How to research crypto projects: a due diligence guide
Start with the asset you are assessing, not a price prediction. A working product, a company, a governance token and a tokenized share may share a name but confer different rights and risks. This guide helps you build a verifiable basis for your own decision.
A fundamental analysis workflow
- Identify the subject. Record the official domain, name, network and contract address if a token exists. Cross-check the address against official channels and a block explorer: a matching ticker does not establish identity. Note the date of your check.
- Check the product and demand. Open the app and documentation. Separate available features from the roadmap, and mainnet metrics from testnet or incentivized activity. For TVL, volume and user counts, record the source, period and methodology. These metrics are not substitutes for revenue or profit.
- Examine the team and control. Look for a verifiable work history, legal entity, administrator privileges and rules for protocol changes. An investor logo on a project website is a reason to seek confirmation from that investor, not sufficient proof on its own.
- Compare code with security claims. Identify the repository and version relevant to the product, the exact scope of third-party audits and whether findings were resolved. A report on one contract does not establish platform-wide security. Do not connect a wallet or sign transactions merely to research a project.
- Write a source-backed conclusion. For each material claim, save its link, date and status: verified, a project assertion or unknown. Keep conflicting figures visible. State separately what additional evidence could change your decision.
Project tokenomics: what to verify
Platform adoption does not necessarily create token value. Examine these four relationships rather than price alone:
- Rights and utility: what does holding the token confer? Governance, discounts and product access are not equivalent to a claim on profits or assets.
- Supply: compare circulating, total and maximum supply, measurement dates, issuance and burn rules. Identify who can change those rules.
- Allocation and unlocks: compare team and investor shares, vesting, upcoming unlocks and liquidity. An unlock schedule does not predict an inevitable price decline.
- Value capture: check for a documented link between product usage and token demand. Separate a promised buyback from one already executed.
How to handle warning signs
Mismatched contract addresses, unclear holder rights, unconfirmed partnerships and missing unlock terms require further investigation. Missing information alone is not proof of fraud, but it increases uncertainty. Do not turn a checklist into an automatic “scam / safe” verdict.
See the approach in saved reports
These are guides to saved reports, not fresh project assessments. Each case page states the report date and links to the full Russian-language original.
- BULK Exchange: product and third-party audit scope
Separate mainnet from testnet and identify the boundaries of a custody-program assessment.
- Ondo Finance / ONDO: platform versus token
Distinguish product entitlements from governance-token rights.
- xStocks: tokenized equities
Distinguish the platform, issuer and individual tokenized instrument.
Where TCCC AI helps
TCCC AI produces an AI-assisted report from public sources covering the project, team, product, documentation, practical use, tokenomics, code and security, community, risks and source links. Provide the project website and a token if relevant. The report helps organize your research; check material conclusions against primary sources.
This is not a smart-contract security audit, a wallet source-of-funds check or investment advice. AI can make mistakes, and no problems identified does not mean safe. We do not promise returns or replace technical or legal expertise.