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Getting startedStage 1 · Beginner1 min read

How to conduct research

  1. Fundamentals

    • Read the whitepaper — does the project solve a real problem, or is it vague/buzzword-heavy? • Check the team: real names, LinkedIn profiles, past track record (anonymous teams = higher risk) • Look at tokenomics: total supply, circulating supply, inflation rate, and how tokens are distributed (heavy insider/team allocation is a red flag)

  2. On-chain & market data

    • Market cap vs. fully diluted valuation (FDV) — a huge gap means lots of future dilution

A five-fold gap between market cap and FDV means 800 million tokens still have to find a buyer. Check the unlock schedule before you buy the story.
Two bars comparing a token's market cap at $200 million against its fully diluted valuation of $1 billion, with the 800 million tokens not yet in circulation marked between them.

A five-fold gap between market cap and FDV means 800 million tokens still have to find a buyer. Check the unlock schedule before you buy the story.

• Trading volume and liquidity (low liquidity = hard to exit, easy to manipulate) • Use tools like CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap, or DeFiLlama for TVL (total value locked) if it’s a DeFi project • Check holder distribution on-chain explorers (Etherscan, Solscan, etc.) — is supply concentrated in a few wallets?

  1. Development activity

    • GitHub commit history — is the code actively maintained, or dead? • Check if the code has been audited (and by whom — some audit firms are more reputable than others)

  2. Community & sentiment

    • Look at Discord/Telegram/X activity — is it organic engagement or bots and hype? • Be wary of excessive shilling, paid influencer promotion, or “guaranteed returns” language

  3. Red flags to watch for

    • Anonymous teams with no accountability • Unrealistic promises (“100x guaranteed”) • Locked liquidity status unknown or short lock periods • Contract not renounced / has mint functions that could dilute holders • Copy-pasted whitepapers or code

  4. Risk management

    • Never invest more than you can afford to lose • Diversify rather than going all-in on one coin • Be extra cautious with new/low-cap tokens — they’re the most common target for scams and rug pulls

Check yourself

5 questions on what this lesson says. Nothing here unlocks or blocks anything - it is here so you can find out whether it stuck.

  1. 1What does the lesson say an anonymous team means?
  2. 2A huge gap between market cap and fully diluted valuation means what?
  3. 3What does low liquidity do to a token, in the lesson's terms?
  4. 4What is the GitHub commit history there to tell you?
  5. 5Which of these does the lesson list as a red flag?
Next on the pathWhat is technical analysis

Education, not advice. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell anything, and every example is one trade rather than a rule.