First off, do your homework. Dive into the whitepapers of coins you’re curious about. If you finish reading and still aren’t sure what the heck they do, maybe move along. If the devs can’t explain what they do and why they do it so retail investors can understand, they’re either scamming you or they flat out don’t know why. Both are massive red flags.

Next, don’t put all your money in one basket—spread it out like you spread Nutella on toast, generously but evenly. Look at its market cap, too—those with higher caps tend to be more stable. Up-and-comers can be the tech world dark horses (insert dramatic music here). 

Keep tabs on the coin’s community and development team. You know they’re not hiding anything fishy if they’re active and transparent. Most importantly, have they taken the time to hire a marketing person? Devs are notorious for having sub-par communication skills. If they’re so arrogant that they think they can do it all, it’s probably not a long-term project.

Don’t fall for celebrity endorsements. Elon tweeting about Dogecoin doesn’t magically increase its value! Well, it does, but only for about three hours.

Keep an eye on exchange listings and business adoption, as these factors can legitimize a coin. Lastly, only risk what you can afford to lose. After all, crypto is volatile, and you don’t want to eat ramen noodles for a month because of a bad bet. Keep is savvy, frens.