Author: Nick Tomaino; Translation: 0xjs@Golden Finance

Here are the lessons I’ve learned from a decade of cryptocurrency investing:

Originality wins

Everything is open source and easy to copy, but first-of-its-kind products will bring the greatest results (see Bitcoin, Ethereum).

The intersection of purists and tourists is key to the app

If it is too pure, the product will remain niche. If it is too touristy, it will be easy to come and easy to go. Finding the intersection is the way to increase the real user base of the application layer (see coinbase).

Focus on what you like

Don’t chase shiny things just because other people like them. Chasing popular narratives is the best way to lose money.

Define risk/reward and take the long view

Tokens are publicly traded but must be treated like private early stage venture investments from a risk/reward and portfolio allocation perspective (20x+ if it works, 0x if it doesn’t). Be disciplined in and out.

Alignment with users is crucial

There are lots of ways to extract value from people. You can make money one way or another, but it may not make sense. The most valuable crypto products are aligned with their users at their core.