Are you like this too? Every day sitting in front of the screen refreshing K-lines, feeling ecstatic when it goes up a bit and anxious to the point of insomnia when it drops a little, even pondering 'should I cut losses' or 'should I add more' while eating; but what you don’t know is that while you’re losing your hair over a few points of fluctuation, the big VCs in Silicon Valley have already been hiding in Discord, laughing as they divide the next hundred-fold project quota.
There is no real 'insider information' in the crypto circle; all the insider tips you pay for are traps for harvesting retail investors. The real Alpha opportunities are always hidden in 'public information that no one pays attention to.' Today, I will share my years of experience in the 'zero-cost information upstream construction method' and teach you how to break free from the limitations of K-line analysis and find opportunities at the same level as VCs!
First understand: the gap between you and VCs lies in the 'three gates of information disparity'.
Why can VCs always accurately dig out hundredfold projects while you keep stepping on pitfalls? The core reason isn’t that they have more money, but that they hold the 'upstream information', while you are always eating leftovers downstream. There are three invisible 'information barriers' between them and opportunities, each keeping you far away from them.
The First Gate: 'Second-hand news' from Chinese media. The 'certain project is on fire' and 'certain track is rising' that you see every day are basically old news that have gone through several channels and are delayed by at least 12-48 hours. By the time you see the news and rush in, the VCs have already made their first profits and are waiting for you to take over.
The Second Gate: 'Delayed discussions' from English KOLs. Even if you closely follow English Twitter, what you see are just interpretations from KOLs. This content is at least 2-12 hours delayed, and many KOLs are just paid 'hype men', making it hard to discern the truth.
The Third Gate: Core developers' 'code preview'. This is the upstream of information — a major upgrade and technological breakthrough of a project, where developers will submit relevant code and discuss related plans on GitHub 1-6 months in advance. This is what VCs are watching, while you are still looking at K-lines to guess the trend.
In simple terms, making decisions based on K-lines is like driving while looking in the rearview mirror; while VCs make decisions based on code submission volumes, akin to using a navigation system to plan their route. The outcome has already been determined from the start.
Essential for ordinary people: Three core methods to build 'upstream information' at zero cost.
Don't think that 'upstream information' is far away from you; in fact, you don't have to spend a penny. As long as you find the right method, you can build your own information monitoring system. Below are three methods I use every day, which I have personally tested to filter out 99% of noise and accurately capture valuable signals.
Method One: GitHub star chain monitoring method — find opportunities from code.
Many people think GitHub is all about code, and if they don't understand it, they give up directly, which is equivalent to handing over the treasure. In fact, you don't need to understand code at all; mastering three small tips allows you to dig for opportunities from GitHub.
First, accurately find the Repo (code repository). Search for 'awesome-ecosystem name' (like 'awesome-L2' or 'awesome-DeFi'), and you can find the official recommended core project list in this ecosystem without having to search blindly; secondly, focus closely on the 'Issues' tab. This page is where developers discuss project progress and technical difficulties. If the discussion volume of a certain project's Issues suddenly surges by more than 300%, and the discussions are all about topics like 'upgrades' and 'new features', it indicates that the project is brewing something big, and there is a high probability of actions to follow; finally, use the Chrome extension 'Octotree' as assistance. This extension can organize complex code repositories into a tree structure, allowing you to quickly browse recent code update records, even if you don’t understand code, to see if developers are continuously working. I relied on this method to notice a certain L2 project three months before its upgrade, and I made a good profit afterward.
Method Two: Discord signal filtering system — uncover the hidden passwords in the community.
Discord is the core community for crypto projects, but most people use Discord just to follow signals in chat channels, without knowing how to find truly valuable signals. In fact, as long as you use these functions well, Discord becomes your 'opportunity radar'.
First, turn on notifications for the 'developer channel'. Quality projects will have dedicated developer channels where you can see the most first-hand project progress, such as technical debugging situations, launch time planning, etc. Open the notifications for this channel so you don't miss any messages; second, pay attention to the 'governance' channel. Major decisions of the project, such as the use of funds, technical upgrades, and cooperation intentions, will be proposed and voted on here. From the proposal content, you can predict the development direction of the project in advance; third, monitor small language channels. Use translation plugins to view the dynamics of Korean, Turkish, and other language channels in real-time. Users in these regions are often more sensitive to new opportunities, and if a certain small language channel suddenly becomes unusually active discussing a new project, it could likely be a potential opportunity; fourth, set keyword alerts. Set keywords like 'mainnet', 'upgrade', and 'partnership' as alerts. Once these words frequently appear in the community, focus on them.
Method Three: Twitter information refinement funnel — only keep the most valuable 'information sources'.
Twitter is the information hub of the crypto circle, but it is filled with a lot of noise from shouting signals and rumors. If you don't know how to filter, it will only get more chaotic the more you look. I have summarized three steps of 'refinement method' to help you eliminate 99% of junk accounts.
The first step is to thoroughly clean up your following list. Unfollow all KOLs who shout signals every day and flaunt profit screenshots; these people will only lead you into FOMO emotions, which are worthless; the second step is to reverse track the following list of 'smart money'. Find a few 'smart money' addresses on-chain that frequently make profits, then search Twitter for the accounts linked to these addresses and follow their following list — these accounts are likely to be real industry bigwigs and core developers, providing you with the most first-hand information; the third step is to create an 'information pyramid' list. Divide the accounts you follow into four tiers: top VC partners → core developers → data scientists → ecosystem observers. Pay close attention to the content from the top two tiers; their opinions and dynamics are the truly valuable information.
Three underestimated 'information lowlands', it's not too late to layout now.
In addition to the common methods mentioned above, there are three 'information lowlands' that few people pay attention to, but they hide a lot of opportunities, which I will share with you today.
Lowland A: The 'zero-knowledge proof' section of academic paper preprint websites (like arXiv). Many cutting-edge crypto technologies are published in the form of academic papers before they are implemented, especially popular technologies like zero-knowledge proofs. Understanding the technical direction in the papers in advance can help you predict subsequent track opportunities; Lowland B: High-paying urgent recruitment positions of Web3 companies on job search websites. If a certain type of position (like 'ZK engineer' or 'AI + blockchain development') suddenly has many Web3 companies urgently hiring at high salaries, it indicates that this technical direction is on the rise, and relevant track projects are worth focusing on; Lowland C: The blockchain patent layout of tech giants in the U.S. Patent Office database. Tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon will apply for patents before laying out blockchain technology. By examining their patent content, you can see the application direction of future blockchain technology and preemptively layout relevant tracks to seize the initiative.
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