Investing in cryptocurrencies and looking for the next Bitcoin or the next Ripple? Don't get blinded by Market Cap or low price per coin! Look at the team. Check them on LinkedIn.
If you can, also look at their code (if they have a GitHub and are fully or partially open sourced). Then look at their value proposition. Try out their wallet(s). Do their claims hold water? Is their community active, and are they available and responsive? If they seem very active, is it just because they have an ICO coming up?
Who holds most of their coins or tokens? How many are in circulation, and if not all are - when will they be, and why not? Could any of the owners create more out of thin air, roll back or delete your coins and transactions?
These are just some of many things to consider before investing.
For daytrading or short term swing trading, it's not that big of a deal, but for investing I urge you do at least TRY to get to know what you're buying - a certain amount of due diligence pays off in the long run.
From a guy who has been burned before