Cryptocurrencies have continued to attract investors, big and small. It was recently reported that even some lawmakers and their families are betting thousands of dollars on crypto. The biggest reason for this is that cryptos offer the prospect of making some quick money.

While there are meme coins and speculative tokens, these projects come with a high degree of risk. That being said, it’s also not necessary to be invested in projects like Dogecoin (DOGE-USD) or Shiba Inu (SHIB-USD) to make big money.

There are fundamentally strong projects with innovative ideas that can deliver multi-fold returns. Investing in some non-speculative projects at a relatively early stage is similar to venture capital (VC) investing. VCs invest in dozens of projects and many fail — even with a good business idea. However, the projects that gain traction more than make up for the failures.

This column will discuss some early stage crypto projects that are potential multi-baggers. These are non-speculative, but all the same, I would be cautious and create a sub-portfolio of early-stage crypto projects. A few hundred dollars can be allocated to each project in the sub-portfolio. Even if the success rate is 50%, the portfolio returns will be stellar.

Let’s talk about what make these seven crypto projects attractive investments:

• Ideamarket (CCC:IMO-USD)
• Gari Network (CCC:GARI-USD)
• Global Coin Research (CCC:GCR-USD)
• Feed Every Gorilla (CCC:FEG-USD)
• iBuffer Token (CCC:IBFR-USD)
• Presearch (CCC:PRE-USD)
• Solarmine (CCC:SOLAR-USD)

Up-and-Coming Crypto: Ideamarket (IMO)

In the recent past, there has been a lot of discussion about Web 3.0 — in particular, how it can create more intelligent and open websites. Ideamarket seems like an appealing project and concept that intends to build a marketplace for ideas.

Ideamarket does not list coins, tokens or non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Instead, it’s a marketplace of ideas. In simple words, specific URLs and Twitter profiles can be listed on Ideamarket. These links and profiles are traded and valued based on the quality of information they provide.

As an example, the Twitter profile of Elon Musk is listed on Ideamarket and traded at $3.12. As more users deposit funds that bet on the profile, the value of the page trends higher. From the perspective of an investor, there are two benefits.

First, by investing in a profile or URL that carries valuable information, an investor can see capital appreciation over time. Second, the funds that are deposited currently earn an annual percentage rate (APR) of 383% for one month and 460% for three months. The interest generated is paid through IMO native tokens.

Ideamarket is still an early-stage project. However, the total value locked is already over $1 million. Considering the attractive APR on deposits, it’s likely its TVL will increase. This will have a positive impact on the IMO token price.

Gari Network (GARI)

India is the largest crypto market in the world in terms of the number of users. Recently, the Indian government announced a 30% tax on crypto gains. This is possibly the first step toward crypto regulation. More importantly, India banning crypto now seems unlikely.

Gari is a recently-listed token that seems to have immense upside potential. In simple words, Gari is the Indian version of ByteDance’s Tik Tok. It’s also one of the fastest-growing Web 3.0 social media apps. Currently, it claims to have at least 70 million users.

The utility of the Gari token is that it incentivizes content creators to produce original content, including videos and audio recordings. The project shares 30% of the revenue earned on the platform with creators.

In December 2021, Gari Network raised funds through an initial DEX offering (IDO). Another $15 million was earned through an equity offering.

From a growth perspective, Gari plans to launch in Latin America and Africa in Q2 2022. Further, its launch in Europe and the United States is slated for 2023. Therefore, with big growth plans, Gari Network project seems attractive.

Up-and-Coming Crypto: Global Coin Research (GCR)

Global Coin Research describes itself as “a tokenized, decentralized community of learners and investors in web3.” The projects content and newsletter segment provide various ideas, insights and trends. The newsletter already has more than 30,000 subscribers.

A more interesting part of the project is its access to various deals at the pre-seed and seed-funding stages. Global Coin Research members have already invested in more than 30 deals. This also highlights the utility of the GCR token.

An investor needs to hold 400 GCR tokens to be a Tier-1 gold member. Holding these tokens gives access to meetings with founders and exclusive deals. Therefore, for any investors, Global Coin Research makes early-stage investing in attractive projects possible.

With investments having seen average returns of 16x, the demand for Tier – 1 membership is likely to increase. I also like the tokenomics of the project. GCR token has a limited supply of 10 million.

As the project’s visibility increases and more investors hold GCR token for access to early-stage deals, the token price is likely to trend higher. GCR token currently trades more than 80% lower than its all-time high around $21. I would not be surprised if these levels are re-tested in the next 12 months.

Feed Every Gorilla (FEG)

The cryptocurrency markets have been volatile with a downward bias in the last few weeks. However, FEG token has been trending higher. It’s been about 12 months since it was launched, and there seems to have been several positive developments.

First, the FEG ecosystem consists of FEGex, which is being touted as the future of crypto exchanges. The exchange is on Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and Ethereum (ETH-USD) network. Expansion to Fantom (FTM-USD), Polygon (MATIC-USD) and Avalanche (AVAX-USD) is underway. The exchange provides features that include smart swap, staking and wrapping for passive income.

Additionally, FEG has launched SmartDeFi. Tokens can be created using the platform and auto-deployer. If the token template gains traction, there is ample scope for value creation.

It’s worth noting that FEG token is hyper-deflationary. While the initial supply was 100 quadrillion, there are 42 quadrillion tokens in circulation. There is a 1% burn with every transaction.

Overall, FEG trades at a market capitalization of $168 million. If decentralized finance growth sustains, the project has sustained growth visibility. Some exposure to FEG tokens can be considered on corrections.

Up-and-Coming Crypto: iBuffer Token (IBFR)

With options trading gaining traction in the crypto world, IBFR token is worth considering. Being a micro-cap project, the risk is high. However, it seems the team is competent considering the features released and upcoming developments.

iBuffer currently has crypto prediction gaming and options that are live. Additionally, investors can trade options in selected stocks on the platform. In the commodities segment, gold and silver trading is live.

In terms of expansion, iBuffer is a project on Binance Smart Chain. However, the first cross-chain expansion on Avalanche is already live. In the coming months, it plans to expand to Polygon and Nervos Network (CKB-USD).

Another attractive feature that’s likely to be launched in the coming months is its NFT Marketplace. The platform will allow investors to trade predictions as NFTs. The project also plans to list on one or more centralized exchange in the first quarter of 2022. This will boost its visibility.

Staking is also available on the platform, and token holders can opt for revenue sharing. The project currently shares 50% of revenue from its options and prediction gaming trades. The revenue-sharing APR is currently at 10.6%.

Overall, I would not go very big on IBFR token since the market capitalization is less than $2 million. However, the biggest portfolio gamechangers come from the micro-cap space. It makes sense to consider some exposure to the project, which already has promising developments.

Presearch (PRE)

PRE token has been around for a while. However, the project still seems to be at an early growth stage. While Google is the centralized world search engine, Presearch is the search engine in the decentralized world.

Presearch awards members with PRE tokens for usage, contribution to, and promotion of the platform. Currently, users are paid for a maximum of 30 searches in a day.

One way Presearch differentiates itself from regular search engines is the fact that all searches are private and powered by blockchain technology.

Centralized search engines have been accused of acting as the primary gatekeeper to the internet. This includes shaping perceptions and influencing trillions of dollars in spending. Presearch eliminates these factors.

Over the last year, PRE token has trended higher by more than 200%. With increasing visibility and wider adoption, the token has further upside potential. The project trades at a market capitalization just under $100 million.

Up-and-Coming Crypto: Solarmine (SOLAR)

Solarmine is another micro-cap project where some exposure can be considered.

Investors will be familiar with Bitcoin (BTC-USD) mining companies like Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) and Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ:RIOT). Solarmine aims to be a Bitcoin miner in the decentralized world.

The project is few months old and has already initiated the purchase of miners. Once Bitcoin mining commences, it’s likely SOLAR will trend higher. An interesting point about the project is that it will reward 25% of Bitcoin mined to token holders. The reward will be in the form of Binance (BNB-USD) coin.

The remaining 75% of Bitcoin mined will be used for the purchase of additional miners. Therefore, over the long-term, there seems to be potential for the token trend higher and investors getting more BNB rewards.

Solarmine project is also due to launch NFTs. Each will be minted randomly through the website. Holders of NFTs will receive rewards in Ethereum once mining operations commence.

Overall, SOLAR token looks attractive at a market capitalization of less than $2 million. If the plans are executed as per the timeline, the token can potentially deliver multi-fold returns.

On Low-Capitalization and Low-Volume Cryptocurrencies: InvestorPlace does not regularly publish commentary about cryptocurrencies that have a market capitalization less than $100 million or trade with volume less than $100,000 each day. That’s because these “penny cryptos” are frequently the playground for scam artists and market manipulators. When we do publish commentary on a low-volume crypto that may be affected by our commentary, we ask that InvestorPlace.com’s writers disclose this fact and warn readers of the risks.

Read More: How to Avoid Popular Cryptocurrency Scams 

On the date of publication, Faisal Humayun was long iBuffer (IBFR) and Global Coin Research (GCR) tokens. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

Faisal Humayun is a senior research analyst with 12 years of industry experience in the field of credit research, equity research and financial modelling. Faisal has authored over 1,500 stock specific articles with focus on the technology, energy and commodities sector.