Despite the crowded crypto space, some investors consistently find promising projects that are still under the radar.
So how do they do it?
Crypto trend hunters know how to read on-chain data; they understand tokenomics. They follow the money and get ahead of the crowd. This data includes metrics like daily wallet count, trading volume, changes in the number of token holders, liquidity on decentralized exchanges (DEXs), and total value locked (TVL) for DeFi projects.
In this article, I examine the importance of identifying crypto projects with real potential using lessons learned from past successful projects like Solana, Arbitrum, Chainlink, and even memecoins like Pepe.
Solana
When Solana launched in 2020, few people outside of developer circles had heard of it. But it had one big advantage: speed. Solana’s proof-of-history technology has made it one of the fastest chains, making it a magnet for developers, especially in DeFi and NFTs. By 2021, its ecosystem had exploded with applications like Serum and Magic Eden.
Early adopters who paid attention to on-chain growth like wallet activity and DEX volume could see that Solana was up to no good. And they were right: Solana went from under $1 to over $50 in less than a year.
Arbitrum launched as layer two of Ethereum in 2021, but the big moment came with the Arbitrum token airdrop in March 2023. At launch, Arbitrum was processing many more transactions than layer 1 and had billions of dollars of total value locked in decentralized applications (DApps).
Smart investors were watching, too. The signs were there even before the token was launched: user activity, increasing liquidity, and growing app adoption. When ARB fell, the rally continued because the fundamentals were solid.
Chainlink
Chainlink is a classic example of a project that has delivered long-term benefits. It doesn’t have a flashy brand or memecoin power, but it does one thing incredibly well: feed real-world data into smart contracts.
By 2024, Chainlink had become the backbone of DeFi, gaming, and even tokenized real-world assets. By 2019-2020, LINK was already integrated everywhere.
PEPE Coin (PEPE)
Just because memecoins are based on humorous instruments doesn’t mean they’re always insignificant. Pepe launched in 2023 with no roadmap, no usability, and no VC backing. But it hit a sweet spot and was quickly adopted by the internet. The coin reached a billion-dollar market cap in a matter of weeks.
This kind of rally is rare and inherently risky. But for investors who followed social sentiment, wallet distribution, and community activity, there were early signals. PEPE promised nothing but delivered returns by becoming a viral moment.
The information, comments and recommendations contained herein are not within the scope of investment consultancy. Investment consultancy services are provided within the framework of the investment consultancy agreement to be signed between brokerage firms, portfolio management companies, banks that do not accept deposits and customers. The comments in this article are only my personal comments and these comments may not be appropriate for your financial situation and risk return. For this reason, investments should not be made based on the information and comments in my articles.