Ten-Bagger Coin Selection Manual: A Practical Guide to How to Pick

Many people want to find the next 100x coin, but often overlook a question—why are professional investors still allocating to 10x coins?

The key point is here: bull market altcoins indeed are less likely to go to zero, but the risk of underperformance also exists. 100x coin targets usually have small market caps, low community recognition, and insufficient institutional attention, leading to a polarized outcome—either soaring to the sky or losing money even in a bull market. In contrast, while 10x coins have limited upside potential, their lower bounds are relatively more secure because these targets have already gained initial market recognition.

Therefore, the scientific approach is: strike a balance between the high-risk, high-reward 100x coins and the steady-return 10x coins, and reasonably allocate between these two asset types.

Underlying Logic for Selecting 10x Coins

Before starting to look for coins, understand this premise—these criteria should exclude sector interference. Different sectors perform differently in bull markets; the same standard may yield 100x returns in hot sectors but only 10x in less popular ones. Therefore, the evaluation method should be universal.

Why do sector leaders have 10x potential? Take the DEX ecosystem as an example. Its historical total market cap reached $110 billion, and after the bear market, it is currently about $14.57 billion, still nearly 8 times below the previous high. Uniswap (UNI), the leader, has innovative protocols like V3 and UniswapX, making a 10x space not difficult to achieve.

Emerging sector leaders are even more worth paying attention to. The L2 sector’s OP currently has a market cap of about $2 billion, while its predecessor Polygon (MATIC) once peaked at $26 billion. Its current market cap still has a 3.5x room to recover to the high point. New leaders often have stronger explosive market cap potential.

Criteria for Selecting Non-Leader 10x Coins

If you want to find opportunities among non-leader projects in various sectors, this is obviously more challenging. But once you select correctly, these coins often rise far more than tenfold. The following three dimensions are indispensable:

First, Project Operational Activity

Cross-verify from multiple angles:

• Check on CoinMarketCap whether trading volume is sufficient, whether the price trend is normal, and which exchanges list it
• For on-chain tokens, review liquidity status and mining pool size
• Enter social media platforms (Telegram, Discord, etc.) to observe genuine engagement—it’s not about follower count, but active comments and discussion quality

Second, Project Team Background and Funding

A project’s long-term development depends heavily on resources:

• Is there genuine discussion on YouTube and Twitter? Does the project team frequently appear in interviews?
• Use data sites like ChainBroker to confirm if investors are reputable VCs or influential investors
• Visit the official website and tools like Dextool to check if trading volume and TVL are steadily increasing

Third, Tokenomics Supporting Explosive Growth

This is the core factor determining whether it can 10x:

Circulating supply design is crucial. If the release volume is large later, approaching full circulation, focus on FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation) rather than MC (Market Cap). A high FDV can suppress upside potential. Conversely, if the release is expected to be small, MC is a more accurate reference.

Token price has a psychological effect. The lower the price, the stronger retail investors’ buying desire, making it easier to attract latecomers. SHIB once allowed retail investors to buy billions of tokens for just a few hundred yuan due to its extremely low price—this psychological advantage is especially evident in bull markets.

Token issuance method determines later funding. Fair Launch is fair but may lack funds; in this case, project hype and endorsements from big influencers are critical. Pre-minted projects should be checked for VC and team holdings and lock-up periods. The more conscientious the project, the less likely early large dumps occur.

Whale concentration reflects the degree of market manipulation. Blockchain explorers can reveal this. Early large whale accumulation often indicates subsequent price rallies, as projects controlled by whales tend to surge more sharply.

Token utility directly impacts demand. Reviewing whitepapers, projects with real utility scenarios are more likely to have positive catalysts than air tokens. For example, CRV tends to rally whenever a new chain launches inscriptions—because the token gains new use cases, sharply increasing demand.

Ongoing Monitoring: Updating Post-Selection Judgments

After selecting target coins, don’t let your guard down. Continuous information tracking is necessary to judge whether the project is progressing as planned:

• Search for related reports in major domestic and international news media, and compare project roadmaps to verify progress
• Focus on news related to token utility and deflation mechanisms, as these often bring short-term positive effects
• If recent reports are frequent, it indicates either rising project hype or marketing efforts, both of which warrant attention to secondary price patterns

In summary, selecting 10x coins is not about luck but a systematic filtering based on specific dimensions. As long as you diligently follow these standards and conduct thorough comparative analysis within sectors, you can greatly increase the probability of finding targets with true 100x potential but more manageable risks. The next step is defining the criteria for 100x coins, which will be an even more advanced challenge.