Is It Profitable To Make Your Own Cryptocurrency?

The cryptosphere was born in 2008. Back then there were a few users; mostly hardcore techies. Since then the cryptosphere has exploded; growing to millions of users. Since that explosion, a lot of the questions we receive at the CryptoDetail offices regularly revolve around how to create your own crypto; with the most popular question being, is it profitable to make your own cryptocurrency. Let's take a look at the real process of creating a crypto; and the cost of each step. 

The first step  

.. to begin with, an actual currency probably isn't going to make you a profit. It's just a piece of code that, if you want it to take off, you're going to post as open source in order to gain trust and build a user base. This could eventually make you a profit if you mine and HODL your own currency, knowing and believing in your own project. The real profit potential is in creating a token. But, a token alone is just like a currency. To really be profitable it has to have a good idea behind it, and a solid project built around that idea.

For instance, SALTLending (yes, this is one of our favorites) created the SALT token. The idea behind this token is one that solves many obstacles in the cryptosphere. When we own and HODL BTC, sometimes we have to liquidate a portion of our HODL in order to handle real-world expenses. So, we cash out. The SALT token allows us to put a portion of our HODL into escrow and use it as collateral against a modestly priced fiat loan. This works out great by letting us keep our HODLed BTC, while still being able to handle our fiat obligations.

Other projects, like MODORR (another favorite) let you use their token to gain access to the platform to build, play and rate various video games. Another great idea-backed project.

There are dozens, hundreds of other great ideas in the cryptosphere. If you want your token to become profitable; you'll need to start with the idea. Since an idea is a thought, you don't have a monetary cost from that idea is non-existent. However, the rest of this process is going to cost you some money. 

The next things 

The next step is to flesh out your idea into an actual white paper (sometimes called an abstract). This is going to require someone with some knowledge and talent. Not only does your white paper need to describe the smallest technical details, it must also explain the idea and project as a whole. It must be specific yet engaging for everyone from the hardcore investor to the newbie with no technical knowledge. The white paper has to grab the reader, walk them through each step and get them excited about the project; which will lead them to buy your token. Sure, you can pay some half-wit on Fiverr to do a chop job. But that isn't going to make your token profitable. If you want your crypto project to succeed you'll need a professional; and that is going to cost you between $700 - $3000.

Once you have your white paper you need a website. A lot of fly by night projects (the scams) use a simple template landing page that just repeats the same junk you see on all of those sites. Here, again, you need a professional coder or a team of them. The website you want is, like your white paper, a combination of technical fact and sales hype. This has to be presented in a way that draws the reader to the website and makes them want to know more. To have a professional build your crypto site this is going to cost you another $1500 (for a simple website) - around $5000 for an advanced site that has the wallet functionality and everything you need to get a viable project off the ground.

Then you need to actually build your token. Here again, you have to go professionally. A well-built token with a properly coded smart contract will make or break your project. You can go with your website coder if you're happy with his /her /their work. Or, you can find a specialist to ensure your own token's success. This is going to cost another $1500-$5000; depending on your specifications.

So, now you have an idea, a white paper explaining your idea, a website where your investors can read every detail (including the white paper) and invest in your token, and the token code itself. But, how does anyone know about your project so they'll even show up? 

This brings us to promotion 

Here's another area where you can go cheap and fail by trying to post to various social media sites yourself (with or without the aforementioned Fiverr hack). OR, you can plan to succeed by going with a company with a proven track record. One of our favorite crypto promotion companies is AmaZix. This company will review your project in detail, give you a list of changes you need to make, and, once those changes are made they'll represent and promote your project on a variety of different platforms 24/7, giving you the best chance for success. Of course, this process is costly. They charge (not an exact quote, for that, you'll have to contact them directly with your project specs) around $10,000 for the review and first 2-3 months of representation. 

People  

This list is only the bare basics. The reality of the cryptosphere today will also include a team of specialists to back your project, build it and help it grow. These people aren't going to work only for a portion of your tokens. So, let's say 10 people covering everything from CTO, CFO, legal advisor and social media (your project isn't going to live long by hiring out everything; you need a tea). If the bare bones cost of this team (not counting the tokens they'll also get) is $3000 /team member /month; that's another $90 000 for the first 3 months alone. 

Now, your cost so far is $137 000 just to get this off the ground and in front of the public. Most projects take 9-12 months to launch. But, for our exploration here let's assume you can at least get to your token sale in this first 3 months. If you create 1 billion tokens and sell those at $1 each; you've just made a huge profit. And, you've created a viable project with a token that has a huge chance of success (and future profits).

In short, yes, creating your own cryptocurrency is profitable. But, as with any endeavor in life; it takes money to make money. So, the real question is; do you (and your team) believe in your project enough to put that kind of money into it? If so, the proverbial moon is the limit. If not; you're not going to see much but a few hundred dollars and a horrible reputation in the cryptosphere. Remember the old saying; if something is worth doing; it is worth doing right. 

Good luck with your own crypto creation journey! Happy HODLing!!!

Danny Donahue