You want to get into crypto because you’ve heard the stories, seen the gains, and you’re ready to start. But then you open popular crypto platforms and see over 20,000 cryptocurrencies stare back at you. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, Polkadot, just to mention some of the more well-known. Then come the layer-2 solutions, DeFi protocols, NFT platforms, and tokens you’ve never heard of with names like “DogeElonMars” and “SafeMoonRocket.”
Naturally, your brain freezes up with all this info, and you probably get stuck choosing what to invest in. But don’t worry, as this doesn’t mean you’re lazy or losing interest. It’s simply the fact that the crypto market is overwhelming for everyone, and especially beginners.
When Too Many Options Make You Pick Nothing
Go into a traditional brokerage firm, and you will likely have approximately 5,000 different stocks to pick from. At the same time, go into crypto, and you’ll see roughly 20,000+ options, with new tokens released daily. And each of them claims to be “the next best thing.” Each token has a white paper, a road map, and a group of people telling you that you are “early,” so you better act fast.
So this abundance does not make it easier for you, but overwhelms you. Once your brain reaches its decision-making capacity, choice fatigue sets in. Your mental energy is spent analyzing options (stocks), charts, and technical terms, and when you finally decide to invest, you are tired and unsure what to do. So you delay while telling yourself you need more research, more time, more certainty.
While you were researching or waiting for more information, opportunities passed, and your money sat idle as inflation chipped away at its purchasing power. That is the unseen cost of too many choices.
Crypto makes this situation even more difficult because the crypto market is always open. Traditional markets close at night, but crypto is open 24/7. The price of a particular asset can go up while you are eating dinner. FOMO can often whisper in your ear, telling you you’re missing out on a potential 100x gain. At the same time, fear and anxiety are both grabbing for your attention, and the safest course of action seems to be doing nothing at all.
The Meme Coin Explosion and Decision Overload
The rise of meme coins has added another layer to this problem. What started with Dogecoin has exploded into thousands of dog-themed, cat-themed, and celebrity-themed tokens. Some become overnight sensations while most others fade into obscurity within weeks.
The barrier to entry has dropped so low that anyone with basic technical knowledge can launch a token. This has created both opportunity and chaos. Retail investors see stories of people turning $100 into $10,000 and wonder if they should take a shot. The potential for quick gains is real, but so is the potential for getting caught in a rug pull or backing a project with no substance.
Interestingly, more and more people are learning how to make a meme coin. For example, if you’re a DIY type of person, you could launch a new meme coin with costs of less than $1,500. Basics like defining the purpose and theme, creating the smart contract, and choosing the right wallet will feel natural to you once you get started. But just because you can create one doesn’t mean you should invest in every new token that appears on decentralized exchanges. The ease of creation has flooded the market with options, and separating signal from noise takes real work.
For most investors, the meme coin space represents the end of choice fatigue. You’re not just picking between established projects with track records. You’re gambling on brand-new tokens with anonymous teams and no history. Some people thrive in this environment, and others find it overwhelming and retreat to safer ground.
Why Curation Beats Endless Scrolling
Unlike “research fatigue,” which is caused by too many choices, curation works like the method Netflix employs to narrow your viewing options. Rather than showing you all movies and shows at once, the site uses categories, recommendations, and curated lists to help you find content you’ll enjoy.
The same logic can be applied to crypto investing because, rather than scrolling through thousands of tokens, you can begin by focusing on themes: Layer 1 and Layer 2 solutions if you are interested in infrastructure; DeFi protocols if you are interested in decentralized finance; NFT platforms and gaming tokens if you are interested in supporting digital ownership.
By using themes to narrow the number of investment options, the decision-making process becomes manageable. Investors are no longer comparing apples to oranges to bananas to exotic fruits they have never seen before. They are comparing similar projects within a specific category that they understand and appreciate.
This process also creates self-esteem while simultaneously reducing anxiety. When you understand why you are investing in a certain sector or theme, you can ride out market volatility better and avoid second-guessing your investment decisions with each price drop based on the fact that some other token happened to pump up that day.
The Role of Trusted Information Sources
One of the biggest challenges in crypto is figuring out who to trust. The space is filled with influencers, analysts, and anonymous accounts all claiming to have the next big call. Some genuinely know their stuff, but others are promoting their own bags or getting paid to shill projects. Currently, only about 14% of Americans say they own crypto, indicating that its appeal is still limited but growing.
You need reliable sources that do the heavy lifting for you. Instead of following dozens of X accounts and joining countless Telegram groups, find a few trusted platforms or analysts who consistently provide well-researched insights. Look for people who show their work, explain their reasoning, and admit when they’re wrong.
The goal isn’t to outsource your thinking entirely. You still need to understand what you’re investing in and why, but you can save hours of research time when someone credible has already vetted projects, compared options, and presented the information clearly.
The crypto space is increasingly adopting this approach, with platforms offering themed baskets of tokens or managed portfolios focused on specific sectors. This saves you from analyzing hundreds of individual projects while still giving you exposure to the areas you believe in.
Moving Beyond Overwhelming Choice Options
Breaking free from choice fatigue requires a clear starting point. You do not need to invest in 20 different cryptocurrencies or be knowledgeable about every possible detail regarding Blockchain Technology. Instead, all you need is to make one good decision.
Start with something you know or find exciting. If you believe blockchain will be revolutionary for finance, then start with well-established DeFi protocols. If you see potential for digital art and collectibles, then begin with NFT Platforms. If you merely want to enter the crypto market, Bitcoin and Ethereum are the most conservative and straightforward entry points.
Determine how much money you feel comfortable investing. It’s best to pick a modest amount of money that you believe is enough but won’t endanger you if you lose it. The pressure to make a perfect decision is lessened once you set this amount.
Once you take that first step into investing, everything changes. You transition from being a spectator to a participant, so you now pay attention differently because you are in the game rather than watching from the outside. You also learn exponentially more quickly from the experience of taking action versus spending countless hours reading about the possibilities of taking action. That does not equate to acting without thinking or being impulsive. It represents understanding that calculated risk-taking beats excessive research.
The Power of Themes Over Tips
The worst way to invest in crypto is chasing tips. Someone on X says a token is about to pump, your friend made money on some obscure altcoin, or a YouTube video promises 10x returns on a new project.
Tips feed into choice fatigue because they’re endless and contradictory. One person swears by a token while another calls it a scam, leaving you to waste energy trying to evaluate claims from people you don’t know and can’t verify.
Themes give you a stable framework. Instead of reacting to every new tip, you decide what sectors or trends you believe in and then research the best projects in those areas. This approach grounds your decisions in a broader thesis rather than short-term price movements.
For example, if you believe that blockchain will enable better identity solutions, you research identity-focused projects. You compare their approaches, team credentials, partnerships, and progress within that focused space. You’re still doing work, but it’s focused work that feels manageable instead of overwhelming.
Thematic investing also helps you stick with positions during volatility. When prices drop, you’re not panicking because some random person on the internet sold. You’re asking whether your original thesis still holds, and if it does, volatility becomes an opportunity to add to your position rather than a reason to abandon it.
