Chimpzee initiative is to raise awareness for the environment and provide direct assistance. And it does this best by taking immediate action and by heavily incentivizing users for their participation.
There are various NFT Passports which can be staked on Chimpzee, to earn an APY between 10% – 20% depending on what type you invest in – Diamond, Gold, Silver, or Bronze.
The project also uses an aggressive token-burning mechanism. Over 1 billion tokens have already been burned. The total current supply of 64,000,000,000 is set to be reduced to 50 billion.
All things remaining equal, this means that the price of the CHMPZ token should appreciate over time.
Currently, the price per token is $0.001, though this will increase to $0.00185 if it lists on a major exchange. This is nearly a 100% price increase. There are no buying or selling taxes with the token and no fees.
The project has also undertaken a smart contract review as well as obtained a KYC certificate, as further testimony to its integrity. For full details, consult the Chimpzee Whitepaper in depth.
Presale Started
Q2 2023
Purchase Methods
ETH, USDT, Card
Chain
Ethereum
Minimum Purchase
1000 tokens
5. eTukTuk – Green Crypto Platform With Sustainable Transport, Using Blockchain to Offer Staking Rewards
eTukTuk is an upcoming ICO looking to create a sustainable revolution in the transportation industry. Its focus on developing economies enables TukTuk drivers to transition from traditional Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs) to Electric Vehicles. The aim is to curb CO2 emissions significantly, a challenge with ICE-run TukTuks.
The platform is based out of Sri Lanka, with plans to install EV charging stations and Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) across various urban and suburban areas.
The $TUK token, with a total supply of 2 billion, has listed 12.5% of the tokens for presale. $TUK is currently priced at$0.024 per token.
The innovative application of the Binance Smart Chain-based $TUK token facilitates this ecosystem. TukTuk drivers can use this token for transactions on the platform’s app, fostering a seamless transition to this greener alternative.
As per the eTukTuk whitepaper, the platform’s model includes an attractive proposition for territory partners. These partners, essential in manufacturing and setting up the EVSE and charging stations, will receive a part of the transactions generated. Token holders can also stake their tokens, earning benefits from a staking pool every time a driver makes a payment on the app.
Furthermore, eTukTuk has partnered with The Capital Maharaja Group to leverage local manufacturing, effectively reducing costs. This strategic move is anticipated to significantly increase driver income, making EVs profitable.
In pursuing a carbon-neutral transportation system, eTukTuk blends safety and sustainability with its patented roll cage design for EVs. Also, Its network of charging stations ensures easy and affordable charging for EVs, thus facilitating their adoption.
Moreover, the platform uses blockchain to provide digital identities and facilitate low-cost transactions, making progress toward addressing financial exclusion in developing nations. Regular updates about the project can be found on the eTukTuk Telegram channel.
6. Scorpion Casino – Presale Crypto that Earns Daily Yield up to 10,000 USD
Next on our list of best ICO cryptos to buy now is SCORP – the native cryptocurrency of Scorpion Casino. The project is now hosting the SCORP presale, opening one of the most profitable investment opportunities of 2023.
It is stepping into the fertile online gambling and sports betting markets with compelling value propositions ingrained in Web3. The key highlight of the platform that will give it a competitive edge against popular traditional counterparts is daily passive income. That is, you can earn rewards worth up to $10,000 on the platform by staking SCORP – even during the presale.
There is more. The burning mechanism of the platform supports the long-term value of the token in the open market. The deflationary mechanism protects the token from steep upturns and downturns in the market to a great extent.
Using SCORP, you can gain access to:
- More than 30,000 betting opportunities monthly,
- 210 casino games like slots, blackjack, roulette, poker, live casino, and more,
- 160 live games,
- And bet on various football, tennis, American football, horse racing, basketball, golf, boxing, and MMA events.
Scorpion Casino works with credible platforms such as BetRadar and CoinsPaid to ensure a high-end user experience. The license from Curacao EGaming makes it a completely regulated platform. That essentially means the likelihood of falling for scams and fraud is minimized here.
SCORP lowers the financial and technical barriers to the gambling industry for retail investors. Being backed by one of the most promising projects of 2023, SCORP is predicted to bring multifold returns to early investors toward the end of the year.
Join the Elite Scorpion Members Club to get presale privileges like VIP service, cashback, extra staking rewards, and extra SCORP tokens.
An additional 20% additional bonus – using the bonus code Scorpion20 – can currently be applied during the presale, which has raised more than $1m so far.
Token symbol | SCORP |
Presale supply | 200,000,000 SCORP |
Token type | BEP-20 |
Payment methods | ETH, USDT, BNB |
Listing price |
$0.05 |
7. Wall Street Memes – Explosive New Meme Coin Platform is Soaring After Listing on OKX and Huobi
Wall Street Memes is one of the most popular meme coin projects in the space. While the project is still not in its ICO phase, it managed to raise more than $25 million through the presale. After the successful presale, the $WSM token was listed on OKX and Huobi- two of the biggest crypto exchanges in the space.
The Wall St Bulls NFT collection launched in 2021, raising $2.5 million and selling out in 32 minutes. The project quickly became known as one of the top NFT projects at the time, with the team continuing the Wall Street Memes brand ever since.
The Wall Street Memes community, which has more than a million followers across social media has already shown its strength through the successful presale.Wall Street Memes’ enormous community and its team’s proven track record show promising signs for the future of its initial coin offering.
Amid all its social media success, one of its most notable achievements was receiving Twitter engagement from the Dogefather, Elon Musk. Wall Street Memes also offers utility – rare for a meme coin – through its staking pool, which is currently offering an estimated APY of 55%.
After launching on exchanges, $WSM has been attracting high volumes. The token is currently trading at $0.035 per token.
There are 2 billion tokens in total, with 50% sold out in the ICO and the remaining 50% split between community rewards and liquidity. This means 100% of tokens are available to the community – with none reserved for the team – potentially leading to more sustainable long-term price action.
Keep up with the latest news and announcements regarding Wall Street Memes by visiting its Telegram.
8. Pikamoon – New P2E Game with NFT Creatures to Collect and Battle
In April 2023, Pikamoon released the initial coin offering for $PIKA – the native cryptocurrency. Holders of the $PIKA token can enter into the Pikaverse, this platform’s virtual environment, which features RPG (Role-Playing) games, NFT elements, and exploration opportunities.
With the $PIKA token, users can purchase virtual land and build on the Pikaverse. The game is set in a virtual world known as Dreva – where players must build a team of Pikamoon avatars and challenge powerful bosses.
On the Pikamoon marketplace, $PIKA can be exchanged for Pikamoon NFTs, which are used within in-game battles. The marketplace also lets players purchase NFT weapons, spells and boost avatars’ health.
Notably, 5% of all $PIKA tokens spent on the marketplace will be burnt. 65% will be allocated towards a P2E pool and offered monthly towards quests that the gamers can complete. The remaining 30% will be used towards marketing and developing the Pikamoon project.
According to the Pikamoon whitepaper, there is a 2.5% transaction tax for selling the token and on transfers. Thus, only those who leave the project will have to pay an additional fee, which will be used towards token burning, marketing, and ecosystem development.
While Pikamoon offers similar metaverse elements to The Sandbox and Decentraland, it also takes inspiration from other gaming projects such as Fortnite and Pokemon. For instance, players can capture Pikamoon avatars through gameplay, similar to the Pokemon games.
The ongoing ICO has distributed 15 billion tokens equally across three presale rounds, representing 30% of the total token supply.
Tokens are currently priced at $0.0006 in the final round, with more than $3.8 million now raised.
It is important to note, however, that while crypto gaming projects were huge in 2021, many have failed to live up to their promise because of over-ambitious plans and the lack of mass adoption into Web3 gaming.
Presale Started
April 16, 2023
Purchase Methods
ETH, USDT
Chain
Ethereum
Min Investment
N/A
Max Investment
N/A
9. Cloak Protocol – Platform With Top-Notch Privacy Via Zero Knowledge Proofs
A significant worry for numerous individuals is centralized exchanges’ inadequate privacy and anonymity, which necessitate KYC procedures.
While some alternatives are oriented toward privacy, there’s a persisting need for platforms that ensure stringent privacy protections and offer beneficial features and functionalities. This is where Cloak Protocol steps in. At the time of writing, investors can buy the platform’s native token, $CLOAK, for $0.0477.
Cloak Protocol is built on a credible Ethereum Mixing Service, incorporating an additional element of privacy through fractional withdrawals – an aspect frequently missing in other systems.
This structure ensures transactional privacy for users by obscuring their IP addresses and other personal details from unauthorized scrutiny.
As per the Cloak Protocol whitepaper, The platform takes a unique approach and deploys the concept of random hash.
This feature authenticates transactions while withholding unnecessary data, bolstering the platform’s privacy safeguards with this innovative methodology.
The value of Cloak Protocol lies in its security and privacy features, while it also has a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that will see stakeholders leverage tokens to steer the direction of the platform.
Cloak Protocol offers a unique blend of secure transactions, privacy, and community-focused governance, making it a standout choice in decentralized finance.
Users can join the Cloak Protocol Telegram community to get the latest news.
Presale Started
Q2 2023
Purchase Methods
ETH, USDT, BNB
Chain
Ethereum
Min Investment
None
Max Investment
None
10. RizzMonkey – Brand New ICO Based on WIldly Popular Meme with Chance to go Viral
RizzMonkey ($RZZMNKY) is a brand new meme coin that has just recently launched its ICO and is quickly building hype and interest in the space.
Having only just launched in late August, the RZZMNKY presale is already closing in on $100,000 of investment and has a growing social media following.
The project is developed from the hugely popular Monkey with Rizz meme, which shows a black macaque monkey licking its lips.
RizzMonkey is strictly a shitcoin with no utility but is expected to build a viral following due to the huge popularity of the meme and its potential to generate gains.
Meme tokens have been some of the best performers in the crypto space this year and RizzMonkey wants to jump on that train.
Now available in stage 2 of its presale, RZZMONKEY is currently priced at $0.000006264, with the price to rise by 16.7% over three total stages.
55% of the token supply has been allocated to the presale, with another 5% to the marketing budget, 20% to CEX and DEX liquidity and 20% to the team.
The project has a $2 million presale hard cap with the ICO to close at the end of September. For more information, join the RizzMonkey Telegram group.
Presale Started
August 2023
Purchase Methods
ETH, USDT, BNB, BTC
Chain
Ethereum
Min Investment
None
Max Investment
None
11. BlueSky – A New Protocol to Revolutionize Social Media Interaction & Reduce Centralized Control
BlueSky works on a protocol – The AT Protocol – that standardizes social media accounts, working to enhance “public conversation”, its term for online social communication. Initially kicked off by Jack Dorsey of Twitter, the idea is to revolutionize social media to make it more transparent. BlueSky no longer has any ties with Twitter.
The project allows for more fluidity and decentralization of social media platforms. Using the protocol, social accounts can migrate from one application to another without losing all of their previous contacts or content.
This means that account owners do not have to be scared that they will be “deplatformed” on major sites such as FaceBook, YouTube, or Twitter. The AT protocol puts the power back in the hands of users. As a content creator, you might spend years or even decades building an audience on a single platform, only to have the rug pulled from underneath.
The AT Protocol is a protocol for public conversation and an open-source framework for building social apps, meaning people have transparency into how it is built and what is being developed. It creates a standard format for user identity, follows, and data on social apps, allowing apps to interoperate and users to move across them freely. It is a federated network with account portability.
BlueSky also allows for custom feeds. Instead of having one single entity moderating what is acceptable or not, users can subscribe to certain labels, and content within these labels is shown depending on whether or not an individual has subscribed to them. This is a completely different model from what currently exists within centralized Web2 media platforms.
BlueSky also offers a feature to purchase your own domain name through them, through their partnership with NameCheap, a leading registrar. No details are available regarding the BlueSky ICO, but it is listed as an upcoming ICO on certain calendars.
Even without ICO details, you can sign up for a BlueSky account today.
12. Meanwhile – The World’s First Life insurance Policy Denominated Entirely in Bitcoin, With Guaranteed Growth and Optional Tax-Advantaged Liquidity
We are seeing a number of blockchain-based products make their way into classical legal and financial structures, which is a good sign of mainstream adoption. Meanwhile claims to be the first life insurance policy that is entirely denominated in Bitcoin (BTC), and this confers a number of benefits to policy holders. A central benefit of Meanwhile is that Bitcoin can be leveraged to pass wealth on to future generations.
This is quite an intelligent proposition – instead of passing on wealth in terms of fiat capital, which depreciates in value over time due to money printing and inflationary policies, wealth is transferred in the form of BTC, which has a tendency to appreciate with time.
Of course, this depends on whether or not the holder has belief in the long term value of BTC to appreciate. But for those that do, it makes a lot more sense to hold a life insurance policy in BTC as opposed to fiat capital, as an improved mechanism to build generational wealth.
Other advantages include the fact that the premium never changes, a prominent concern with many insurance policies, and the fact that a whole life insurance policy lets you lock in the tax basis on your Bitcoin now and plan for your future estate taxes so your family keeps more of your wealth. The project offers guaranteed growth, a guaranteed death benefit, and guaranteed surrender value.
Of course, policies are specific to individuals, so you will have contact the appropriate person if you are looking for a quote for your specific whole life policy. Policies are available right now for US citizens, though ICO details have yet to be finalized.
Meanwhile offers the same level of protection as compared to traditional life insurance, except it is denominated in BTC. All team members have LinkedIn profiles and notable investors include Sam Altman (of WorldCoin and OpenAI) as well as HSCM Ventures.
What are Crypto ICOs?
As outlined above, ICOs are initial coin offerings which essentially means it is the first time a crypto project makes its tokens available for the general public to purchase.
They should not be confused with private sales or initial exchange offerings, which are different stages of a token’s availability for buyers (see below).
ETH is an extremely famous and notable example (all-time chart above), and although it is down more than 60% from its high, it is still currently trading at around $1,800 – 500,000% above its ICO price.
That means a $1 investment in the Ethereum ICO would still be worth over $5,000 today.
NEO tokens are another example, they could be bought for $0.03 in the ICO and reached a peak of more than $175, a near-600,000% gain.
There are also dozens of success stories in more recent times.
Tamadoge offered TAMA tokens for just $0.01 in the first stage of its ICO, with the price reaching $0.194 – a near-2,000% gain – while in May, Love Hate Inu ($LHINU) rocketed by 3,000% when it was listed on Huobi and OKX.
ICOs are attractive because of the potential they offer to investors to make large gains and function similarly to IPOs (initial public offerings) on the traditional stock market.
Projects will also often offer tokens at a discount during the ICO – both to raise funds and build momentum – allowing for attractive gains before tokens reach exchanges for listing.
Private Sale vs ICO vs IEO – What’s the Difference?
Private sales, ICOs and IEOs are three very distinctive events during a crypto project’s life cycle that investors must be aware of.
They all represent buying opportunities for investors but with different factors and limitations.
Private sales are usually early-round fundraisers that are only open to select parties – institutional investors or certain individuals, usually through invitation.
ICOs, as detailed above, are the first time a project makes tokens available for the general public to purchase.
They can also be referred to as presales and tokens can only be bought during this period, there is no market for sale.
IEOs, which stands for initial exchange offering, is when a token is first listed on an exchange, whether decentralized (DEX) or centralized (CEX).
This is when the token is made available for both buying and selling and becomes tradeable on the open market.
How to Find the Best ICO Crypto Projects
Finding the right early-stage project to invest in is no easy task.
There are an abundance of new investment opportunities and new tokens that hit the market every day, all coming with the promise of high returns.
Careful research and due diligence should be undertaken on each project, with certain metrics, indicators and red flags vital for helping investors decide whether a project is one to consider or avoid.
We have produced a guide on how to buy a coin before it launches, which we have put together in brief below.
Investors should also keep an eye out for the best crypto IDOs and IEOs, as tokens will often pump when they are listed on exchanges for the first time as the wider market becomes aware of them.
Use ICO Calendars
The first step for finding the best new crypto ICOs is to examine various ICO calendars that exist across the internet.
The calendars will usually give a brief overview of which new crypto projects are currently in their ICO stage, providing helpful information such as dates, prices, goals for investment and a synopsis.
Trusted data aggregator CoinMarketCap has a calendar and other websites such as CoinCodex, ICOLink and ICOHolder are also trusted resources.
Plenty of other websites also exist, but investors should note that it is possible to pay for top positions on some lists, while information can also be wrong or out of date.
Further research should always be conducted, with the calendars only the first stage of the process.
Check the Whitepaper and Roadmap
The next step to researching ICO cryptos once you found a project is to read its whitepaper.
This document should act as an overarching manual on the project, telling prospective investors everything they need to know about the company behind the ICO, the reason for its existence and its future plans.
A poorly or vaguely written whitepaper is an indication that the project is not fully planned out, or worse, a scam.
A whitepaper typically includes the following details:
- The mission statement / raison d’etre of the project
- The amount of money the project plans to raise in its ICO
- The tokenomics and how the funds will be used
- The business plan and timeline of the ICO and post-release
- Background information regarding the founders and the team member of the project
It is not only sufficient for a company to have ambitious plans – the best projects will also have a practical approach and a clearly laid-out, realistic plans on how to achieve their goals.
Usually called a roadmap (example above), the best ICO projects will offer their developmental targets and plans on a quarterly or annual basis.
Investors should also be careful to note that a good whitepaper does not guarantee success and even projects that appear to have high potential and excellent plans can still fail.
Nevertheless, an incomplete or problematic whitepaper should be immediately considered a sign of trouble.
The best ICO cryptos will also have their token smart contract verified by trusted blockchain security firms, such as Certik.
Team and Partnerships
After looking at the whitepaper, the next aspect to consider is the team behind the project.
Doxxed and Know Your Customer (KYC)-verified developers are ideal, as they are public figures with a route to recourse if they turn out to be scammers.
Founders with a proven track record of success in crypto and Web3 are also ideal, not only because it shows that they can deliver, but because it can often be a sign of market validation.
Yuga Labs, the developers behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection are a good example of a proven and highly-successful team.
They have developed a loyal customer base and attracted institutional support because of their previous successes. For example, away from their NFTs other strands of their ecosystem – such as ApeCoin and the Otherside metaverse – launched to incredible gains in 2022.
One exception to this rule is with meme coin projects, which usually have anonymous founders.
Investors should also look out for projects that exaggerate their partnerships with other companies.
It would be a smart move to verify the credentials of the team and any claimed partnerships.
An easy way to get additional information would be to look around the project’s blog or social media page – if there is no post that details the specific nature of the partnership, it might be a red flag.
Tokenomics and Allocation
When looking for the best ICO for 2023, it is also important to look at token allocation which will be a key indicator on future success.
A company conducting the ICO should clearly indicate the maximum supply of the coin, as well as how the tokens will be distributed among the different parties involved.
For instance, a certain percentage of digital coins will nearly always be distributed among founders, team members, and partners.
The best ICO crypto projects will strike a balance between fair distribution of digital tokens and future reserves.
It is also important to understand vesting and locking periods – you don’t want to be holding a coin for months while others are free to sell it, potentially missing out on any gains.
Community Support
A final indicator would be to check the community support and interest around a project on various social media platforms.
Huge follower counts can mean huge interest and hype around a project, which usually leads to positive price action.
Positive market sentiment can greatly affect the price of cryptos, with Dogecoin a major example.
The meme coin has virtually no utility beyond being a currency, but pumped to incredible highs off the back of huge community support – including from the likes of Elon Musk.
Not including DOGE’s historic rise during the 2021 bull run, the token saw a major pump in April after Musk changed the Twitter logo to the DOGE shiba inu as an April Fool’s gag.
Similarly negative market sentiment could destroy a project’s chances before it ever gets going.
Follower count isn’t the only thing to go on, though, as Twitter and Instagram accounts can be purchased or bot followers can be added.
Also check engagement – such as likes and comments – which will give investors a better idea on whether a project is popular or not.
Are the Best ICO Cryptos a Good Investment?
Crypto ICOs are high-risk, high-reward investment opportunities – some coins have jumped hundreds or thousands of percent in the hours or days after they list on exchanges.
However, others have lost value since many private sale investors sell at the first opportunity, dumping on newer buyers, while some projects never reach their potential for a multitude of reasons.
Some projects have extremely lofty plans that take years to come to fruition – with investors often at a loss for long periods while a protocol is developed.
It’s important investors understand exactly what they are letting themselves in for before purchasing any tokens.
Some ICO cryptos have the prospect to turn into a good investment, others enjoy incredible early pumps and then major sell-offs – leaving those who chose to hold their tokens stuck with a worthless asset.
It will often depends on the specifics of the individual project, its target market, future potential, and more.
Nevertheless, there are some common advantages to investing in a crypto ICO – which we discuss below.
Low Entry Price
One of the best ways to make money with cryptocurrency is to invest in an early-stage project.
As we outlined above, many ICOs offer discounts on tokens to not only fund the early development of their project but also to build hype, interest and a supporter base around the project.
Investors can, therefore, take advantage of tokens on offer for well below market value.
Taking Advantage of Staged Price Increases
Many crypto ICOs will not only offer tokens at a discount during the presale but will have tokens at different prices during different stages.
That means that finding projects early can also have a huge financial incentive.
For example, Bitcoin Minetrix launched at a price of $0.011 but will rise to $0.0119 by the final presale stage – an 8.1% increase.
Unlock Rewards
Today, crypto projects also present their investors with different ways to earn money. It is no longer necessary to wait for the price of a digital coin to go up in order to realize a profit.
Instead, investors have the option to stake their digital assets and earn passive income, without having to sell their tokens.
Moreover, some digital tokens are also part of a gaming ecosystem and can be used to purchase NFTs. This means that early investors get a chance to buy rare NFTs before others can.
Again, this kind of information should be available in a project’s whitepaper, so it is important to understand what the project is offering.
First Mover Advantage
Depending on the project, investors might also be able to benefit from the early bird advantage.
Investors will be to unlock the benefits of owning the coin before it even becomes accessible via public exchanges.
Moreover, if the demand increases, the price of the coin will be higher when it hits the market, and early investors can sell at a profit.
This means that investing in an ICO can be very lucrative. This is, of course, assuming that the project continues to raise interest from buyers.
If there is no demand for the token after the ICO, then the value of the coin can easily plunge.
What are the Risks of Crypto ICOs?
As noted, a high-risk level is associated with cryptocurrency ICOs.
While there are plenty of success stories, there are many more cases where new tokens never return a profit – with dozens of tokens launched every day, there is simply not enough capital for every one to be successful.
Crypto is also, unfortunately, at the mercy of scammers and bad actors.
Various scams exist but two notable ones, especially when it comes to ICOs, are ‘rug-pulls’ and ‘honeypots’.
Rug pulls pump up their project and then sell a large allocation of the token, dumping on other buyers and ‘pulling the rug’ out from under the project.
Honeypots are a bit more technical, with developers inviting purchases but then having code in the token smart contract that only they are able to sell.
Investors should take into account the metrics we mentioned above, and analyze the potential prior to risking their money in an ICO.
When is the Best Time to Sell Tokens?
It is an important but impossible question to answer and will largely depend on an individual investor’s tolerance for risk and their investment targets.
ICO cryptos are even more volatile than large and established tokens as they need to generate a market for their actual value.
Several exit strategies exist and, most importantly, investors don’t want to be left holding stacks of worthless tokens.
One successful ICO strategy would be to invest early and then sell off the initial investment at a certain price point.
For example, TAMA tokens were available to purchase for $0.01 and an investor purchasing $100 would have bought 10,000 tokens.
However, with tokens listing for $0.03, the same stage 1 investor’s tokens were immediately valued at $300 once they reached exchanges.
Therefore, that investor could have sold off 33% of their tokens immediately during the IEO for $100, covering their initial purchase, and then held the remaining 66% of tokens to see where that went.
Selling that initial allocation would mean missing out on potential gains, but the investor has also guaranteed no loss.
This is known as profit-taking, with many investors suggesting incremental sales to ensure some returns, even if that lowers the overall potential of the investment.
Others decide to hold tokens for the long-term – known as HODLing in crypto parlance – but this is a much riskier proposition in new ICO projects compared to long-held favorites such as Bitcoin or Ethereum.
We would also always recommend investors have a diversified crypto portfolio that does not just focus on ICOs but also includes bigger and more established tokens.
Conclusion
Cryptocurrency ICOs offer the chance to get in on the ground floor of a startup with high potential and often with staged price increases to earn immediate paper gains.
However, given the volatile nature of the crypto industry, we suggest that investors build a diversified portfolio of assets, and not put their entire capital into an ICO.
Nonetheless, this guide has discussed some of the best ICO projects to consider for 2023. Before proceeding, investors should spend time studying the different projects from our initial coin offering list – which will assist in making an informed decision.
Our number one for the best crypto ICO is Bitcoin Minetrix, a stake-to-mine cryptocurrency offering tokenized cloud mining credits. The presale will offer 2.8 billion tokens, and is looking to raise $32 million. The price of $BTCMTX will jump from $0.011 to $0.0119 across the presale.
References
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/806453/price-of-ethereum/
- https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum/
- https://www.investopedia.com/tech/most-successful-icos-all-time/
- https://www.business2community.com/crypto-news/tamadoge-price-making-new-highs-tama-cex-listings-wednesday-to-pump-it-towards-0-50-02555720
- https://www.outlookindia.com/business-spotlight/love-hate-inu-price-prediction-after-3000-pump-best-meme-coin-to-buy-now-news-288744
- https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/ipo.asp
- https://coinmarketcap.com/ico-calendar/
- https://coincodex.com/ico-calendar/
- https://icolink.com/ICO-news.html
- https://icoholder.com/
- https://academy.binance.com/en/articles/what-is-a-cryptocurrency-whitepaper
- https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/22/22991272/yuga-labs-seed-funding-a16z-bored-ape-yacht-club-bayc-metaverse-other-side
- https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/technology/hes-a-dogecoin-millionaire-and-hes-not-selling.html
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dogecoin-prices-surge-twitter-elon-musk/
- https://www.coindesk.com/learn/6-kinds-of-crypto-scams-and-how-to-avoid-them/
- https://learn.bybit.com/strategies/crypto-take-profit-strategy/
- https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hodl.asp
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