I have never really looked into the maturity of various crypto projects as I have always seen this as early days still. If we consider where we were 2-3 years ago with so much FUD around and now that has slowly evaporated. Slow is the key word here as there is still FUD being generated, but more from "investors" backing illegitimate projects. These a re self inflicted wounds and only highlight the real, legitimate projects that crypto has on offer.
Crypto has been around since 2010 with Bitcoin, but the majority of projects that have use cases far less than that so will take a little longer to mature. development however speeds up the maturing time as finding the right partnerships and use cases all revolves around the technology being developed.
I have studied VET/VeChain for the past 6 months so this is actually a good example to see how a project matures. What makes this different to most crypto projects is they have stumbled upon another use case over and above what was originally thought of. This new use case will turn out to be way bigger than what was first intended which is a stroke of luck and a change of fortune.
VET would have been around for 7years next year but started out under a different name being VEN so it was like a reset starting over rebranding itself back in 2018. I see that as the starting point and not 2016 so it will be 5 years old next year and not 7. If we think about it not many projects that started out in 2016 have survived and those that have you have to possibly question what they have to offer as a use case. If there is no use case you are no different from 1000's of other cryptos.
Crypto has followed it's 4 year cycle repeatedly and expect this not to change for the next cycle either. The market cap surely has to be threatening $10 billion this time around as the crypto market in general is growing with more and more on offer than 4 years ago.
Everything whether it is a business or a crypto needs time to establish itself and to start to mature. The first few years are all about building a strong foundation with solid ideas growing the confidence of their investors attracting new ones along the way. This is a gradual process and why projects that shoot up from nowhere are very rare or are more noise than substance.
At some point I see maturity being when certain projects move away from the Bitcoin apron strings and move he price on their own due to what they have on offer with the every day use cases. This we really haven't seen up till now and that to me would be the signal that a certain project is maturing to the point it is going on it's own course.
Many projects however won't be able to do this as they have no use case and rely on the Bitcoin pump and why doing the research is so important. The next Bull cycle will be important for so many projects as these projects should start to stand out over others. The way investors think will be just that as thought will have to be part of the investment and not following the crowd.