Everyone loves getting in early on IDO/IEOs... Polkastarter has had a pretty damn decent record of getting early access to token launches. However, it has required that you hold a decent amount of POLS to be in with a chance to be whitelisted and complete the KYC stage... and then after whitelisting, you still need to get through to the actual listing event which can be a nightmare of on-chain fees as many addresses aim to get into that all-critical 5-15 second launch and purchase window.
Needless to say, this is a pretty nightmarish experience on Ethereum unless you have some pretty good info on one of the particular token launches and enough loose ETH to throw at a competitive gas bid. However, even if you do... you are only going to be one of many that are aiming for that same position! So... good luck!
Recently, POLS has switch to a better lottery version where every address holding at least 250 POLS or the equivalent in liquidity provision tokens can have a ticket in the whitelisting lottery. Every 250 POLS above the first ticket will get you extra tickets. Having more POLS makes for more chances... but it is still pretty damn hard to get whitelisted! And you still face the same problem in that once you get whitelisted, you still need to run the on-chain bidding gauntlet!
It isn't an experience that is for the faint of heart or the smaller investor... and at some point, it just isn't worth the sink of time and ETH (or relevant gas token) to try and get that 1000x token! I've long taken to getting early sales on Coinlist instead... however, with those sales you are often subjected to some pretty hefty lock-up times!
So, IEOs on Binance (known as Launchpads) have been the alternative for decently sourced projects launching tokens. It has a subscription model, that I much prefer... it makes for a more relaxed experience over the first come first server, all or nothing approach.
Interestingly, Kucoin has teamed up with Polkastarter to do some select IEO launches (known as Spotlights) alongside the on-cahin IDOs on Polkastarter. Not every project is going this route, but doing it seems to result in an instant CEX listing on Kucoin which good for a quite liquidity hit... or pump and dump. I'm not exactly sure what it is that encourages the parallel launch and I suspect that it is just an option that is offered to each launch project.... that they set aside some tokens for the IEO Spotlight in exchange for the additional exposure and listing. I'm pretty sure that some projects don't need to have the extra buzz, but other do...
Kucoin uses the same subscription model as Binance, which again makes for a nice relaxed experience. What is also nice is that there is a minimum KCS requirement, which does weed out some potential participants. In some rounds it has been 200 KCS, and this most recent on for Lithium Finance was only 100 KCS... I'm a big fan of minimums, as it reduces the amount of bot or multi accounts by a little bit. However, it does make for a bit of a large hurdle for those who might not already be exposed to KCS in their crypto portfolios!
I'm had mixed results with the Spotlights on Kucoin. Most have at least recovered their initial outlay and I'm just playing with house money, which is always a nice feeling. The last one, Coinburp was a less successful venture. That one has sunk badly. I was too greedy with holding off for recovering he initial capital oh well, sometimes it goes right... other times less good. What should I have expected from a token ticker of BURP!??!?!?
Anyway, I'm feeling more hopeful about this Lithium Finance launch... it seems like a more interesting project. I was already dubious about the CoinBurp launch (a UK based CEX), and I really should have followed my gut instincts on that one. Here is hoping that it goes well this time!
Handy Crypto Tools
Ledger Nano S/X: Keep your crypto safe and offline with the leading hardware wallet provider. Not your keys, not your crypto!
Binance: My first choice of centralised exchange, featuring a wide variety of crypto and savings products.
Kucoin: My second choice in exchanges, many tokens listed here that you can't get on Binance!
MXC: Listings of lots of interesting tokens that are usually only available on DEXs. Avoid high gas prices!
Coinbase: If you need a regulated and safe environment to trade, this is the first exchange for most newcomers!
Crypto.com: Mixed feelings, but they have the BEST looking VISA debit card in existence! Seriously, it is beautiful!
CoinList: Access to early investor and crowdsale of vetted and reserached projects.
Cointracking: Automated or manual tracking of crypto for accounting and taxation reports.
