How motivated are you to chase new hot projects these days?
I posted on X that my motivation to chase new projects has waned. Probably the most since I joined crypto in 2018. Even during bear markets, it felt better.
Wonder if I’m the only one? Maybe I’m lazy… Or bored? Although it’s not quite that.
I'm more cautious about depositing large % of my portfolio into new protocols than I was before.
In the past bull runs, money flowed more freely. It was easier to make gains, but now, money is tight as alt season hasn't arrived yet.
The risk-reward ratio has changed, too: while hacks and exploits are less common now, the rewards from airdrops for the vast majority of projects have decreased.
Money is diluted among a large number of protocols. Nothing stands out too much.
I also feel that there are too many new projects with just incremental improvements without real 0 to 1 innovation. Mike Dudas seems to agree.
It applies not only to DeFi protocols but also to L1s and L2s.
What motivation do we have to explore Kraken’s Ink? Or Soneium L2? Without innovative, value-adding protocols… just airdrop and liquidity mining rewards.
Hard to know which one is worth your time. If I'm not alone in this, then it's tough for new projects but also offers more opportunities for more active degens.
But we can’t stop searching for the few outliers that could become the next Aave, Ethena, or Pendle.
The question is how to know which protocol is worth your time? Where to find them? So, in this blog I’ll share a few tools, methods, and sources to find protocols with already some traction that can be:
Mindshare
Onchain adoption
Used by smart accounts
I’ll share a few projects that I find interesting as examples. They will be marked in block quotes like this sentence.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this post is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as investment advice. Always conduct your own research and consider your financial circumstances before making any investment decisions.
1. Kaito - No Surprise Here
Kaito’s flagship portal costs $1099 per month (drops to $750 if billed biennially).
Fortunately, Kaito offers a free dashboard with top projects by mindshare without tokens.
The screenshot with the top 20 projects is shared often, but how many from the top 21-50 do you recognize?
Few? Then head to yaps.kaito.ai and check those that catch your attention.
For example, Multipli brings yield for native assets (BTC), stablecoins and RWAs. I expect a low-float, high(ish) FDV token launch as it’s backed by Pantera, Sequoia, Spartan Group VCs.
At $70.3M TVL, it's a balance between not being too low for implied risk and not too high for dilution, even though it's at the 2nd point season.
0xPPL is one of my favorite crypto tools, yet few people seem to know about it or use it.
It's a social media platform, but instead of just X-style posts (which are available), you see what people you follow on X are doing with their wallets.
While Kaito and Dexu focus on followers and social mindshare, 0xPPL shows what they're doing with their wallets.
To my surprise, 0xPPL's wallet searchers have done a great job linking wallets with KOLs.
Most transactions are buys/sells of tokens but you’ll see deposits into protocols as well.
Log in with your X account and link a wallet that has a transaction history. You’ll immediately see transactions from the people you follow, so your feed will differ from mine.
If you follow many airdrop farmers, you’ll gain exposure to the protocols they are actually investing in, rather than just discussing for attention.
I want to add that I can clearly see the team's daily efforts to enhance the app. Everything is polished, and they focus on small details to improve the experience.
First, Nansen launched points program. You earn points for 1) subscribing for Pioneer or Professional, 2) staking with Nansen, and 3) referring friends.
InfoFi narrative is hot and Nansen is an established player in the space.
Secondly, you can find where the money flows with the hot contract feature.
Tip: Play with filters.
I like removing DEXs and liquidity pools (if you are an active LP, you’ll like this feature), setting min TVL to $5m, and choosing contract age to 30 days.
Check accounts and see what they are farming right now
Finding farmers and protocols that align with your investment style requires effort, but it's time well spent. You'll discover what investors do with their money, which is likely a better use of your time than scrolling through the latest drama on X.
The hard work is checking protocol by protocol to see what fits your criteria.
Another tip:
Identify a hot chain like HyperEVM
Check protocols on that chain by TVL.
7. Follow Fundraising (Coincarp)
Dislike for VCs is at an all-time high this cycle, yet well-funded protocols are excellent airdrop farms!
I've always said that low-float, high FDV tokens are ideal for airdrop farmers because projects have the capital to provide initial liquidity for TGEs.
Among multiple fundraising tracking tools, I like Coincarp. It’s free and easy to use.
I usually filter “DeFi”, and choose “Seed” for earliest stage protocols.
You can clearly see the main investors, and amounts raised.
It’s surprising how few Seed rounds have been announced recently for DeFi. Just 4 protocols in May and 5 in April.
Well, at least it’s easier to check each of them :)
Turtle Club
Rewards platform that gives you extra yield for using partner protocols like cashback for DeFi.
How it works:
Sign in with your wallet (no deposits)
Turtle tracks your LP/staking on partner platforms
Fantastic guide. Haven't heard about 0xPPL before tbh, I have to give it a try. I appreciate the mention!
Man, I just love your stuff. Here and on Twitter.
Thanks for always sharing quality alpha and insightful takes. They’re always something to learn from.