Today, the digital currency space is more vibrant and diverse than most realize. With thousands of different coins already in circulation and even more launching on a regular basis, it’s a competitive market. Savvy investors will try to figure out the best up-and-coming crypto coins to get involved with. Positive price trends, a vibrant community, a committed development team, and a strong use case are key indicators of a promising crypto coin.

New coins continue to roll out today trying to provide faster transactions, increased privacy, and more scalability. Finding the signals that will differentiate our future winners from transitory fads takes deep and thoughtful analysis. A strong use case rooted in solving a real-world problem is a clear sign that a crypto coin has potential. Boosting demand and trading activity, both overall and cross-exchange, is perhaps the most important indicator to look out for.

Positive price trends coupled with sustainable growth in adoption and usage are clear signs of a crypto coin with potential. When overall movement is up over a period of time, that can be a sign of increasing confidence in the venture. This indicates strong demand and investor confidence in its long-term success.

Innovation just might be the thing that helps a crypto project stand out in an otherwise crowded marketplace. The distinguishing feature or technological innovation — that’s the thing that makes a crypto project special. That might include a new consensus mechanism for improving sustainability. It could be the next big thing in decentralized finance (DeFi) or the solution to an important blockchain interoperability problem.

At the core of every great crypto project is a talented and driven development team. It’s no secret that a transparent development team and a clear and compelling roadmap are crucial for any crypto project to be successful. Investors should conduct due diligence on a project’s team, their background, experience, and expected course of action in the blockchain space.

A strong, active community of like-minded and like-purposed individuals can be an incredible engine of positive energy, development, encouragement, and advocacy. An active and engaged community is why crypto infrastructure projects are so important—we get a lot of amazing stuff done. Discussion and coordination on channels such as Reddit, Twitter, Discord, and Telegram can be telling when assessing a project’s viability.

Having a large and engaged community is the best indication of the widespread belief in a project’s vision and potential. That shared excitement can go a long way toward fostering greater adoption, meaningful feedback, and a healthier ecosystem. It can be a potent marketing engine, generating third party awareness and interest, and driving new users to the platform.

By far the best indicator that an up-and-coming crypto coin is worth your attention is its use case or real-world utility. Coins with a real utility built for real-world needs stand the time of gaining traction. With greater relevance comes increased long-term success. Whether it’s making supply chains more efficient, enabling cross-border payments or giving creators new ways to monetize their work—this utility is arguably a long time coming.