As an avid cryptocurrency miner, I’m always on the lookout for the next breakout project. My current mining arsenal consists of a modest AMD Vega 64 GPU rig so I’m lazer-focused on any project that utilizes the CryptoNight proof-of-work algorithm, as Vegas GPUs are highly efficient at mining it. In the past six months or so, I’ve noticed that there has been a notable increase in the number of new CryptoNight projects being announced. Whether this is due to the popularity of the Vegas GPUs, more user demand for truly private cryptocurrency transactions, or the greater availability of viable GitHub code libraries from which to fork new projects from, I cannot say. What I do know is that with so many new projects around, evaluating the potential success of one is becoming more and more tricky. Because mining costs me electricity, I need to be very smart about what I mine. The last thing I want to do is waste my precious hash power on project that doesn’t end up surviving.

My modest mining rig — 6 x AMD Vega 64 / Intel Celeron G3930 @ 2.90 GHz / 16gb RAM / Windows 10 64-bit OS

Unlike cryptocurrency projects which debut via an Initial Coin Offering (ICO), many new, mineable cryptocurrency projects, including the CryptoNight ones that I hunt for, usually start off with a simple announcement on Bitcointalk forum’s Altcoin Announcement board or on other similar forums. In many cases, these announcements share limited information about the project. I’ve seen project announcements lacking information about the project’s vision, features & functionality, team, development roadmap; or about standard resources such as a website, GitHub library, mining pools, and even a non-GUI, basic wallet!

So with a typical lack of information, how then does one even approach evaluating a new cryptocurrency project? Well, I’m glad you asked!

I’m going to share with you, my own evaluation method, and then talk about a new CryptoNight project that I’m quite excited about – Alloy.

There are 3 early indicators of success that I look for in any cryptocurrency project

1. A thoughtful website with a clear development roadmap

At a minimum, a thoughtfully constructed website shows that a base level of commitment was made to the project. The project team put in the time (or their money) to create a website that immediately helps to differentiate their project from those that rely only on their [ANN] thread on some forum. Including a development roadmap instills confidence in early investors that the project team is organized about what they plan to accomplish and understands their strategy to get there.

While many initial investors look for an exchange listing right off the bat, I consider a listing as a bonus. Being listed on an exchange early on obviously allows miners to turn a quick profit and purchasers to buy a decent-sized stack of coins at a low, entry level price. Personally, I feel that it’s much more important for a new project to focus on building confidence that it can deliver on its promises before trying too hard to market itself as a viable and valuable tradeable asset. (*cough* Tron)

2. A resourceful and responsive development team

Many new, mineable cryptocurrency projects run into technical challenges very early on. They have to contend with initial blockchain-synchronization issues between mining pools, bad code inherited from the forked codebases that needs fixing, NiceHash/botnet “attacks,” etc. Sometimes new projects don’t even make it out of the starting gates due to these issues!

Anyone in crypto will tell you that a resourceful and responsive development team is the foundation of any good project worth investing in. To me, what clearly demonstrates these qualities is a development team’s ability to quickly, calmly and effectively address any early technical challenges encountered.

Mike Tyson once told a reporter that “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Nothing will expose a development team’s true potential (or lack thereof) faster than asking them to problem-solve under pressure.

If early technical issues aren’t addressed in a timely, organized and complete manner, the community will quickly sour on the project and leave for greener pastures. There are many failed, or soon-to-be-failed, projects out there with nothing more than a barren Discord channel and a mining pool network with little to no hash power.

3. An active community and engaged project team

Last but not least, I try to size up a project’s community support coming right out of the gates. With so many new cryptocurrency projects being announced every day, capturing the mindshare of new investors is an enormous challenge. The announcement of a new project is an exciting time and normally attracts a decent amount of attention. When a project is effectively able to harness this initial momentum to start building a solid community around the project, it is far more likely to succeed. It is this community who typically promotes the project early on, before any real marketing efforts can be afforded by the project team. The community also provides support to any new investors who have questions about the project or need help with a technical issue they’ve encountered.



Regular community engagement by the project team helps to fill in any of the early informational gaps that might otherwise create FUD in a potential investors’ mind. It’s also another good indicator that the project team is sincerely invested in the development of the project, as well as its community.