Nonfungible token (NFT) projects seem to have been diverted from what was once traditional minting to requiring potential buyers to join whitelists to access the pre-sale before the collection goes public. 

This means investors keen on obtaining a sharper edge aim to get on as many whitelists as possible to increase their potential return-on-investment when the NFT is eventually sold on the secondary market.

Navigating through an increasing amount of whitelist prospects can be daunting. Sorting through projects whose aim is simply to “engagement farm” and cash-out versus long-term visionaries and players is time-consuming. 

However, some projects effortlessly create a buzz that resonates deep within the team and community. Here are four whitelists with projects waiting to launch to look out fo. 

Invisible Friends

It’s hard to miss this project, despite its name, which implies they are invisible. Created by Markus Magnusson, Invisible Friends entered the NFT ecosystem on November 17, 2021, and has since amassed over 300,000 followers on Twitter.

Invisible Friends is a part of the “Random Character Collective” known as @RNDMCHARACTERS on Twitter that includes other NFT projects, such as James Curran’s Slim Hoods and Lucas Zanotto’s Mood Rollers. The Random Character Collective Discord server has grown to over 250,000 members as many collectors and potential investors have flocked to its channels for a chance to win a coveted whitelist spot, otherwise known in the community as “bing bongs.”

The collection will consist of 5,000 animated invisible friends, which were originally set to be minted in January, but will now be realized sometime in February. The  delay leaves some time for investors to snag their limited whitelist spots. 

According to Discord, Invisible Friends aims for the project not to have a public sale, suggesting a presale sellout although collectors are limited to one mint per wallet. Since it's a part of a collective, 2,500 holders of Slim Hoods and Mood Rollers have reserved spots on the whitelists, while other rising NFT collections such as DeadFellaz were given 10 whitelists spots for their respective holders.

To date, Invisible Friends has not disclosed its minting price, which could create some speculation that it may not be cheap, yet this has not stopped the hype and fandom the project has received.

As the community says: #TuestTheProcess (a spelling error that has stayed in play.)

Goonies

The Goonies is reminiscent of The Looney Tunes turned into modern-day gangsters. Allegedly created by “the minds behind X-Men and Transformers,” the Goonies is a promising project. Goonies intends to be a metaverse racing game in which Goonie owners can earn its in-game token, GANG. 

The collection is a supply of 8,888 Daffy Duck-inspired Goonies, the whitelist access to whichrewards early investors at a cost of 0.15 Ether (ETH) each, whereby public minting would cost 0.25 ETH each. Similar to Invisible Friends, Goonies' minting date is still to be determined but will occur sometime in February.

It still remains unclear when the presale, in which collectors are limited to two Goonies per wallet address, will occur other than sometime in February. Quickly growing to over 80,000 followers on Twitter and over 100,000 Discord members, Goonies' use of its whitelist is working. 

Goonies guides whitelist prospects on its Discord server on “how to whitelist,” and reminds users that meeting the criteria to get on the whitelist doesn’t guarantee a spot since they are “handpicked.”

By prioritizing its community, the project reserved whitelist spots for members and provides live updates of the number of spots filled. Currently, the fresh-to-the-scene NFT collection has 931 whitelist spots filled out of the 3,000 reserved for the community.

KaraFuru

KaraFuru entered the NFT scene on January 17, 2022 and the project is well known for its vibrant colors and has grown hot among art and toy collectors. Since its arrival, it has expanded its social reach to over 68,000 followers on Twitter and its Discord server has over 70,000 members.

Created by the Museum of Toys and an Indonesian artist known on Twitter as @Willy_WD, KaraFuru is inspired by the first and largest toy museum in Indonesia. KaraFuru pulls in a unique niche of toy collectors who are making their way to the NFT market, especially through KaraFuru. The collection will consist of 5,555 toys whose aesthetics are inspired by Japanese culture expressed through 12 character bases. 

Getting on the KaraFuru whitelist isn’t much different from gaining a spot on other projects, emphasizing much of it around community engagement, and active participation. Centering criteria around presence suggests users must devote a considerable amount of time to stand out from others with the same goal. 

NFT projects such as CyberKongz and KumoxWorld have received a total of 65 whitelist spots noting that it pays to hold certain collections for whitelist access perks.

Troverse 

Decentralized blockchain P2E game, Troverse is a space exploration, survival game where players own “procedurally generated planets.” The planets are the premium NFT in the game, which players explore in the hope of finding other rewards or collectibles, including rare skins and cosmetic NFTs. Each planet follows the ERC-721 standard and is the rarest in-game item with a supply of 10,000. 

Troverse seems to have captured the attention of NFT gamers and has been building the project steadily for over a year and half. Troverse has grown organically to over 40,000 followers on Twitter and over 24,000 members on Discord. 

It remains unclear when the collection’s minting will take place and how much it will cost, but whitelist spots are actively being “given away” for its undisclosed launch sometime next month. Outside of giveaways and contests, those looking to whitelist can work their way up the ranks to obtain an “Elite” role on Troverse’s server or if they are a holder of an “LFG Emote” NFT from the Troverse Specials collection, which currently costs 4.5 ETH and grants the holder three mints.

In the same vein as other NFT collections preparing to launch, Troverse has strategically partnered and collaborated with other NFT collections and influencers to expand its reach and awareness. 

While these new whitelisting and pre-sale methods are beneficial to the project, it's possible that in the end, only a certain class of investor can profit when it comes to sales in the secondary markets.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.