This document is a due-diligence framework that can be used to assess new and upcoming blockchain projects for investment. It has been put together by analysing what launchpads, crypto funds, CeX/DeX and cryptocurrency trackers value the most when selecting new projects to invest in or list.
2. Table of Contents
Premise......................................................................................................................................................................2
Guidelines..................................................................................................................................................................2
Identikit and technologies used...................................................................................................................................3
Use case & business model .........................................................................................................................................5
Fundraising and tokenomics........................................................................................................................................6
Fundraising.............................................................................................................................................................6
Tokenomics............................................................................................................................................................6
Post-TDE ................................................................................................................................................................7
Core team, Partners, VCs and Endorsers ......................................................................................................................9
Team’s KYC and professional experience..................................................................................................................9
Communicating with the team.................................................................................................................................9
Stakeholders support............................................................................................................................................10
Communication, Social Channels, and Community......................................................................................................11
Social channels.....................................................................................................................................................11
Email addresses & contact details..........................................................................................................................11
Investors’ relations ...............................................................................................................................................11
Media coverage & community perception..............................................................................................................11
Audits, Security, and Code.........................................................................................................................................13
Verified source code .............................................................................................................................................13
Industry standards and design...............................................................................................................................13
Privileged roles scope............................................................................................................................................13
Documentation.....................................................................................................................................................14
Smart contracts language version..........................................................................................................................14
Test suites............................................................................................................................................................15
Marketing, development & progress..........................................................................................................................16
Considerations on competitors and other potential threats ........................................................................................18
Legal and regulatory status .......................................................................................................................................19
Entity and identities..............................................................................................................................................19
Regulatory status..................................................................................................................................................19
On misconduct.........................................................................................................................................................21
Questions for the team.............................................................................................................................................22
Final thoughts ..........................................................................................................................................................23
Sections’ ratings....................................................................................................................................................23
The SW in SWOT...................................................................................................................................................23
Verdict.................................................................................................................................................................23
4. 2
Premise
Thisis a template documentforanalysingandreportingonpermissionlesspublicblockchaininvestmentopportunities.It
ismeantas a holisticresearchtool forthe investmentanalysttoidentifyanypotential red flagforthe investment.
The sectionsandfieldswithinthisdocumenthave beendrawnedbyanalysingblogposts,interviews,evaluation/listing
criteria,listingrequestformsandacademicarticlesfrom60 crypto firmsamongstlaunchpads,investmentfunds,
exchanges,andcryptocurrencytrackers.Inaddition,Ihave added,where personallydeemednecessary,evaluation
criteriafromtraditional investment/businessanalysis.Youcanreadmore on thisMediumarticle here.
Thisdocumentwascreatedas a summaryforunderstandingwhatventure capital andinvestmentfundsvalue the most
whenassessingblockchainprotocolsfortheirportfolio.Asithasdevelopedintoamore thoroughresearchtool and
goingthroughcontinuousdevelopment,feel free tocontactme to discussthese assessmentcriteriabyemail at
davidepasini@pm.com.
Guidelines
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7. 5
Use case & business model
Use case: Clickhere toentertext.
Products/ servicesdescription: Clickhere toentertext.
Revenue mechanisms:
For the team/ company:
Clickhere toentertext.
For the user:
Clickhere toentertext.
Tokenutility: Clickhere toentertext.
Product/marketfit:
Pain point addressed:
Clickhere toentertext.
Why would it beinteresting to use(product/service/token) and could itgain sustainable traction?
Clickhere toentertext.
What is the track record or demand for this kind ofproduct/service/tokenlike?
Clickhere toentertext.
Innovationand/orUSP:
Type of Innovation:
Clickhere toentertext.
USP:
Clickhere toentertext.
Clickhere toentertext.
Notes Clickhere toentertext.
8. 6
Fundraising and tokenomics
Fundraising
Sourcesof fundspriorto public
fundraisingevents:
Date:
Click to enter a
date.
Source:
Click here to enter text.
Amount:
Click here to enter
text.
Date:
Click or tapto
enter a date.
Source:
Click here to enter text.
Amount:
Click here to enter
text.
Has there beenanysort of pre-
sale event(SAFT,ICO,IDO,
DYCO, DAICO, pre-seed,seed,
seriesA,SHO,community
round,meritround,airdrops
etc.)
Clickhere toentertext.
Clickhere toentertext.
Total investmentexpected: Clickhere toentertext.
Pre-sale tokenprice/s: Clickhere toentertext.
Expectedpost-TDEtokenprice: Clickhere toentertext.
Launchpadsand VCs
supportingthisproject:
Clickhere toentertext.
Acquisitionvenuesandoffers:
Platform:
Click here to enter
text.
Link:
Click here to
enter text.
Offer:
Click here to enter text.
Platform:
Click here to enter
text.
Link:
Click here to
enter text.
Offer:
Click here to enter text.
Team’svestingperiodsand
lockups:
Clickhere toentertext.
Investors’vestingperiodsand
lockups:
Clickhere to entertext.
Notes Clickhere toentertext.
Tokenomics
Publishedtokenomics: URL: Click here toentertext.
11. 9
Core team, Partners, VCs and Endorsers
Team’s KYC and professional experience
Anonteam:
FoundersKYC
Have founders providedownKYC, are theywilling to, or cantheir identitybe cross verified (e.g.
through video interviews/calls talking about the project)?
Founders’motivation:
Name:
Click here to enter
text.
Domainof expertise:
Click here to enter text.
Past problems solved:
Click here to enter text.
Genuinely
passioned
☐
Name:
Click here to enter
text.
Domainof expertise:
Click here to enter text.
Past problems solved:
Click here to enter text.
Genuinely
passioned
☐
Proventeam?
Notes:Clickhere toentertext.
How manydevelopers?
Full-time:
Click here to enter text.
Part-time:
Click here to enter text.
In-house/Outsourced% split:
Click here to enter text.
Notes: Clickhere toentertext.
Communicating with the team
How was the process of communicating withthe team? What is the experience like while communicatingwith them?
Clickhere toentertext.
Was the teamaccessible andwillingto answer questions and discuss issues or were theylazy, overlycunning, arrogant, or unprofessional?
Clickhere toentertext.
Otherimpressions: Clickhere toentertext.
13. 11
Communication, Social Channels, and Community
Social channels
Channel Status # Subscribers
Publishing
frequency
Community
participation
Team’s support
Protocol’s bot
activity
Spam bots’
activity
Click hereto
enter text.
Choose anitem.
Click hereto
enter text.
Click hereto enter
text.
Choose anitem. Choose anitem. Choose anitem. Choose anitem.
Total:
Click hereto
enter text.
Email addresses & contact details
General inquiriesemail:
Dedicatedpurpose emails:
Notes:Clickhere toentertext.
Core team’scontacts:
☐ Social profiles Please specify:Clickhere toentertext.
Notes:Clickhere toentertext.
Notes: Clickhere toentertext.
Investors’ relations
Investors’Relationspage:
3rd
party financial audits:
Notes:Clickhere toentertext.
Notes: Clickhere toentertext.
Media coverage & community perception
What are social influencers
saying:
Clickhere to entertext.
14. 12
Is cryptomediacoveringthe
project?
Clickhere to entertext.
Is mainstreammediacovering
the project:
Clickhere to entertext.
Communityfeel:
Choose anitem.
Notes:Clickhere toentertext.
Notes: Clickhere toentertext.
15. 13
Audits, Security, and Code
Verified source code
Has code beenaudited? Notes:Listthe auditingfirmshere and
the linkstothe reports.
Is the source code for all smart contracts uploadedona reliableplatform
such as Etherscan? URL: Clickhere toentertext.
Is all code sharedon platformssuchas GitHubpriordeployment?
URL: Clickhere toentertext.
If the tokenisupgradable,isversioningusedateachrelease andare
changescommunicatedeachtime?
Is the protocol offeringbugbounties?
Notes: Clickhere toentertext.
Industry standards and design
Are tokensbuiltfromscratch or well-vettedlibrariesare used? Clickhere to entertext.
Are token-relatedfunctionsminimal andseparated fromthe restof the
protocol?
External tokendependencies: Choose anitem.
Lessis more approach:
Notes: Clickhere toentertext.
Privileged roles scope
How are superuserprivilegesstructuredandwhatare privilegedrolesallowedtodo?
Clickhere toentertext.
16. 14
Can any role freeze,burn,orotherwise modifyuser’sfundswithoutuser’s
consent? Notes:Clickhere toentertext.
In the eventof a protocol upgrade,can the userapprove it?
If an upgrade mustbe implemented unilaterally,isthere aquorum-based
mechanisminplace? Notes:Clickhere toentertext.
Notes: Clickhere toentertext.
Documentation
Is the technical documentation
available?
Is the token’spurpose well
defined? Notes:Clickhere to entertext.
Project’sarchitecture +
dependencies: Notes:Clickhere toentertext.
Superuserrolesthataffect
token’sbehaviouroruserfunds: Notes:Clickhere toentertext.
Securitycontrolsusedto
manage superuserkeysand
roles: Notes:Clickhere toentertext.
Notes: Clickhere toentertext.
Smart contracts language version
Is the mostrecentversionused? Versionused: Clickhere toentertext.
Are interfacesusedtointeract
withcontracts of older
versions?
Are all contracts pinnedtoa
specificversion?
Notes: Clickhere toentertext.
17. 15
Test suites
Doeseveryfunctionhave itsownunittest?
Have end-to-endtestsbeenimplementedthoroughly?
Before deploymenttomainnet,hasthe projectbeen deployedtoa testnet
and testedthoroughly?
Didthe projectgothrough automatedanalysistoolssuchasSlither,Echidna
and Myrhril or Certora? Notes:Clickhere toentertext.
Notes: Click here to entertext.
18. 16
Marketing, development & progress
Project’slook,feel,
documentationandoverall
implementation:
☐ Curatedand professional ☐ Outrightcopycat
☐ Childish/unprofessional ☐ Notcurated
☐ Faulty
☐ Other: Clickhere toentertext.
Roadmap:
URL: Clickhere toentertext.
Detailed, specific, andforward-looking/updated?
Coherence betweenpromises and delivery:
Is the project’s team transparent andcommunicative regardingthe
project’s development, roadblocks it encounters and howit is going
to overcome present difficulties?
Partnershipsinplace: Clickhere toentertext.
Willingnesstocontribute to
social impact: How: Clickhere toentertext.
Environment-friendly:
How: Clickhere toentertext.
Self-hostedAMAs:
AMA venue:Clickhere toentertext.
Qualityof contents: Choose anitem.
19. 17
Interactive oraddressingusers/viewersconcerns?
Is the projectunderactive
developmenton
Github/Gitlab/Bitbucket?
☐ Github ☐ Gitlab ☐ Bitbucket ☐ Other:Clickhere toentertext.
Notes:Clickhere toentertext or screenshots.
Have trademarksbeen
registered?
Are there patents
pending/registeredbythe
project/founders? Notes:Clickhere toentertext.
Notes: Clickhere toentertext.
20. 18
Considerations on competitors and other potential threats
Who isthisprojectcompeting
with?
Clickhere to entertext.
Strengthsof incumbents: Clickhere to entertext.
How isthe projectaddingvalue
beyondexistingsolutions?
Clickhere to entertext.
Otherpotential threats: Clickhere toentertext.
Notes: Clickhere toentertext.
21. 19
Legal and regulatory status
Entity and identities
Is the projectincorporated?
Where:Clickhere toentertext.
Ask the team:
Are you planningtoandwhere? Clickhere toentertext.
Entitytype: Clickhere toentertext.
Entityname: Clickhere toentertext.
Chamberof Commerce
registration:
Chamberof Commerce registration:
Paste Chamberof Commerce registration screenshothere.
Domainname WHOIS:
Paste WHOIS screenshothere.
Notes: Clickhere toentertext.
Regulatory status
Is the projectcurrentlyunder
scrutinyby regulatory
agencies?
Clickhere to entertext.
Is the projectproactively
engagingandcomplyingwith
regulatoryagencies?
Clickhere to entertext.
Is there a legal opinionletter
on utilityvs.securitytoken?
URL: Clickhere to entertext.
22. 20
Has the projectmade any
claimsaboutthe tokenbeing
an investmentora security,or
that there will be arise inprice
or a ROI?
Clickhere to entertext.
Notes: Clickhere toentertext.
23. 21
On misconduct
Team misconductcheck: Clickhere toentertext.
Protocol misconductcheck: Clickhere toentertext.
Incongruentormisleading
information:
Clickhere toentertext.
Notes: Clickhere toentertext.
24. 22
Questions for the team
What isthe currentvaluationandhowisit estimated?
Clickhere toentertext.
If any, whatare the differentofferingsandwhatare the mechanicsbetweenthem?
Clickhere toentertext.
Why doyou see thisproject becomingwidelyadopted?
Clickhere toentertext.
Do youhave securityconcernsthat needtobe addressed?
Clickhere toentertext.
What promotional effortsandmarketinginitiativesare youcurrentlyworkingontoincrease
useradoption,value andgrowth?
Clickhere toentertext.
What partnershipsare youcurrentlyseekingout?
Clickhere toentertext.
How are operationscurrentlyfinanced,andhow are youplanningtofinance theminthe
future?
Clickhere toentertext.
Notes: Clickhere toentertext.
25. 23
Final thoughts
Sections’ ratings
Identikitand technologyused Choose anitem.
Use case & businessmodel Choose anitem.
Fundraisingandtokenomics Choose anitem.
Core team,Partners,VCs and Endorsers Choose anitem.
Communication,Social Channels,andCommunity Choose anitem.
Audits,Security,andCode Choose anitem.
Marketing,development&progress Choose anitem.
Considerationsoncompetitorsandotherpotential threats Choose anitem.
Legal and regulatorystatus Choose anitem.
On misconduct Choose anitem.
Questionsforthe team Choose anitem.
The SW in SWOT
STRENGTHS
Clickhere toentertext.
WEAKNESSES
Clickhere toentertext.
Verdict
Clickhere toentertext.