Starter Pack of Defi Tools:
Here is a quick starter pack of tools to give you a head start in navigating the world of Defi. Hope this helps make exploration easier.
Wallet:
Metamask. This wallet acts as a sort of single sign on into the Defi universe. Defi mostly consists of Ethereum based projects for now, and METAMASK is the default wallet for many to start depositing value or exploring decentralized apps.
One complexity is that one must store and keep safe a string of words. The nice thing about this string of words is that it enables the wallet to be logged in to from any computer or phone. Another complexity is there is no backup or support if the wallet phrase is lost. It also can be hard to transfer any wealth built up on the wallet balances unless you teach your family member how to use it and store it. A third complexity is that though many store funds online in a ‘hot wallet’, it is advised to store them offline in a hardware wallet (more below), and that the amount in the wallet is spread out over several accounts. The nice thing is that it’s fairly easy to create multiple accounts within Metamask. One risk of using any computer or phone with metamask is that if the computer is used for email/internet usage outside of crypto, the user is susceptible to phishing scams and fake websites which will steal the funds from the metamask. So one has to realize how quickly their money can disappear.
Leading Hardware wallets: Ledger, Trezor, Keep Key. These wallets can be a little unfriendly from a UX/UI standpoint, but they are growing easier to use by the day.
Account Tracking:
Zerion. Zerion allows you to log in or track multiple wallet addresses. It’s very simple and easy to use. You can also track addresses of known whales.
Resources for Crypto Knowledge. There are a lot of hype channels. These are not those.
Colin Talks Crypto. Useful and newbie friendly youtube channel.
Nugget’s news. Great for understanding the Macro picture of crypto, along with other asset classes.
Rekt capital newsletter. Small subscription fee, but the technical analysis is superb.
Ledger status. Entertaining overview of trading in the crypto space. Has both swing trader’s point of view, but also broad fundamental viewpoint as well.
Ecoinmetrics. Bitcoin focused analysis and data, but bitcoin determines most of where defi goes.
Resources for Defi News.
Messari. Free and paid analysis of the current environment.
The Defiant. Entertaining and informative content about Defi/NFTs.
Spencer Noon. Well written analysis on crypto, defi, and NFTs. Now at Variant Fund.
Dexplain. Easy to skim, but pretty exhaustive coverage of the Defi and NFT landscape.
Bankless HQ. Great place for news and analysis of ethereum based projects.
Defi times. Friendly and approachable Defi news source. Has a podcast and newsletter.
Daily Hodl. Customizable feed for different types of altcoins.
Feedspot. Customizable feed for anything crypto/defi/altcoins.
Tokensmart. News on NFT related projects.
Token Sniffer. Find out what the latest scam tokens were to avoid them.
Resources for under the radar Projects.
Coingecko. Easy to navigate UI/UX for finding up and coming projects.
Crypto cartography. Great youtube and discord channel which provides an exhaustive look at Defi and NFTs.
Token not needed. Good community full of people bouncing ideas around about undervalued projects.
Telegram. You can query telegram to see what people are saying about certain projects.
Twitter. You can query twitter to find undervalued projects and gauge sentiment.
Delphi digital. Provides free podcast and paid research portal.
Rarestone Capital. Provides interesting gem highlights.
Amentum Investment Management. Great insight to narrative trends.
Messari. Provides a paid terminal to read and research what VCs are investing in, and intel on projects.
Nansen. Paid labeling of known whale and influencer wallets so users can get ahead of the trend for strong projects.
Sentiment Analysis:
Heimdall. Free to use database of sentiment analysis of various projects.
Santiment. Some features are free, and more are unlocked if you subscribe. Database of sentiment analysis for various projects.
Lunarcrush. Database of sentiment analysis for various projects.
Data Analytics:
Dune.
Into the Block.
Glassnode.
Nomics.
Websites with Technical Indicators to Follow:
Lookintobitcoin.com. Pi Top cycle indicator.
Blockchain Center Altcoin Season Index.
TOTAL 2 on trading view.
BTC D on trading view.
Glassnode?—?NUPL.
DefiPulse?—?Total Value Locked in Defi.
Bitcoin Futures.
Decentralized Exchanges.
Uniswap.
Matcha.
Zerion in-app swap.
