Meme coin hunting strategy from the early stages – How to beat FOMO and minimize risks

Meme coins are becoming the favorite game of investors – but not everyone understands how to play it correctly. PEPE recently proved that these fun projects can generate huge profits within a few hours. However, behind every success story are hundreds of scam projects and a forest of “lottery coins” that investors should stay away from.

The reality is: you missed PEPE, but that’s not the worst thing. What matters more is having a strategy to catch the next opportunities before the market spots them. Today, I will share how I identify and get into meme coins early – while avoiding the most common scams.

Meme coin investment mindset: Like playing the lottery, but with rules

Before searching for meme coins, you need to change your thinking. Investing in meme coins is not like buying BTC or ETH – it’s more like playing cards, so you should only put in an amount you’re willing to lose everything.

Capital management principles:

• Use a separate wallet solely for trading meme coins
• Limit allocation to no more than 5-10% of your total portfolio
• Always be prepared for the possibility of losing 100% of that amount
• Never let emotions drive decisions – have a clear plan to sell before buying

A famous investor once challenged the “Trending Coin Challenge” on Blockchaincenter.net – buying an equal amount of trending lottery coins every day. The result? Performance was even worse than buying BTC daily. This shows that following trends without a plan leads to losses.

How I find meme coins before they “wave”

Step 1: Filter and analyze on-chain with DEXTools

Visit DEXTools (dextools.io) and filter by the “Created” column to see the newest tokens created. But – be careful, as 90% of them are scams.

Criteria I check:

Number of holders (holders): If under 100, I avoid. If over 500, it’s a positive sign that the token isn’t controlled by a few large addresses.

DEXT Score: This tool calculates trustworthiness from blockchain and external sources, ranging from 1-99. Above 80 is safe, 50-80 is average, below 10 is a red flag. I only consider projects with DEXT above 60.

Liquidity and distribution: Check if liquidity is sufficient for entry and exit, and whether a few wallets hold too many tokens (signs of dump).

Step 2: Community assessment – Signs of a genuine project

A meme coin project without a website or community is a definite red flag. I check:

• Twitter: Over 1,000 real followers (not bots)
• Website: Professionally designed with real info
• Telegram/Discord: Active, mods maintaining, no spam bots

Tweetscout.io is my secret weapon here. I paste the project’s Twitter link and it shows an overview of account authenticity – real followers, engagement rate, etc.

Step 3: Check smart contract with TokenSniffer

Before I transfer any funds, I always verify the contract address on tokensniffer.com.

Warnings I never ignore:

• Honeypot: Cannot sell (scam)
• High buy/sell taxes: Avoid anything over 15%
• Owner not relinquishing control: High risk of contract changes
• Ownership concentrated: If 1-2 wallets hold over 30%, I skip

Step 4: Follow the “smart money” – Use the chain as a guide

The fastest way to find early meme coins? Track successful wallets.

My approach:

1. Find early PEPE buyers on Etherscan: Copy PEPE’s contract address into Etherscan, see which addresses bought early and made big profits.

2. Identify “smart money” via @lookonchain: I follow this Twitter account because they update whale transactions quickly and accurately. Whenever I see interesting info, I save the wallet address.

3. Monitor on DeBank: Paste the wallet address into DeBank (debank.com) to see what these wallets are buying now. If I see several “smart money” entering a new project simultaneously, it’s a sign to pay attention.

Step 5: Spot market trends early with Blockchaincenter

LunarCrush, CoinMarketCap, CoinGecko all have “trending” sections, but each platform shows different projects. Blockchaincenter.net aggregates all trending coins from various sources and displays their “hotness” across different channels.

Tip: Newly trending coins often still have a chance to increase in the next 24-48 hours. I don’t need to be the first to spot them, just to enter at the right moment.

Profit-taking strategy: When and how to withdraw?

Suppose you found a good meme coin and entered at a reasonable price. Now, the crucial part – how to cash out without peaking at the top.

My step-by-step profit plan:

1. When 1.5x profit: Withdraw 50% of the principal. Now you’re playing with profit.

2. When 3-5x profit: Withdraw an additional 30% of the remaining amount.

3. When 10x+ profit: Withdraw the last 20% and let the rest run. At this point, you only risk your profits, not your initial capital.

4. Watch for peak indicators: When volume drops sharply, whale addresses start dumping, or social momentum fades, it’s time to exit completely.

Use basic technical analysis to avoid buying high and selling low – wait for price corrections, buy at support, and sell at resistance.

Why meme coins are “lottery coins” but still worth playing?

Unlike BTC or ETH, which take months to years to generate profits, meme coins can increase 100-1000x within hours. That’s why they’re attractive – and why the risks are enormous.

But with a strategy and rules, you can turn the “lottery” into a “business.” Your activation is speed, patience, and knowing when to quit.

Conclusion: Don’t chase FOMO, chase rules

Investing in meme coins isn’t about catching the first wave. It’s about finding good projects early, managing risks, and knowing when to exit.

If you missed PEPE, no worries. Thousands of other meme projects will emerge. The only thing you need is a system to spot them before the market does. Follow these steps: filter with DEXTools, check with TokenSniffer, follow smart money on DeBank, and you’ll have a much higher success rate than those investors left in the dust.

Remember: Investing in meme coins is like playing the lottery, but not because it’s a game of chance – because you can win if you know the rules.