Anyone can copy a whitepaper. Real due diligence happens when you move past the marketing and ask the uncomfortable questions. Here are the three I always ask.
The whitepaper says "revolutionary," "scalable," and "decentralized." Great. Let's dig deeper.
1. "Who Are the Developers, and Are They Doxxed?"
An anonymous team building a DeFi protocol meant to hold billions? Red flag. I look for founders with public LinkedIn/Github histories. For true decentralization, I check: Can the community govern and upgrade the protocol, or is it a "team multisig" for the next 5 years?
2. "What's the Token Actually For?"
If the answer is just "governance," be skeptical. Does it capture fees? Is it needed to pay for core services (like gas)? Is there a real, accruable value flow to token holders, or is it just a voting tool? A weak token model = long-term struggle.
3. "Who's Already Invested, and What's Their Exit?"
Check the tokenomics page. What % is allocated to VCs and advisors? What's the vesting schedule? If 40% of tokens unlock in 6 months, that's a massive overhang on the price. I'd rather buy after that cliff has passed.
Doing this 15-minute deep dive has saved me from more "hyped" projects than I can count. Be curious, be skeptical, and read between the lines.
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