How to whitelist for Polkastarter IDO
Launchpads are platforms that help new start-up projects during the process of offering their tokens at the Initial Dex Offering - IDO. This guide is about applying to IDOs on Polkastarter, which has its own set of participation rules, similar as to other launchpads. However the process of whitelisting is much the same.
Requirements:
- Wallet address, such as MetaMask
- Telegram account
- Twitter account
- minimum 250 POLS tokens
In order to participate in IDOs, you first have to be whitelisted by the project. For this you have 2 options:
Hodling POLS tokens: each 250 POLS tokens that you hold is one lottery ticket. 1000 POLS tokens means 4 entries. You also have boosters for holding certain amounts.
- 250 or more POLS = 0%
- 1.000 or more POLS = 10%
- 3.000 or more POLS = 15%
- 10.000 or more POLS = 20%
- 30.000 or more POLS = 25% and no cooldown period
If you are whitelisted, you have a 7-day cooldown period, where you cannot be whitelisted for another project, unless your holdings are over 30k POLS tokens.
The second way is to provide liquidity on Uniswap or PancakeSwap. Provide it in the pair ETH-POLS or BNB-POLS. 1 LP tokens you receive is worth 100 POLS tokens, meaning you get 1 entry for 2,5 LP tokens.
Why participate?
Participating in good projects early can get you to that life-changing wealth we all seek. If you follow projects coming out regularly you will find what projects are good and what aren’t. Although Polkastarter does some degree of screening the project before, you must accept that the major VCs are in it for the money and can always dump the bag you’re holding. Understand that they have made far much more profit than you and I, because they have gotten in early. However, some projects can still perform beautifully, especially in bull markets.
Where to start?
i) Regularly check the Polkastarter page. There are new projects launching every few days, sometimes multiple at the same time. You will see something like this.
ii) Apply to new projects. If you click on a project it lands you on the official webpage. There, you should find links to social media, sometimes even Medium account. Your job is to find the official Medium post containing the details of whitelisting process. You will either find it on the webpage or on their Twitter.
iii) Telegram safety. In Telegram, the scammers are most persistent and annoying. You must always be wary of ANY private messages, especially when they require you to provide any personal data.
It’s a must to disable scammers adding you to fake “official groups”. Go to Groups and Channels and make sure that only “My Contacts” can add you in group chats.
PATH: Settings -> Privacy and Security -> Groups and Channels
This helps, but you should still stay vigilant. Pin the official announcements Telegram channel (don’t pin the chat group) and always make sure you check official sources. Don’t believe any private messages, flash sales or any other super deal where you have to “act now”.
iv) manage the projects you apply to. Create yourself a simple spreadsheet, so you can follow the process on each of the project. It should look something like this
v) check the Twitter or Telegram sources for their last announcement. The winners are typically announced 24 to 48 hours after the whitelisting process is closed. It is on you, to regularly check the official Twitter or Telegram channels in order to determine if you’ve won or not.
If you approach this niche with the correct attitude, determination and enough patience you are bound to eventually earn yourself a spot in an IDO of a project you like.
