Cryptocurrency Investment

7 Secret Crypto Projects to Watch in 2023–2024: One of Them Could Make You Rich!

In this article, we will explore 7 emerging crypto projects you should keep an eye on, assessing their potential, innovations, and associated risks.

In recent months, the market has shown us that even if we’re in a Bear Market with zero liquidity and no interest, there are occasional projects that can emerge out of nowhere and achieve impressive multipliers. I specifically think of Bittensor, Kaspa, etc. And in 2023–2024, more than ever, there are projects in the making that are about to launch, and one of them might become one of the major surprises of the next Bull Run. The real challenge, however, is identifying which one.

So today, we will look at 7 potential projects that are about to launch that you should monitor closely. These are undoubtedly interesting projects that can either stand out or not. For this reason, I’ll highlight a drawback or an aspect I find problematic for each project, which might prevent the project from truly taking off. The intent isn’t to be overly pessimistic but to be realistic and acknowledge that it’s unlikely all these 7 projects will have outstanding ratios.

I will assign each project a score out of ten, representing the chances of making a profit with the token in the early years. This score is not investment advice; it’s purely informational.

● Project 1 — Fuel Network

Let’s start with the Fuel Network. The idea behind modularity is to dissociate each part of a blockchain to only select the best layers here and there, relieving developers of the need to build everything themselves.

That’s the premise behind Fuel. Initially, Fuel was one of the very first Layer 2 projects for Ethereum, utilizing Optimistic Rollup technology. But they recognized the potential of modularity and pivoted to become a provider of execution layers for modular blockchains. Over 65 engineers are working on this project, aiming to offer highly efficient smart contracts on Ethereum while decentralizing the workload.

Ethereum will handle transaction settlements, Celestia will manage data availability, and Fuel will oversee execution.

Currently, Fuel is in the Beta 4 testnet phase with over 10,000 contracts deployed, 2 million blocks created, and 100,000 Fuel wallet users. I anticipate the MainNet will likely launch around early 2024.

Two key drawbacks to consider:

• 1- Fuel’s use of its proprietary programming language, SWAY. In a Bear Market where developers are scarce, training them in a new language can be challenging, although this can also create a niche group of dedicated developers.
• 2. The 1.5 plus 80 million they raised in September 2022, notably with the involvement of Alameda Research, FTX’s VCs.

There’s no information on Tokenomics yet, but beware of too significant a portion allocated to VCs, which might unfortunately be the case.

I give this project a 7/10 for its potential, but it raised a lot of funds for the current phase.

● Project 2 — Aleo

Our second project is Aleo.

Aleo is a Proof of Work blockchain focused on privacy, centering almost its entire network around the use of zero-knowledge proof to develop private applications, somewhat like Aleph Zero. The distinction, without diving too deep technically, is that while Ethereum added zero-knowledge functionality, Aleo has it natively implemented.

This ensures optimization towards this feature, which may mean it’ll be more user-friendly. Notably, zero-knowledge proofs are hailed as the future of the blockchain and web 3.0 world. It’s good to see projects like this to ascertain if native implementation is more efficient.

A technical note: they use ZKsnark, a custom programming language, LEO presenting the same issue as Fuel.

On paper, this looks promising, but there are concerns.

To start, I don’t perceive much demand for creating private and anonymous applications right now. If someone wants to transfer money anonymously, they’ll use Monero. For smart contract platforms, they’ll go to Ethereum or other existing options. I doubt there’s significant demand for Aleo’s offering. Additionally, Aleo raised a staggering 228 million in two funding rounds in 2021 and 2022.

Although not much information is available on the token, the token distribution is known. 57% goes to private investors and 20% to the team. For me, this is a red flag.

The token releases will be significantly skewed, more so than even Aptos. It’s unfortunate since the project seems technologically promising. But as I’ve mentioned, poor Tokenomics can ruin a project. And in this case, it looks to be true.

I’d rate this a 1/10.

● Project 3 — Layer Zero

One of the most talked-about projects, especially in the English-speaking community, is Layer Zero.

Layer Zero is an omnichain interoperability protocol that works on all blockchains. It natively connects blockchains to each other and facilitates the creation of cross-chain applications. This means users can easily navigate between numerous blockchains.

Cross-chain applications allow for a significant depth in the liquidity of activations. It aligns perfectly with Metcalfe’s law. The idea resonates greatly with my vision of the future of blockchain. I believe it’s untenable to have numerous different infrastructure blockchains that don’t communicate. There should be a way to tap into liquidity and create interactions between each of them.

That’s why Layer Zero is fascinating. One of its major innovations is cross-chain native token swapping. This means you can exchange two tokens from different blockchains without needing to use a centralized exchange like Binance, or a DEX like UniSwap which requires intermediary tokens.

With Layer Zero, you can execute cross-chain swaps in a single transaction without any intermediaries and that’s amazing.

They also have their relay system that gathers evidence for specific transactions. The network is soon to be in mainnet.

The primary concern is that our friends at Layer Zero raised a staggering 250 million from Venture Capital. This will undoubtedly impact the distribution and release of tokens. The only reason I’m not giving it a strong negative rating for now is the lack of information about distribution. So, it’s a cautious yellow card, verging on red, but they’re given the benefit of the doubt.

5/10

● Project 4 — Massa

Massa is a new French Layer One blockchain, aiming to achieve a Nakamoto coefficient of over 1000.

What’s a Nakamoto coefficient?

The Nakamoto coefficient is a measure used to quantify the degree of a blockchain’s decentralization. To calculate it, you need to measure the minimum number of nodes that, if they colluded, could control over 50% of the blockchain, either through computational power in Proof of Work or through the percentage of tokens held, implying Proof of Stake.

For example, imagine 100 nodes each with 1% of computational power. The Nakamoto coefficient would be 51 as you’d need 51% to take control. However, if ten of these nodes each controlled 5% of the network, and the remaining 90 shared the other 50%, the coefficient would be ten, meaning just ten nodes could gain control. Currently, they have 7000 nodes on their testnet, 10,000 transactions per second, and a Nakamoto coefficient over 1000.

They’re also developing what they term as Autonomous Smart Contracts, and the Tokenomics section of their White Paper is very well-crafted. Kudos to them. Their allocations are:

• 12% for the team
• 16% for private investors
• 18% for the community
• 30% for what they call the decentralization program, i.e., reserving tokens for various objectives.

This includes the 100,000 nodes program aimed at maximizing network decentralization and the 2000 builders program targeting the recruitment of 2000 builders. They’ve raised 5 million dollars, which seems reasonable to me, and they’ve been very transparent about their network and website details, which I highly appreciate. If all goes well, their MainNet will be launched in October 2023.

8/10

● Project 5 — Pyth Network

In the crypto universe, one of the most essential tools is oracles. An oracle retrieves information not present on the blockchain, uses its network and internal mechanisms to verify the information’s accuracy, then sends it to the client, all within a short time frame. Various factors make an oracle good or not, such as data reliability, update speed, security, compatibility, cost, decentralization, and so on.

Pyth Network is a sort of next-generation oracle that fosters collaboration between traditional finance and decentralized finance while eliminating as many intermediaries as possible.

Clients can access over 250 data types in areas like crypto, ETFs, etc. The system offers lower confidence intervals, which means more accuracy, it’s open-source, and updates every 400 milliseconds, which is significant.

The project was supposed to launch last year but was based on the Solana ecosystem and partly backed by FTX. Hence, they needed to recalibrate and adapt.

They’ve repositioned this year to safer grounds and are finally set to enter the market. The token should be out soon. No information on tokenomics yet, but it would be great to have a new quality oracle in the market, providing alternative solutions.

It remains to be seen if they’ve managed to correctly reposition and if they’ve left behind any remnants of their association with Solana. If that’s the case, they get a 7/10.

● Project 6 — Zetachain

Zeta is an infrastructure blockchain aiming to be the first public EVM-compatible blockchain connecting all other blockchains, be it Ethereum, Bitcoin, Cosmos, Avalanche, etc. The idea is that users can access their tokens and data from a single wallet on one platform, regardless of the original blockchain they were on.

All of this without any bridges or wrapped tokens. What’s interesting is that this also includes blockchains without smart contracts like Bitcoin or Dogecoin.

By standardizing this interoperability, developers can deploy a single smart contract that manages data across all blockchains instead of doing it individually on each. Everything is based on the concept of omnichain, interoperability, and user experience.

The project was launched in 2021. They’ve raised 27 million dollars, which seems reasonable to me given the current market state. They are in testnet, and a token is scheduled for 2023. No info on the tokenomics.

It’s a brilliant but hugely ambitious idea. They get a 6/10.

● Project 7 — Anoma

Anoma is a Layer One blockchain operating on proof of stake, centered around privacy protection and a somewhat agnostic transaction system, as well as interchain atomic exchanges, all while using zero-knowledge proofs.

It’s a deep-stack infrastructure blockchain emphasizing data privacy, capable of transacting with any asset and facilitating exchanges between different blockchains. Since April 2021, they’ve raised around 60 million dollars, which is a significant amount. The project appears profoundly tech-oriented.

To be entirely honest, I don’t understand a portion of what they’re doing and the tools they’re employing. However, what I do comprehend is promising and could bring valuable innovations to the sector.

The project is currently in testnet. There’s no information about the token as of now. But being so deeply technical could pose challenges when they wish to make themselves known to the general public. The complex nature of their technology can be a deterrent for many. A major drawback, in my opinion, is the lack of simplification efforts.

For instance, if you look at Ethereum’s documentation, it’s evident that everything’s made comprehensible to the broadest audience, even though the technology is very technical, as it contributes to better understanding.

Hence, they receive 5/10 from me.

I have given you 7 projects that I believe are among the most promising. However, this doesn’t mean that these seven cryptocurrencies are the ones that will skyrocket. We’ve recently seen that it’s increasingly not the projects that are talked about the most or that make the most noise, especially in a Bear Market. It’s often projects that have had a Fair Launch, that don’t have any Tokens, that have been pre-mined, and thus a sort of free market that balances itself out.

The idea behind this article was to introduce you to these fascinating projects from a technological standpoint, as all 7 projects are technically very sound. I also wanted to emphasize that just because a project is technologically excellent or very promising doesn’t make it a great investment or guarantee that the cryptocurrency will gain in value. However, it’s very possible that at least one or two of the projects on this list will yield very high returns.

I hope you will enjoy reading this. If you’d like to support me as a writer, consider signing up to become a Medium Member. It’s just $5 a month, and you get unlimited access to Medium.