How To Create A Cryptocurrency – Ultimate A to Z Guide

In this post, we will walk you through the steps that you need to follow if you are wondering how to create a cryptocurrency. Each chapter will lead to expert resources and contains lots of information, so you might wanna save this article and come back to it for future reference.

The exciting world of cryptocurrency has turned the focus of many people on their future potential. Some focus solely on the profit potential while others on its practical application. 

If you are part of the latest, you might be willing to know how to create a cryptocurrency. After all, with more than 6000 coins circulating the market, there must be a place for your coin as well.

This article serves as the ultimate guide on creating your own successful cryptocurrency. Make sure you bookmark this post, as you will probably want to refer back to it in the future.

So let’s get started.

How to Create a Cryptocurrency

Here are all the different stages you need to take into consideration when considering how to create a cryptocurrency.

Create your coin or token

The first step when looking at how to create a cryptocurrency is to develop the actual coin you want to distribute.

Creating a coin or token is a technical process. Even though there are quite a few guides on the web, truth is, you probably need at least some coding knowledge. 

That being said, there are two ways to create a new crypto coin. 

• The first way is by creating a new blockchain. This will allow you to play with a lot of different parameters and create a very unique blockchain project. While this method is considered to be a difficult and costly approach, there are great courses and videos to help you do it all by yourself.
• The second way is by creating a token. This is a much easier, low-cost approach that is practiced by most new cryptocurrency creators. In essence, you will build a token on an existing blockchain, the most popular of which is the Ethereum network. On Ethereum, you can build an ERC20 token. These are easy to build, don’t require much technical knowledge, and are a great starting point. Here is a guide to get you started.

Remember that the type of cryptocurrency will not be the biggest success factor – that’s just the beginning. As such, you should be good to go with an ERC20 token.

Setting up a winning team

You probably don’t know how to create a cryptocurrency all on your own. Recognizing this can be the start of your team-building efforts.

While the ability to create a strong team is often overlooked until much later on, it is crucial from the very start.

No one has ever made it alone. And that is especially true for new crypto projects in 2020. Nowadays, even the smallest detail matter. As such, the bare minimum you will need to have a chance of success is the following:

• Web/Backend developer – At least one person in your team should have a technical background, to ensure that all issues related to your token and website are handled appropriately.
• Marketing/Community builder – At least one person in the team should know how to promote your cryptocurrency to increase its exposure and build a community around it.

And that’s it. With a team as small as two people, you could theoretically create your own cryptocurrency.

The rest of the roles can easily be outsourced with freelancers if the need arises. 

You will naturally understand what things you can or can’t find the time to do, once you read further in this article.

Then, based on your budget and needs, you can expand your team as necessary.

Build the interface

The one thing that is most often preached in the startup world is to pour all your energy into building the product. For most businesses, a great product will naturally attract an audience that is willing to use it.

This mentality is not true for crypto. Most products (usable cryptocurrencies) take years to build. As such, you need to focus on generating trust.

And the best way to create trust is by creating a website with a beautiful design.

Sure, this may cost a bit, but it will make a huge difference later on when you try to get your coin placed on an exchange or looking to get listed on Coinmarketcap.

Here are the things you need to keep in mind when building your website:

• Make your website beautiful – Make sure that the overall design fits your target group
• Place your main message on top – The visitor should understand what your project is all about within 5 seconds
• Make it minimalistic – The less technical you are and the simpler you explain your purpose, the better
• Make it personal – People will trust you more if they know who you are. This theme has repeatedly been an issue with new cryptocurrencies, as many founders choose to remain anonymous.

Create the whitepaper

When building a website, you will need to invest time and funds into writing a high-quality whitepaper for your project. After all, that’s the reason most people visit your website.

The difference between a great website and a great whitepaper is that the latest does not need to focus on design. 

The focus here lies in writing high-quality content. And by that I don’t mean technical terms – in fact, that’s the exact opposite of what I am talking about. Here are the essential parts that need to be present in every whitepaper:

• A short summary where you talk about the purpose and goals of your cryptocurrency
• The problem that your cryptocurrency is solving
• The solution that your cryptocurrency provides and how it plans to do so
• Team information with links to their Linkedin profiles
• Information about your coin (Supply, Distribution, ICO price & date, etc.)
• Roadmap to indicate what investors can expect in the short-term future

Ideally, you’d want to convey your message in the least amount of words while giving a brief overview of everything there is to know. 

At this point, it might be a good idea to hire a content creator that specializes in cryptocurrency whitepapers. These individuals are not cheap to hire, but their work is essential for your cryptocurrency’s success.

Build a solid community

If there is one chapter I’d like you to pay the most attention to it’s this one. 

A coin without a community is worth absolutely nothing. Most coin creators pay vast sums of money to “lend” the community of popular cryptocurrency exchanges, by listing their coins on the exchange’s platform.

But there is a much better and cheaper way to go about this. And it all starts by building your own, solid community.

Why building a community is the single most important step

If the tokens you created are the supply, the community that believes in your coin is the demand. And the higher the demand to obtain a cryptocurrency, the higher its price.

One great example of this is a cryptocurrency called BOMB. The unique selling point of this cryptocurrency is its ability to “self-destruct”, which means that whenever you want to send BOMB to someone, a small part of it is destroyed forever.

It’s founder, Zachary Dash, worked as a moderator in the popular online crypto community “Crypto Coin Trader” for a couple of years before he started his project. In this timeframe, he established the trust of the community. 

Then, when the market started showing clear signs of recovery, he offered to give free BOMB tokens (through an Airdrop) to anyone who wished to be part of the project. At least 1000 true fans believed in the coin’s potential and chose to participate.

Within one month, the coin saw a massive increase in value, jumping from $1.13 to $13.44. This clearly shows the importance of having a community that believes in your project.

You can read more about the story of BOMB here.

So, how do you get started building a fan-base? I know that CCT is still looking for new moderators. However, I believe it’s best to diversify among channels where your target group already hangs out.

Utilize Crypto Twitter

Ever heard of Crypto Twitter? This is the corner of Twitter where everyone talks about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

The influence that Twitter has had over cryptocurrencies is massive! If you were following influential crypto celebrities on Twitter during the latest bull market, you most likely made a ton of profits.

When new crypto projects realized this, rumor has it that they tried to purchase many popular Twitter channels for huge sums of money. Once again, they chose to purchase an existing community instead of building their own.

Instead of doing this, you might want to start small, by creating quality content and having actual people retweet it. This is hard, don’t get me wrong, but the first followers are always the hardest ones to get.

After you have a handful of fans (say 100-200), you can start running giveaways of your own token, much like Binance, Crypto.com and Tron are currently doing.

This new trend has seen their channels increase in popularity and puts them, and their coins, on the map. 

Later on, when your channel has managed to amass a few thousand subscribers, you may even consider cross-promotion with other channels or paid promotions with crypto celebrities. This, of course, will depend on your available budget.

Join and participate in Facebook groups

As aforementioned, gaining credibility and trust often starts by putting yourself out there. Helping people, sharing your opinion, and generally having an online presence.

Facebook groups are great for that. A good practice here is to tap into existing communities instead of creating a new one, at least in the beginning. Consider joining and becoming an active member of the following Facebook communities:

• Crypto Coin Trader
• Cryptocurrency investing
• Crypto traders

Use Telegram for customer support

Telegram is a great way to let your community know what you are up to. The channel is mostly used for customer support purposes, as people often join the chat to get information regarding your project.

Telegram has two options – creating a channel and creating a group.

• Channels are meant to “channel out” information. They do not allow members to participate in conversations. In essence, it is a database of your previous updates or announcements.
• Groups, on the other hand, is where you will need to pay more attention to. These are chat boards. Members of your group will ask questions and make conversations, and you (as a moderator) will be able to help them out. 

Depending on the size of your project you may want to hire additional moderators as well. Ideally, you’d want to choose a member of your existing audience and reward him with your new token.

You might be thinking that this is way too specific and not necessary when looking at the high-level tasks on how to create a cryptocurrency. But remember that communication is key and expected from all potential investors.

Medium/Quora content helps too

While not your primary channel, Medium and Quora should also be used to increase awareness. And no, I don’t mean creating new blog posts. You can always host these on your own website.

What you want to do here is leave comments. Many of them. Every single day!

• When it comes to Quora, search for questions that your target group might have and provide valuable answers. When your answer starts ranking, you can always edit the comment and add a link to your website or whitepaper. 
• With Medium, you can leave high-quality comments under popular posts that are relevant to your target group. Search for topics related to new cryptocurrencies, altcoins, and profitable investment opportunities. It is best to invest in a premium membership (only $50 per year) to be able to access all posts, and thus have more options to choose from. 

Be a guest at crypto podcasts

Cryptocurrency podcasts are increasing in popularity. It almost seems like every community has its own dedicated show.

The problem with most of these shows, however, is their inability to find interesting guests. 

Take the initiative and create a spreadsheet with all the crypto podcasts that have at least 300-400 listeners. An easy way to do this is by searching through Spotify or Soundcloud.

Then, craft personalized emails and reach out to the hosts. Talk about your currency, the story behind it, and what you wish to achieve with it. While there is no guarantee that this strategy will lead to an opportunity, it’s always worth testing it.

If you manage to get a couple of shows, you will have even more leverage when reaching out to other, larger crypto podcasts.

Start by exploring the following crypto podcasts.

Visiting conferences and events

Once you establish an online presence, and you have at least some followers, you can start looking at networking opportunities for additional exposure.

Not only will such opportunities help you with online cross-promotion, but they will also increase your authority in the crypto world.

The best way to do this is by visiting some of the most popular cryptocurrency conferences. 

Now, don’t get me wrong – these are not meant for everyone. It is a great option for those who want to take their efforts one step further and are willing to pay the price for it.

Most crypto conferences cost between $400-$1200 to attend. But if you manage to play your cards right, you will get many new opportunities and potential investors.

We have created a list with some of the most popular events in the crypto industry. Make sure you check them out by reading this article.

Chances are, you will find at least one event that is close to your location and is worth attending.

This is also a great way to find pre-sale investors that might be willing to offer a significant amount of money in exchange for a discounted token price.

The token sale

This is the moment you have been waiting for the most. If you managed to follow the steps above you should have created a community that can’t wait to get their hands on your cryptocurrency. Now it’s time to give them the opportunity to buy your token.

And the way to do so is through an initial token sale.

A few years back, this would probably be the easiest thing to do, since people were investing in practically every new cryptocurrency that had a promising whitepaper.

Nowadays, however, things are different. Investors are smarter and regulations are tighter.

Here are the steps you need to follow to ensure a successful token sale:

Make sure you have all the legal requirements to get started

You are dealing with investors’ money. As such, you should educate yourself on your local laws and regulations when it comes to selling a new cryptocurrency. 

Due to the fluctuating regulations and the different legal requirements of each country, it is best to consult a lawyer who specializes in the subject. The best way to find correct legal information is by taking the following approach:

1st Step: Research whether other cryptocurrency projects have previously hosted an ICO or IEO in your country/state in the past.

2nd Step: Reach out to them and kindly ask them to provide you with information about their legal procedures

3rd Step: Consult with the legal party/parties that they used to successfully host their token sale.

And that’s it. This process should be prioritized as it can take longer to finalize. It is best to start searching for legal help right after your token is created.

Sell your tokens via ICO or IEO

If you meet all the legal requirements, you can proceed to the token sale. In this step, you will have to choose between the two selling models.

IEOs, or Initial Exchange Offerings are token sales that are hosted on an existing cryptocurrency exchange.

• Pros: You will tap into an existing community, your token will be traded on the exchange after the sale, it increases trust with potential investors. Also great if you don’t know how to create a cryptocurrency buzz.
• Cons: You will likely need to give a large part of your tokens and a hefty sum of money to the platform that hosts the IEO.

ICOs are the old-school model of selling tokens. This option is best if you have managed to build a truly strong community and know that there is a serious interest in your tokens. It is also a great way for an already popular business to introduce a tokenized product.

• Pros: It’s free to use, you don’t depend on other parties, it could help you raise more money, you can place your tokens on Decentralized Exchanges immediately after the sale.
• Cons: It’s not a trustworthy selling model, you depend solely on the community you have built, there is no guaranteed placement on liquid exchanges.

Overal, and to increase your chances of success, it is best to pursue an IEO listing. While you may need to give up a part of your tokens, you will have a guaranteed exchange listing.

A note on exchange placement(s)

If you rather go with an ICO, there are many different ways you can explore to get an exchange listing. Additionally, even IEO token sales would benefit from multiple exchange listings.

How to find free listing opportunities

If you built an ERC20 token, you can start by listing it for free, on Decentralized Exchanges. Here are a few platforms you can reach out to right now:

• Free listing on IDEX
• Free listing on EtherDelta (Go to Tokens -> Other -> Enter the info of your token)
• UniSwap placement
• Free listing on token.store (You need to have a Metamask extension)
• Free listing on Tokenmarket

After you manage to get as many free listings as possible, you can start researching paid listing opportunities. These can further increase your exposure.

Final Step: Listing on CoinMarketCap

If you follow the steps above, you should be able to get a listing on CoinMarketCap!

In order to list your token, the platform will consider different factors, starting from technical characteristics, all the way to community requirements.

Once you are ready, you can start by filling out their official listing form.

Allow a couple of weeks to pass by before you follow up for an answer. CMC is listing many coins on a daily basis, but the waiting list is quite big. As such, patience is the key to success.

Summing up

That’s it! You now know how to start a cryptocurrency and turn your project into a success. To review, let’s take a look at the points we discussed:

1. Create your coin or token
2. Set up a strong team
3. Build your website (interface)
4. Create the whitepaper
5. Build a community
6. Visit crypto conferences and events
7. Host the token sale
8. Placing on cryptocurrency exchange(s)
9. Listing on CoinMarketCap (CMC)

From that point onwards, you should have sufficient funds to grow your team and build your actual product/service. Remember that this is simply the beginning of a long journey and you need to be prepared for the long haul.

We hope you found value in this article and are looking forward to your thoughts and comments. And how you are still wondering how to create a cryptocurrency, or have specific questions that you want to ask the author, please reach out to this email address.