SpectreCoin is a legitimate privacy coin (and a very good one). You can visit the coinwiki (my signature) if you want, or you can visit the project's Slack and GitHub (if you're technically savvy). The lead developer (jbg) is very responsive on the Slack channel, so you could go there and find out more if you wanted.

Slack:
https://spectreproject.slack.com

GitHub:
https://github.com/spectrecoin/spectre

There are some new and exciting things coming out in the future for SpectreCoin, too. An updated website (community volunteers are making it happen) is set to be online on January 8th. That same day the Spectre wallet receives an update (v1.3.4), and slated for end of January is v.1.4 is set to release (you can check the roadmap on the website).

SpectreCoin isn't a scam. The lead developer is active, the community is active and excited about the coin, and we just want to share it with everyone else. We're not being paid. In the history of XSPEC, to my knowledge, no paid advertising has ever been done. The only exception to this was the last week of December when a volunteer with a lot of XSPEC spontaneously offered a handful of XSPEC to people who posted on BCT for that week. The funds were paid out of his own personal wallet (and, to my knowledge, only about five people took him up on the offer). The volunteer community has also funded a commercial for SpectreCoin, which will be the first professional commercial SpectreCoin has ever had (like I said, paid advertising isn't something SpectreCoin does; it's all volunteers).

In fact, the volunteer community has really stepped in to make sure other people know about this coin and help improve the coin's image (like I said before, the entirely volunteer community is working on the website; they're - we're[/b], because I'm one of the volunteers working on the website - not being paid at all, we're doing it because we love this coin and we want).

SpectreCoin is not a scam. It's a solid privacy coin with a lot of very excited, very motivated, volunteers that make up its active community. I'm sorry if it seems like we're shilling and copy/pasting. The more active of us in the community have been reminding everyone since mid to late December to not do that. At the same time, since we're all volunteers, we can't really control what other people do. We just post guidelines, set an example, and encourage people to follow those guidelines and examples.

I really look forward to seeing you in the Slack channel, or one of the coin's (volunteer run!) social media accounts. And I hope you end up loving this fantastic privacy coin, too. :-)

Privacy coins, for sure. Monero is a good one; it's a good store of wealth and great for large transactions. SpectreCoin is another high quality privacy coin, and is valued at a lot less than Monero is right now despite having such great privacy technology (and it'll get more, too, including being the first coin ever to have stealth staking). You can find out more about SpectreCoin by visiting the CoinWiki (my signature), or by visiting the project's Slack channel (https://spectreproject.slack.com). The Slack channel is very active with a lot of helpful community members and a very responsive lead developer.

SpectreCoin, hands down. It's got high quality privacy technology to back it up, and more on the way. It's got an active and vibrant community that pulls together to help things get done. It's less than $4 at time of writing and currently has a very small market cap (and coin supply) compared to the other major privacy coins on the market right now. If the coin's market cap increased by 10x it would still be at least half the total market cap of most of the other major privacy coins (and it would be valued at about $40/coin). As time goes forward, quality privacy coins are going to be in greater and greater demand thanks to government regulation of the marketplace as well as taxation and even devaluation of government currencies (such as through central bank policies of inflation).

You can find out more about SpectreCoin by visiting the CoinWiki (in my signature), or by going to the project's Slack channel (it's quite active with helpful members and a lead developer that is very responsive to inquiries).
Slack Channel:   https://spectreproject.slack.com

Regarding the OP:

This is a major concern of mine, too.

A major way to shield one's self against a bubble is to avoid buying during a mania (normally a sudden spike in price that's the result of a lot of people trying to get in on a "sure thing") and instead buy sometime after a panic (a sudden drop in price that's the result of everyone trying to dump their assets because that "sure thing" wasn't so sure, after all). However, there's more to it than that. Diversification also helps. Not just diversification of one's cryptocurrency portfolio, but also other assets (having some percentage of your portfolio in precious metals, perhaps just enough real estate to live on, maybe even a gun or, Hell, some stocks, to name a few examples).

In addition, try to pick coins to invest in that will likely survive a bursting bubble and government regulation of the marketplace (both things are coming, mark my words). Privacy coins are the most likely to survive, and even thrive, under government regulation, so I'd diversify into (or even exclusively own) privacy coins (Monero and SpectreCoin are two good ones that I know of; Monero more from reputation than anything). However, there are other coins that I think could do well, too, some that aren't privacy coins (though those coins would likely only do well in places that didn't experience a government crackdown). Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin, for example; they're both "better" at being used as currency than Bitcoin Core is right now, largely because of transaction times and transaction fees, which means they have some good staying power relative to Bitcoin Coin over long term.

The main thing, though, is to not do what "everyone else" is doing. Whenever "everyone else" does something it almost always ends up hurting "everyone else" to the benefit of those who decided to be individuals and not follow the collective. That is, did you sell during a mania (huge price spike because everyone wanted a "sure thing")? Well, you're going to do really well after that price spike corrects thanks to a panic selloff (at which point you'll be there to buy their product at less than what you sold it for to "everyone else"). Try to avoid "catching a falling knife", too; you're guaranteed to get cut, even if it's just a little bit.

As I mentioned earlier, you share a major concern that I have in regards to this bubble (which I don't think has actually burst yet, we're just experiencing a minor correction right now, not a bubble bursting). I hope we can protect ourselves from that bursting bubble when it comes. Best of luck, man. :-)

Some altocoins that are of interest to me:

BCH, because it seems to be doing a better job of being a currency than BTC, and I expect it to do better in the future.

LTC, because it, too, seems to be doing good at being a currency and there's rumor that FaceBook will start using it in its "send money" feature in the future.

XSPEC, because it's a cheap, low coin supply, very strong privacy coin that's likely going to do much better in the future. It has some solid technology behind it already with more coming in the future. It's a good small remittance privacy coin.

Monero, because it's a good privacy coin, too. Unlike XSPEC, Monero is more deflationary (XSPEC is inflationary) and so could be a very good store of wealth and used for large transfers instead of small everyday purchases. It has some decent privacy technology, too, from what I understand.

Another coin that peaked my interest is Bitpay. It sounded interesting from the little I've heard of it, I just having gone and found out more about it yet.

The main coins I'm familiar with are LTC and XSPEC, and of course BTC. I'm most familiar with XSPEC. You can find out more about XSPEC at the project's Slack channel or at the CoinWiki (the URL to the wiki is in my signature).

Hope this helps, and good luck investing. :-)

EDIT:
Just realized I didn't account for the second part of your request, "with low market cap and low coin supply". XSPEC, I know, has a low market cap and low coin supply right now relative to a lot of other privacy coins, and has a significantly lower price than most privacy coins (especially after adjusting based on coin supply). The other coins, I'm not so sure about. I'm sorry about that. :-/

This covers a lot of why I like SpectreCoin. I hope Monero and SpectreCoin can coexist, sort of like Bitcoin and Litecoin, or gold and silver. They're both solid coins that fill different marketplace functions.

I know of SpectreCoin, and a few non-privacy coins. I'm convinced it'll do very, very well over the next year.

I may add Phore and ZOIN to my portfolio in the future after some research thanks to this OP.... They sound interesting. Of course, my resources are limited, and I want to focus on what's most likely to give me the greatest returns so I can rectify that situation (limited resources). But yeah, I'm adding Phore and ZOIN to my radar for the time being...

The short answer is that, no, it's not safe to invest in ICOs. At the same time, if you're smart, then a risky investment in the right ICO can give you life changing rewards in the future. A lot of what you should look for is a coin's long term staying power; if it's going to be around for a long time then the chances are good that you'll eventually reap the rewards you want. For it have good staying power, though, it has to offer something to the marketplace that's unique (or "unique enough") that a lot of people are going to want. You also need to familiarize yourself with who's behind the coin, otherwise you could end up scammed out of your money or even end up with it "refunded" (after the BTC you used to buy it drops a few thousand dollars per coin, as happened with TokenPay). On the flipside, had you been able to invest in certain ICOs (such as SpectreCoin), then you'd be enjoying some life changing profits right now. I'm sure there are some ICOs out there that you could profit from, if you HODL for awhile and pick your coins carefully.

I know it's not much, but that's the best I can tell you, man. It's risky, way too risky for me, I think, but man can it pay off if you choose wisely.

XSPEC meets your criteria. At time of writing its market cap is $41,756,556 USD according to coinmarketcap. It's a good privacy coin that's currently very undervalued even at its current price of about $2, which is very close to its ATH (its ATH was closer to $2.25). If you're interested, you can check the CoinWiki (URL in my signature), or you can visit the project's Slack channel. The developers do a good job of getting on the Slack channel nearly every day and have personally answered numerous questions (and there's a lot of motivated people on the Slack channel who would be more than happy to help you, too).

This thread made me really happy to read. :-)

SpectreCoin is gaining more attention because of its grassroots marketing, and the concerns of people who are sitting on the fence are addressed courteously and succinctly. I like seeing that happen in anything I'm associated with.

If anyone still has any concerns, or simply wants to talk to the developer, then come to the project's Slack channel. The lead developer is on there nearly every day and does a good job of responding to questions. There's an active community there that helps newbies solve issues, too. If I'm not mistaken, an updated FAQ is being worked on (at the grassroots level, no less, which says a lot about the community's enthusiasm).

Wow OP, you went into quite a bit of detail and covered some good coins, especially given your criteria. I can't really offer you anything. I like your SpectreCoin pick, and your reasons for it. As the marketplace gets more and more regulated, privacy is going to be valued more and more, so privacy coins are a good bet. XSPEC is pretty undervalued right now compared to other privacy coins, especially when compared to other coins that actually have privacy technology to back their claims to fame. If you or anyone else is looking to buy XSPEC, you can do so on Cryptopia.

Another good privacy coin I know of is Monero, but it's a bit more expensive than SpectreCoin is right now.

Try SpectreCoin. Compared to other privacy coins it's very cheap, even at $1.75 right now. In addition, unlike some coins that are marketed as privacy coins, XSPEC actually has good privacy technology incorporated into it. It uses Ring Signatures, it's integrated into the Tor Network and uses OBSF4 obsfuscation so it'll work in places that have blocked the Tor Network (such as China), and a number of other things. Auto scaling ring signatures and default stealth addresses, among other things, are on the road map for future releases. A new release is due to be sent out before the end of the year (if I'm not mistaken) that should include a few additional privacy features.

I like your spread, and your reasons. You have similar reasons as me for liking LTC, BTC, and XSPEC. Of those three, XSPEC is definitely my favorite. Undervalued with an active and helpful community, as well as strong privacy features (with more on the way) and low-cost staking rewards, as you've mentioned.

Another favorite of mine is BCH (Bitcoin Cash). I think BCH and LTC are competing for similar marketplaces (everyday low value purchases), and right now BCH is winning (as far as dollar value per unit, by about 10:1). I expect BCH to continue to do well in the future and LTC to continue to play the "catch up" game for some time (a year or two).

I have a few coins I like to invest in.

BTC is always a good investment, though the transaction costs and confirmation times are a bit of a bummer. It's why I like BTC to either HODL for a long time, or simply to buy altcoins with.

BCH is a coin I like. I like it because of their low transaction costs and high confirmation speeds, and the objective of the coin is to be usable for everyday purchases, someting BTC isn't that great at.

I like LTC because it's the "silver standard" (to BTC's "gold standard") of the cryptocurrency world, so people who have less money are more likely to grab LTC instead of BTC (same way people with less money tend to grab silver instead of gold). This can be very beneficial for speculation. In addition, there's a rumor that LTC will be used in FaceBook's send money feature, making it even easier to send money to someone. If the rumor's true, then LTC will shoot up in price.

A fourth coin I really like is XSPEC (SpectreCoin). It's a solid privacy coin and, relative to the price of other privacy coins (some of which have developed no privacy features), it's extremely underpriced. I expect the coin to rise in price significantly as the marketplace becomes more aware of the coin and how cheap it is relative to other privacy coins, as well as its high quality technology.

I've seen a lot of people, myself included, stay on topic and list their favorite coins. SpectreCoin is one of those, but I, for one, have listed other coins that I like a lot, as well as why I like them. I've seen other people do that, too.

That's kind of crazy to me. Why the hate towards SpectreCoin simply because there are motivated people who really like the coin and are letting everyone know about it while also praising other coins that they like, too!

Cryptopia has the greatest volume. BISQ has XSPEC, too, but not much volume. There are a few other exchanges that trade XSPEC (and other coins). However, Cryptopia has the greatest volume, by far.

I hope people who are interested in a genuine privacy coin find this. Thank you, HippiePyro, for making this thread. This is a good way to address any concerns someone has about our marketing or the coin itself without hijacking someone else's thread. Srqrebel made a very good point that this has been a grassroots campaign from the start working with a budget of zero. People have been taking time out of their lives to promote this, without compensation, because the technology is good and the trust that the development team has earned.

A good bit of my money is on SpectreCoin.

XSPEC has cutting edge privacy technology, the development team is improving upon the privacy of the coin feverishly, and the price is very, very low compared to other privacy coins. At its current rate XSPEC could give you some huge returns in 2018. If you're interested in learning more about the coin then you can check out the CoinWiki (the URL is in my signature), or the project's Slack channel. If you can read code, then you can check out the project's GitHub, too.

I regret not getting BCH and LTC earlier, especially BCH, but just a little bit. However, I think SpectreCoin (XSPEC) will make up for that regret by giving me huge returns in the future. 2018 is going to be the year of privacy coins (McAfee). XSPEC has a quality developer with an experienced cryptographer, as well as an active community. Right now, given the price of other privacy coins (and the necessary privacy technology that most of them don't have but XSPEC does), XSPEC should be much higher than its current $1.50ish, and I fuly expect it to reach much higher values over the next year.

If you're interested in learning more about the coin, you can check the CoinWiki (URL is in my signature) and join the project's Slack channel. You can also check out the project's GitHub.

Regardless of what you end up doing in the future, and what coin you end up investing in, I hope you're able to make good returns on your investments. Good enough that you don't feel so bad about missing out on other coins. :-)

SpectreCoin has Proof of Staking, and there's no minimum required. The larger the amount you're staking with the more likely it is you'll receive a stake reward (about 5% of the total amount of XSPEC per year, if I remember correctly). It's a great privacy coin and is grossly undervalued compared to other privacy coins, especially once you account for the high quality privacy technology in XSPEC. In an upcoming update stake rewards will given using stealth addresses, making staking even more private.