Starting out at cryptocurrency trading and investing can feel like the “blind leading the blind”. I can tell you it’s not just a feeling, but a reality. How do I know? I was on one of them. I’ve seen people following and buying a specific alt-coin, simply because his or her friends were buying it. They know nothing of the project, of the technology and/or of the reason they’re investing their hard worked cash.
What drives this to happen more is a bull market. In a bull market, prices generally rise, so wherever you park your money chances are you’ll see a positive return. In this article, not only do we share our top 2 picks, but also try to explain the specifics behind why these are our picks.
Nobody has a crystal ball predicting how certain things will play out. Why? too many uncontrollable factors are hidden in the future. A few examples of this would be:
– Funding can get cut off
– Competitor creates a better faster version
– Competitor gets the big contracts first pushing it for quicker adoption
– Fraudulent activity
You get the point. In our article, 5 Steps On How To Get Started With Crypto, we’ve briefly listed what factors one must consider when analyzing cryptocurrency. Below you’ll be able to download our cryptocurrency analysis sheet to help you focus on the right factors.
The top 2 crypto picks with huge growth potential are:
- Stack (STX)
- Helium (HNT)
Before investing a penny into any crypto i,e, alt-coin, follow the step by step checklist that we provide. It’ll significantly improve your chances of getting involved in fruitful projects, and win in the long run.
1. STACKS (STX)
Consensus Algorithm
The consensus algorithm is the manner to which the blockchain remains secure and decentralized. In the past, there have been 2 different types of consensus.
Proof of Work (PoW)
If you’ve been in the crypto world, you would have no doubt heard the term mining. Mining is the work required to keep the decentralized network secure as well as allow for transactions to continuously be processed. By mining, new blocks are “unlocked” and added to the blockchain. For this work, the miners receive a portion of rewards in the form of the coin being mined.
Proof of Stake (PoS)
A 2nd very common form of consensus is Staking. The act of staking means you’re holding and locking in coins for a specific amount of time in order to receive rewards. This type of consensus uses locking in coins in different pools or nodes. The continuous re-assignment of voting to these nodes also allow protect the decentralized blockchain.
What’s extremely interesting with Stacks is that it uses a new consensus called Proof of Transfer (PoX). The concept behind Proof of Transfer is to allow a specific coin to be both stackable and mineable.
Currently the bitcoin blockchain is a Proof of Work (PoW) consensus. Without over-complicating the issue, Stacks allows for bitcoin to be earned through stacking, and not just mining.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Stacks has created a new consensus mechanism called Proof of Transfer (PoX). This allows for earning bitcoins not just through mining, but also through stacking.
Purpose & Whitepaper
The 2 most important and fundamental questions any one should ask before investing their cash into cryptocurrency is:
What is the purpose of this coin?
What problem does it solve?
The whitepaper presented should breakdown and provide answers to both these important questions. It would be wise to read the whitepaper specially if you’re planning on holding the alt-coins for the long haul.
The purpose of Stacks is to allow smart contracts functionality on the bitcoin blockchain.
Why is Ethereum trading at the price it is? One of the major reasons is due to it being classified a cryptocurrency, but also offers software “smart contract” development through the use of it’s blockchain.
Bitcoin, on the other hand, only acts as a store of value, and does not have smart contract functionality.
What does this have to do with Stacks? Simple. Stacks allows and transforms the Bitcoin blockchain to be a cryptocurrency as well as a platform where software “smart contract” development is enabled.
Imagine the power and potential bitcoin will have moving forward considering it is already the gold standard of cryptocurrency. What would make this possible? Stacks. Now that you know this information? What value and price would you ascribe to Stacks?
KEY TAKEAWAY
Through Stacks, Bitcoin will be repurposed not to just be a store of value, but also a platform where smart contracts can be built and deployed.
Market Capitalization
The market cap of a coin is another important point to consider. I would categorize this factor of cryptocurrency analysis to be both fundamental and technical. I know plenty of people that throw around the terminology without fully grasping of it’s utmost importance.
Since crypto markets were in place, bitcoin has always had huge market cap dominance. Why? Demand and supply. It’s max supply is 21,000,000 coins, and there’s exceedingly high demand for bitcoin.
The market cap for bitcoin as I write this is
18,679,800 (circulating supply) X $59,749 (price of each bitcoin) = $1,115,690,434,052
Now let’s apply the same calculations to Stacks
1,087,092,006 (circulating supply) X $1.89 (price of each stacks) = $2,058,611,728
Nobody really knows whether bitcoin will remain the most dominant cryptocurrency but using it as a benchmark to compare how high alt-coins can go in relation to its market cap, will certainly give you an idea of how much room a specific alt-coin has for growth potential in current market conditions.
A quick note about the term coin burn. Sometimes a decision is made to burn coins which reduces supply, and drives prices of each remaining coin higher. This too can take place depending on a number of factors which is out of the scope of this text.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Stacks has a lot of room for price appreciation considering and comparing it's current market cap to that of bitcoins.
Exchange Platforms
Since the inception of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, there has been a high level of competition between different crypto exchanges for market dominance. As I write this, Binance and Coinbase have held the reigns, but there are plenty of others.
There are a significant number of crypto platforms, but to find out which coin is trading under which exchanges, our recommendation would be to visit the CoinMarketCap website.
Stacks has not yet been listed under Coinbase rendering Coinbase users incapable of trading this coin. This matters! Why? Because the most money invested into a coin, the higher the price.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Since Stacks has not yet been listed on Coinbase, there's still a lot of room for price appreciation when and if the time comes that it does get listed.
Coin Ranking
Visibility is key when it comes to coins. If you’ve got a great idea but nobody knows about it. How would you attract investors? Same concept applies here.
On CoinmarketCap, you’ll find the ranking of coins based on market capitalization. It goes without saying that if you’re on the top 100 coins, you’re going to have marketability which would automatically increase chances of investors buying the coin.
Stacks is currently ranked as 62nd. This is a good place to be. Why? The technology and coin are visible to all crypto enthusiasts, and still have plenty of room to climb the crypto ladder.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Stacks is ranked on the top 100 coins list which allows the technology behind this coin to be marketed and seen. This increases interest, demand and ultimately, pricing!
Historical Data & Volume Trends
If the coin you’re reviewing has an historical record, then you should analyze what kind of pricing it’s experienced in the past. In the case of Stacks, it just hit it’s all time high recently. Yes, it’s dangerous when you’ve got a coin at an all time high, but that’s when you really have to be confident about the value it provides.
After a while you’ll start seeing trends and understanding which coins seem like a pump and dump. As any trader knows, another extremely important factor to consider in your analysis is trading volume. In crypto, trading volume can really give you a quick glimpse of the short term price action. Keep an eye on that if you’re planning on day trading cryptocurrency.
Regardless of the short-term fluctuations, Stacks pricing will only increase over time considering a major problem it solves.
KEY TAKEAWAY
This criteria is more important to traders rather than long term investors. In my opinion, the value this crypto provides far outweighs the price it's at. We see it as undervalued.
Partners, Community & News
One of the factors that I love about Stacks is the partners it’s involved with. One of the funding firms of this project is Winklevoss Capital. Understanding who’s associated with a specific project would really help give you a better understanding of how serious this project is. However, always investigate to make sure that the partners name isn’t fraudulently being used.
The stacks community is a strong one. A strong community is highly correlated with a more successful project. Some questions you’d have to consider when thinking about investing in an alt-coin are:
Does it have a good leadership and marketing team?
Is it helping individuals get involved with their project and vision?
Does it have a connected web & social media presence?
The answers to these questions are all a solid yes.
Through their team, social media and marketing you’d be able to stay up to date with major news releases which would keep you ahead of the curb in regards to your investment. News has always been important in any of the capital markets, but it is significantly more important in the crypto world. Why? Cryptocurrency is to date, still not fully and officially adopted. Due to this fact, the news stirs bigger waves than any of the other industries.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Stacks has a transparent leadership, great marketing team and a strong community. Always be on top of the news for the coin you've invested in.
ASSESSMENT | Enjoyed our analysis?
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2. HELIUM (HNT)
Consensus Algorithm
Helium is yet another coin that has created a novel consensus mechanism. As mentioned, the majority of cryptocurrencies use either the Proof of Work (PoW) & Proof of Stake (PoS) algorithms. The helium team have created a new consensus algorithm called Proof of Coverage (PoC). Embedded into the PoC, is the mining aspect derived from the proof of work consensus. However, the mining isn’t done in the traditional way. Instead mining is done through a network of interconnected wireless nodes.
This method is the first of it’s kind, and can have significant applications to it. This is the reason we’ve listed this coin as one of the highest growth potential for alt-coin cryptocurrencies.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Helium has created a new consensus mechanism called Proof of Coverage (PoC) that involves a new style of mining that may very well revolutionize crypto mining
Purpose & Whitepaper
Understanding the purpose of the project is key. With Helium, the team is trying to build a network that delivers a secure, ubiquitous, and affordable wireless connection. Some of the competition are names you’ve probably heard: Verizon & T-Mobile. Helium’s technology allows anyone to build out massive, cost-effective wireless infrastructures using the power of blockchain.
This type of network will allow the people to tap into a “decentralized” wireless network that is not controlled by one party or company, but by random individuals. How does one get involved in spreading this wireless network? Through hot spots, coverage is extended to devices using a radio frequency. You can purchase specific helium miners, and setup hot spots in different areas.
You can check which locations have helium hot spots by clicking here
KEY TAKEAWAY
Helium is working to become the largest decentralized wireless network through the power of blockchain, mining & coverage
Helium Hotspot Locator
Market Capitalization
Although Helium is currently sitting between $16.00 – $20.00, we believe it is still the start of its meteoric rise as money pours into the crypto markets.
The circulation supply a few days ago was at 79 million, but today shows as 78 million which shows that the team is currently and momentarily burning coins.
The total supply for this coin shows as 223 million, which shows us there’s still plenty of room for price growth.
This is just the beginning for Helium.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Combining the low circulating supply with the fact that the team is burning coins inspires overwhelming growth
Exchange Platforms
Unlike stocks, the platform a coin trades on is highly important. If a coin is not trading on one of the more popular, more liquid exchanges than that would require further research.
In this case, Helium trades on Binance. Similar to Stacks, it hasn’t yet started trading on Coinbase. Once it begins trading on Coinbase, then you’ll start seeing even more adoption or visibility for this cryptocurrency and blockchain.
The more exchanges trading this coin, the more recognized worldwide. Keep an eye on those through the Coinmarket Cap website.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Combining the low circulating supply with the fact that the team is burning coins inspires overwhelming growth
User Comparitive Advantage – Courtesy of Helium.com
Coin Ranking
The coin ranking allows you to gauge the coins marketability and popularity. The helium alt-coin is moving around between the 80th and 85th ranking. It’s on the top 100 which is a great sign, but can it go higher?
We believe in due course, and widespread adoption, this coin will be a top 10 coin.
What we’re unable to clearly state is how long it will take, or whether it’ll have competitors entering the space. Only time can tell.
KEY TAKEAWAY
As of now, we see the helium coin getting ranked as a top 10 coin given it's innovative means of mining
Historical Data & Volume Trends
Helium has only climbed in pricing since it’s inception. It recently experienced an all time high price of approx $21.40 USD.
Now unfortunately, timing the market is impossible and given the enormous recent price spike, it’s at a dangerous point for those who are looking to trade it in the short term.
However, if you’re looking for long term asset appreciation, Helium is it.
KEY TAKEAWAY
If you're a long term believer in Helium, it's more risky to wait for a dip as it may never come. The network is only expanding, and more people are mining.
Partners, Community & News
The community Helium has built is phenomenal. Within their ecosystem, they’ve got a tool that allows Helium Hot spot providers to securely chat to one another. Isn’t that amazing? There you’ll even find community tools that allow you to stake your HNT coins.
One of the founding team members is Sean Fanning, who is well known for developing the peer to peer music streaming software, Napster.
Salesforce is another company that sees the potential in this project, but it’s unclear as what their involvement limits are.
The website is very well developed, and breathes confidence to those who are looking for long term growth. We recommend you subscribe to their social media channels to be in the know how.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Through the review of their website, social media and community, it's clear that this is a solid project with real life implementation that has already begun
ASSESSMENT | Enjoyed our analysis?
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DISCLAIMER: This blog should in no way be confused for financial advice.
This is for information purposes only.
It is not intended to be financial advice, nor should it be taken as such.
Please consult a financial advisor for your specific situation.
2 Comments
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