I am relatively new in this field. Having done some "trading" of alt coins in 2018, I would like to seek the opinion of more experienced traders and hopefully gain an insight as to how can I better differentiate coins with higher potential and coins which are basically crap.
It is no longer enough to rely on the project whitepaper to determine if one should invest in the project or not though it will still help at least by 50% . First step is to fully know the people behind the project, most of them have their own personal businesses they have been running, look into their businesses and see how they are fairing, any right ICO will give you clue to this.
Also, look at the project they are offering, do you think yourself as a business minded person that it address the need of the society around and also entice them and finally, also look at other function the coin might be used for. Main advice from me, start looking for STO project because in few years’ time, this will take away ICOs.