Crypto Savvy Life

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Crypto White Papers: An Evaluation Framework for Investors

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll break down exactly what a good White Paper should look like, the key areas that deserve the most attention, and the potential red flags to look out for.

These are exciting times in the Cryptocurrency Industry and having a variety of investment tools at your fingertips will undoubtedly give you an edge! By the end of this article you will have a framework of analytical questions you can apply to any project White Paper.

With over 30,000 projects out there to consider, this tool will make it much easier for you to sort the wheat from the chaff and spot the rough-diamonds whilst avoiding projects that are “ All Fur Coat and No Knickers!”

What is a Cryptocurrency White Paper?

A Cryptocurrency White Paper is a report produced by a Crypto Project explaining the Problem they are aiming to solve, the Solution the project is proposing, and details of the project’s Technology, Team, Token, Roadmap, Competition, and Risks.

Cryptocurrency Whitepapers are an essential tool for investors looking to make informed decisions about which projects to invest in.

What should I look for in a Cryptocurrency White Paper?

You should be expecting a Business Plan and a Sales Brochure rolled into one!

The purpose of a cryptocurrency whitepaper is to provide a comprehensive and transparent overview of the project, helping potential investors and stakeholders make informed decisions.

What exactly is this project promising to deliver?

How realistic is their plan to achieve this?

Is this a viable business that is positioned to grow my investment?

A word on Red Flags

A Red Flag is simply something to take note of. It does not automatically mean it’s time to walk away from this project. It is an indication that there may be something wrong with the coin or the project behind it, which could lead to negative consequences for investors or users. It highlights an area requiring greater investigation.

Many successful projects do not score perfectly when analyzing their white paper. Like anything different individuals will place greater importance on different aspects before finally walking away.

Where to start with Cryptocurrency White Papers?

A First Read through of a Crypto White Paper should give you a bit of a feel for some of the Projects answers to the above questions.

There are a lot of projects out there looking for investment and engagement and your time is limited and valuable! If a project has failed to communicate its main business idea to you through its Whitepaper, then as an investor or customer that should be a Red Flag.

“Any darn fool can make something complex…If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

– Albert Einstein

Take Notes!

Your intuition at this early stage, before you do any detailed analysis, is extremely valuable. Take quick notes as it will help you to develop an overall impression.

Understanding the Problem the Project is aiming to solve.

Successful projects and businesses solve an identifiable problem/pain point or meet a need that is easy to measure. This is absolutely key!

Is the problem this project is trying to solve clearly defined and feasible?

If you don’t get a sense that “the problem” actually feels like a significant problem or that it is difficult to measure it could be a Red Flag.

Who experiences the problem, and is this a large enough group of users to justify the launch of the project now?

If the group of potential users is not large enough today, the project will not be profitable.
Whilst it can be tempting to focus on the future potential, the immediately addressable audience, the actual users now or at launch are what will determine if the venture takes off or can continue to go!

Will this audience continue to grow as the project grows?

If this target group does not grow continually, the project will soon wither and stagnate.

*You will need to take extra care when dealing with projects who have no current audience or have not yet launched a product to users as you will be dealing with speculative numbers only!
This is not an automatic Red Flag but does mean you need to analyze very carefully, the project community as you would expect this to be the source of future users.

What is the nature of the pain point or problem?

  • How frequently does this problem happen, in a day, a week?
  • Does it impact employment, home life, finances, shopping, transport, social, and leisure?

The frequency and severity of the problem, for the potential audience, will gauge how much customers might be willing to pay for a solution!

Here are some examples of questions you can use to measure whether the project is tackling a valid and economically viable problem.

White Paper Problem Analysis Questions

Having completed this series of questions you should be clear about what the problem is, how severe and frequent it is, and what the size is of the affected audience.
It is really helpful at this point to write a summary of this in your own words to refer back to later.

  • Does the problem they describe make sense and actually exist? (some projects create a product and then try to find problems for it to solve)
  • Where does the problem lay on a scale of significance? (Heart surgery or nail stickers?) Why is a solution needed now? What has changed that might suggest a solution would be successful now?
  • Is it a problem people would be likely to pay to resolve?
  • Does the problem have a wide-reaching impact or does it only affect a small group of people? What evidence do they provide to prove the problem is a pain point for this group of people?
  • Does the problem resonate with you? Have you experienced it or know people who consider it a problem?
  • Is the problem an Ethical, Financial, or Practical pain point?
  • Does fixing this problem seem achievable or is it a mammoth undertaking for one project?
  • What is the lifespan of the problem?
  • Is the problem novel and not solved so far?
  • If there are existing solutions for this problem, what are the costs/benefits and how do they approach solving it?
  • What is the possibility that existing solutions can scale to compete or replace this project’s solution?

Understanding the Solution the Project is aiming to deliver

The next area of focus is on exactly how the project is proposing to achieve its solution.

Have they clearly explained in the whitepaper how their project or service solves the problem?
This solution needs to be easy to understand because if users don’t understand its value then they won’t use it and other investors will not invest in it.

If the solution is packed with jargon and technical language and it is unclear exactly what it does or how it will work this is a Red Flag.
The bottom line is that a business must communicate its business value to potential investors and users. If it fails to do this it is not an investable business!

White Paper Solution Analysis Questions

Having completed this series of questions you should be clear about exactly what the solution is, how the project will engage with users, how they will measure their success, how their solution fits with others in the marketplace, and how it can grow its audience over time.

Again writing a summary of this information in your own words will save you a lot of time later when it comes to the evaluation process.

  • Does the solution they suggest make sense?
  • How will the solution resolve the problem for end users and what would this look like?
  • How accessible would this solution be for the target audience? Does it rely too heavily on other factors outside the project scope to be successful?
  • Will users need to commit to using this solution over time to avoid the problem, or is it an area where commitment to the solution may ebb and flow or die away altogether?
  • How will the project reach and engage their target audience to promote their solution? How will this be measured?
  • What metrics will the project use to measure how well their solution is working and how it is being used?
  • What are the main leading and lagging metrics? Do these differ depending on the audience?
  • How will the project gather, measure and respond to feedback from users?
  • At what stage of development is the solution? Is it at a theoretical stage? Is there a tangible product or service that has been built? Is the solution already being used by the target audience?
  • Have users been able to test this solution? If not, what is the timescale to launch and how much will it cost to get to that stage?
  • Has the project addressed existing solutions for this problem?
  • Have they outlined the pros and cons of their approach compared to existing solutions?
  • How likely is it that users of other solutions would be attracted to this project’s solution?
  • Do the advantages of this project’s approach amount to tangible business and user value? Are they merely proposing a different route to get from A to B rather than a shorter/cheaper/faster/more fun route?
  • What is the possibility that existing solutions can scale to compete or replace this project’s solution? Does the project have an edge that would be difficult to copy? Would they have a sizeable “first to market” advantage?

Understanding the Technical aspects of the Project

Cryptocurrency and Blockchain technology are relatively new areas for portfolio investment and they bring with them a lot of unfamiliar technical jargon.
Sometimes this jargon can be used to wow potential investors with the developer’s brilliance but they could also be hiding issues they don’t want you to know about or understand.

Fundamentally, the solution a project is proposing is a software solution.
You do not need to know the intricacies of the software in order to assess whether the software can deliver on the solution and what strengths or vulnerabilities it may have.

How strong is the software solution the project is proposing?

White Paper Technology Analysis Questions

Having completed this series of questions you should be clear about why this project is crypto or blockchain-based software, the strengths and weaknesses of the software architecture, the ease with which it can adapt and grow, the methods for measuring its success, and its useability for the target audience.

  • Who built the software? One person or a team? Is it built on code developed by someone outside the project or is it entirely home-grown? How long has it taken to build?
  • What does the software actually do?
  • How stable is the software? What testing has been done?
  • Has the code been audited by an outside auditor?
  • Is the code open source and shared publicly or closed-sourced? What are their reasons for this?
  • How easy is the software to maintain, monitor, update, and troubleshoot?
  • Does it use a popular developer language or has it been built from the ground up?
  • How flexible is the software? If changes need to be made, how easy is it?
  • How secure is the software? What exposure is there to exploits or hacks?
  • How does the software manage the security of user data or funds? Is it compliant with data laws and legislation?
  • How easy is it to scale the software and the team required to maintain it? 1000 users, 100,000 users, 1000000 users?
  • Where are the vulnerabilities in this software and what has the project done to mitigate them?
  • How easy will it be for the target users to access and interact with the software? What level of technical knowledge will users need to use the software?
  • Why does this software project use blockchain and what are clear examples of the advantages?
  • Why does this software require a crypto token or coin of its own?
  • Does it have the capacity to be decentralized in the future or is it proposing a centralized model?

Analyzing the abilities of the Project Team

When it comes to investing your money you want to know that it is in safe, experienced hands.
What is the project founders’ track record of similar projects? Is it a one-man band or a cohesive project team? Is the talent and critical skills required to execute this solution in-house or outsourced?

The product can be fantastic but if it is in the wrong hands it will not deliver. If the project team is weak or flawed the business will fail and take your investment with it!

A word on Project Partnerships and Early Investors

If this project already has significant investments from Venture Capital organizations, Cryptocurrency Exchanges, or other established businesses outside of crypto it can be a sign that more experienced investors than you have seen value in the project and its solution.

Remember, however, that these same organizations can afford to be more speculative with their investments as they often only need 1 in 10 projects to be successful in order to make the profits they seek. You may need to be more discerning depending on the levels of risk you are comfortable with.

Having one major speculative investor can also create a high degree of vulnerability for a project if they are almost exclusively reliant on that investor for running costs.

Active partnerships with other projects or businesses can add value as they demonstrate integration and the capacity of the project to network within its sector and create shared value opportunities. However, they can also bring risks should the partner project or business run into difficulties or experience FUD / negative news events.

White Paper Team Analysis Questions

Having completed this series of questions you should be clear who is driving this project forward, the skills and experience they have to deliver it and the quality of the team they have assembled to ensure the future success of the project.

  • Who are the project founders? What is their relationship and how have they come to work together? Have they worked together before? Do they bring an unfair advantage with them into this project? How do they resolve conflicts?
  • Is there a partnership agreement in place?
  • What projects have the founders worked on in the past and how successful were these? Do these past projects suggest sufficient experience in the specific area this solution is targeted at or is the experience more general?
  • Is this their first solo project or do they have a track record of delivering investible solutions to problems?
  • Have the founders established a team with the unique skills, technical ability, and experience to deliver the software solution? To what degree is the team outsourced?
  • What is their plan for hiring the technical talent they need to scale their solution?
  • Is there cohesiveness in the team? Evidence of power struggles or uneven power relationships at the top?
  • What is the equity split between the founders and team members?
  • Is the project team balanced? Is it developer heavy but lacks experience in Research & Development, Marketing, Sales, Community Development etc?
  • Where in the world is the project team located? This can affect the compliance required with legal regulations. Is the team physically located within one building or are they spread across the globe? What systems are in place to manage this?
  • What governance and decision-making process is in place to drive the project forwards?
  • What Business Continuity Plan does the team have in place? (How has resilience been built into the project to protect against possible vulnerabilities? What recovery plans are in place should a disaster occur? What contingency plans are in place and who has responsibility for what?)

Understanding the Tokenomics, Benefits, and Economic Value

Investing in cryptocurrencies demands a basic understanding of Tokenomics. Tokenomics are the economic factors that govern the value of a project’s cryptocurrency or token.
Ultimately, the value of your investment will be shaped by these factors so you should be very clear about what they are and what the impact could be.

You should be looking for details in the White Paper that describe the following: The Allocation and Distribution of tokens, Emissions ( Inflation, Deflation, Vesting, Cliff, Burning), The Supply of the Token, and Token Utility.

Allocation and Distribution of Tokens:

A project’s whitepaper will set out what percentage of tokens will be allocated or distributed between the Founders, the Team, the Investors, the Community, the Marketplace, the Project Treasury, and any Reward system for users/investors.

An imbalance in how tokens are distributed at the very beginning can signal significant problems down the line.
For example:

If the percentage of tokens held by the Founders/Early Investors is high the token may initially gain value from being scarce in the marketplace, only to dump as soon as the project or investors start selling their tokens.
The project itself and early investors are significant sources of sell pressure here and the risks this brings should not be underestimated.

If a project has a reward system to attract investors, such as Yield Farming or Staking where it commits to pay out interest over time, if they have not allocated sufficient tokens for this, they may attract users/investors initially only to slow bleed engagement as their ability to pay rewards diminishes and becomes less attractive.

If a project underestimates how much Circulating Supply they need, should their model involve the token being used to pay Gas fees/Marketplace fees you can get a situation where transactions become too expensive. Increasing supply to counter this problem severely affects the value of the token.

Emissions

Emissions tell us two things: How and When tokens will be released.
It covers factors such as whether the token is Inflationary or Deflationary and if there is a Vesting Schedule.

Inflationary

If a token is inflationary this means there is a very large or unlimited number of tokens that can still be minted and released onto the market, increasing the Circulating Supply.
For projects where the token is to be used to pay gas fees or is the primary token of an internal marketplace, you would expect to see a high token supply that works to keep transaction costs low.

Deflationary

If a token is deflationary there is usually a Hard Cap on the maximum number of tokens that can be minted, a large Circulating Supply of tokens, a decreasing number of new tokens being minted or there is a Burning Mechanism in place that permanently removes tokens from supply to create scarcity.

Vesting

Vesting is the process of locking up the tokens belonging to the project team and early investors in a Smart Contract at the outset of the project to protect the Tokens’ value when it is first launched on the market.

Jargon Busting

A project’s Vesting Schedule determines exactly when early investors and team members can sell their locked tokens.

A project’s Vesting Cliff is the period of time that must initially pass before the first installment of vested tokens are unlocked.

Vesting ensures that the project and its investors maintain interest and financial investment in the project token for the long term which gives users and other investors confidence.

If a vesting schedule is designed to be gradual and over a long period of time this prevents large volumes of tokens from being dumped on the market suddenly, pushing down the token’s value.

If the Vesting schedule is too short the sell pressure from investors and team members selling their tokens will push down the tokens price.

A project that does not set out any Vesting Process can dump its tokens onto the marketplace whenever they want which is extremely risky and should be an automatic Red Flag.

Supply of Tokens

Every cryptocurrency must have a token supply. There are some key metrics that describe a projects token supply that you will need to understand in order to assess whether a token is overvalued or undervalued.

Jargon Busting

Token Burning:

This is a mechanism set up by a project to gradually remove tokens from the circulating supply in order to increase scarcity and raise the value of the token. This is usually achieved by sending tokens to a wallet address that is permanently inaccessible meaning they can never be used again by anyone.

Market Cap:

This is calculated by multiplying the current amount of tokens by the price per token which indicates the size and popularity of a cryptocurrency at this current time.

Fully Diluted Market Cap:

A fully diluted market cap ( a forward-looking metric) that is calculated by taking the current value of a token and multiplying it by the total number of tokens that will ever exist.
If there is a significant difference between the figures for the current Market Cap of a token and its fully diluted Market Cap this could be a Red Flag as it may suggest the token is overvalued should you invest now.
For example:

If the Fully Diluted Market Cap of a token was 3x or 4x the current Market Cap it would suggest that just to maintain the tokens current value, the project would need to triple or quadruple in size. This can be very achievable for lower Market Cap projects with lots of room to grow, but you would need to look a bit closer at projects with a large Market Cap to decide if you think their Roadmap suggests it can deliver big gains in the future.

Circulating Supply:

Refers to the number of coins or tokens that are publicly available to buy or sell.

Maximum Supply:

This is the maximum amount of tokens that will ever exist in the lifetime of the cryptocurrency project and should be encoded at the Genesis of a project. Once the maximum supply is exhausted, no new coins or tokens will be produced or mined.

A Word on Ownership of tokens.

It is important, as an investor to know whether the project tokens are distributed amongst a reasonable amount of wallets and how this distribution has changed over time.
This is often referred to as the number of Active Wallet Addresses.

  • If the majority of tokens are held in a small number of wallets there is a greater risk that large quantities of tokens could be dumped on the market all at once.
  • If the number of active wallet addresses is increasing in an organic way it would suggest healthy project growth.
  • If this number has stagnated whilst other similar projects are growing it would suggest that the project has maybe hit a plateau.
  • If this number is decreasing this could be a Red Flag.

Whilst this is not information that would appear in a Project Whitepaper it is significant enough for me to draw your attention to it as an investor when considering Tokenomics as a whole.

Utility

A tokens Utility is a significant factor in determining whether a token will grow in popularity and value over time.

The Broad categories of tokens include Stablecoins, Defi ( Decentralised Finance) tokens, Utility tokens, Payment tokens, Security tokens, Privacy Coins, Exchange tokens, and Meme Coins.

Transaction fees, staking rewards, and other benefits are good reasons to invest in a cryptocurrency and hold it.
The potential for future regulation and how this may already be taking shape in different countries depending on a specific category of token should also factor into your risk / reward evaluations.

White Paper Tokenomics Analysis Questions

1) Is the token Inflationary? Will there be an increase in circulating supply of the token over time? Does this fit with the tokens utility?
2) Is the token deflationary? Is there a token-burning mechanism in place? Is there a hardcap of maximum supply in place so that no further tokens can be minted?
3) Is there a vesting schedule in place that dictates when early investors can sell their tokens? Is there a Vesting Cliff and how long will this last?
4) How many tokens will exist? (Some projects have a Maximum Supply or Hard Cap but others do not and can mint an unlimited number of tokens.)
5) How many tokens have been released so far? (Circulating Supply)
6) When and how will further tokens be sold or released?
7) What price targets have been set out by the project? Are these realistic?
8) What is the Fully Diluted Valuation of the project? ( This is the token price multiplied by the Maximum Supply. ( What are your price targets for the token in order to make profit?If you multiply your price target by its circulating supply it will give you the Market Capitalisation for the project. By comparing this with other similar sized projects you can determine if your token value predictions are realistic or unrealisable given the projects tokenomics)
9) What percentage of tokens will be allocated to the founders, advisors and team members and Treasury? Is the allocation balanced?
10) What tokens will be set aside for the community, airdrops, rewards?
11) What are the mechanics of how the token will actually be used and managed on the platform? What revenue streams will there be?

What is a Project Roadmap and how to analyze it?

A Project Roadmap provides a strategic overview of the major elements of a project and should include Objectives, Milestones, Deliverables, Resources, and a detailed Timeline.
Sometimes a project will publish a Roadmap separate from its White Paper so it is worth looking for elsewhere if you discover it missing from the White paper.

Objectives:

The project’s key objectives should be clearly stated with a commentary of whether these are being achieved on time and within the budget allocated to them.

Milestones:

A project Milestone describes a specific level or area of development that has been achieved or reached that can positively affect the value of a project and its token.
By tracking a project’s Milestones you can measure their progress toward their objectives and identify future areas of value.

Deliverables:

These are the quantifiable goods or services that a project aims to provide during its lifespan.

Resources:

This is simply the project’s estimates and management of the resources that will be required for continued progress on their Roadmap, to achieve milestones, and to deliver their product or service.
How a project’s Treasury, Income, and Investment Strategy is designed and managed to generate or release the appropriate amount of funds for development is key to the project’s progress through its Roadmap.

Timeline:

A project Timeline is a detailed schedule of tasks and Milestones with estimates of the time it will take to achieve each milestone and deadlines when it is anticipated that these will be achieved.
If a project’s Timeline is too tight this will put massive pressure on team members to deliver to unrealistic deadlines. It can suggest that tasks have been underestimated or not fully understood or that there is a disconnect in the team between those planning and those tasked with fulfilling project milestones on the Roadmap.

White Paper Roadmap Analysis Questions

  • What are the key objectives for this project? Are they achieving them, how fast are they being achieved and are they on track to achieve them within the timeframe they have set out?
  • What are the project Milestones? Have they been achieved on time in the past? What do the Milestones tell us about the project’s focus and ability to execute on short term goals? What is the capacity for the project to reach its next milestone? Will additional funding be required?
  • What are the projects Deliverables in terms of the goods or services they have set out to provide? When will these be available? How will they be measured?
  • What Resources do the project have to continue to achieve Milestones within its Roadmap?
  • Is the project Treasury sufficiently funded to achieve future milestones? (sometimes referred to as Runway)
  • Is the project already generating income that is being put towards development?
  • Does the project have an Investment strategy that suggests they plan to hold additional investment funding rounds to achieve specific milestones on the Roadmap?
  • How realistic is the Timeline that has been set out by the project? Is there evidence that past Milestones have been achieved comfortably or that things always run down to the wire?
  • Has the project estimated sufficient time to complete all the tasks towards a milestone? (Repeatedly postponed launch dates for Milestones on a Roadmap require further investigation as they could be a Red Flag)

Addressing Competition, Challenges, and Risks

There are many competitive risks and challenges that may influence a crypto project’s capacity to perform in the marketplace and achieve future success. These can broadly be grouped into Reputation, Competitive Risk, Pricing & Rewards, Staffing, Marketing, Innovation, and Location.
It’s vital for projects to demonstrate an awareness of these risk factors and how they plan to monitor and mitigate these challenges.

Reputation:

A crypto project’s reputation or public image is one of its most important assets and can have a direct effect on its ability to attract users and investors and on the value of its token.
Reputation in Crypto, good or bad, is usually derived from the quality and reliability of the product, the project’s integrity, interaction with users and its community, interaction with competitors, marketing and tone of promotions/advertising, corporate culture, and environmental and social impact.

It’s important for Projects to demonstrate that they manage their reputation very carefully since public perception can change very quickly in Crypto based on often minor events that gain traction through social media and traditional media. (FUD)

Competitive Risk

Competitive risk is the potential for competing projects and businesses to affect the success and growth of a crypto project. These risks include competition for users, investors, staff, and resources and can also be shaped by changing customer expectations and the advancement in competitors’ technologies. FUD ( Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt) created by competitors (either directly or indirectly) about another project can rapidly and severely damage a project’s reputation in Crypto. How a project plans to manage and address FUD will have a significant impact on their survival should they ever become a target.

Pricing & Rewards:

Competition in “Pricing & Rewards” between projects and businesses serving the same sector directly affects a project’s attractiveness to customers and investors. The most common competitive pricing strategy is through offering greater discounts or rewards than competing projects in the short-term with the aim of converting new customers and investors to become long-term supporters.

Staffing:

The Crypto industry relies on a specialized developer skill set that can be in short supply. If a project has a reputation as a good employer, this can give them a competitive advantage and help them attract talented employees.

Marketing:

Marketing is the process of promoting and advertising products, and it is one of the most important processes that projects engage in as they compete for customer attention and investment.

Innovation:

Innovation refers to the process of developing new processes or products to meet unserved needs. In the current crypto environment, new technologies are emerging frequently, affecting customer needs and expectations.
Projects unable to adapt to changing market conditions, aline with current trends, or respond to changing customer attitudes face a significant risk of failure.

Location:

Location can be another significant source of risk in the Crypto Industry. Where a project is physically based will affect the legislation and regulation they are subject to and the ability of users and investors worldwide to engage with the project. For example, it is becoming increasingly common for Governments to rule that users and investors in one country cannot engage with certain projects located or regulated in other parts of the world.

White Paper Competition, Challenges & Risks Analysis Questions

  • How does the project achieve its current reputation and what steps is it taking to preserve and build that reputation?
  • What does it consider the greatest risks are in terms of threats to its reputation?
  • Are there projects or businesses on or off-blockchain already targeting and solving this problem? What is their market share of users/investors? Do they offer a solution that consumers are using but which isn’t effective or adequate? Are they developing a new technology or product that could better meet customers’ changing expectations?
  • How vulnerable is the project to competitors attracting existing users/investors/staff away from the project?
  • What incentives are planned to retain long-term users and investors?
  • Does the project require onboarding new talent in order to achieve milestones and how do they plan to attract this talent?
  • What is the tone of the project’s Marketing strategy and how successful has this been to date?
  • How has the project evidenced innovation? How does it track customer sentiment and changing needs over time?
  • Where is the project located? What are the strengths and risks of this location in terms of competition, regulation, and onboarding new users/investors?
  • What specific risks or obstacles have the project identified that could hold them back from hitting their milestones?

Fact-Checking a Whitepaper

Anyone can produce a fancy White Paper promising the earth, coupled with a great marketing strategy, that puts their project right in front of your face!

It’s almost more surprising how many projects don’t!

Unless you are able to verify in some way what has been put forward in a project White Paper you could be falling for an elaborate con that will lose you your entire investment.

It is not unheard of for projects to copy-paste parts of their White Paper from somewhere else, to use fake profiles of Founders and Team Members with stolen profile pictures, to re-brand off-the-shelf software, to pay for fake reviews and news stories, to con staff into thinking the project is legitimate, only to run off with everyone’s money.

The most common mistakes to avoid when analyzing Cryptocurrency White Papers are failing to do enough research, trusting incomplete or unverified information, not fully understanding the technical details and tokenomics, and ignoring Red Flags or warning signs.

If a project does make it onto your potential portfolio list through an impressive whitepaper you must continue your Due Diligence to then verify the key strengths and weaknesses of the project you have identified.

It’s also important to keep in mind that even if a White Paper totally checks out, that is no guarantee of the success of the project!

Conclusion

The importance of a Cryptocurrency Project White Paper cannot be overstated. They are a vital component of any cryptocurrency project and should be taken seriously by both the project team and you as a potential investor.
A well-written and verified White Paper can give you confidence in the project and its team, while a badly explained or incomplete White Paper should raise red flags and discourage you from shortlisting them.

We have created a Deep Dive Whitepaper Cheat Sheet of all the suggested questions in this article to help you with your Crypto Project Analysis. You can download it here.

Good luck in finding the right projects for your portfolio.
These are exciting times in the Cryptocurrency Industry and having a variety of investment tools at your fingertips will undoubtedly give you an edge!

References:

Altcoin Fantasy. (2018) “How to Analyze a Crypto White Paper for Investment.” Good Audience.com
https://blog.goodaudience.com/how-to-analyze-a-crypto-white-paper-for-investment-871746958c4boodaudience.com/how-to-analyze-a-crypto-white-paper-for-investment-871746958c4b

Bloomenthal, A. (2022) “Deliverables: Meaning in Business, Types, and Examples.” Investopedia.com
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/deliverables.asp#:~:text=Examples%20of%20deliverables%20include%20an,project%20that%20mark%20a%20completion.

Indeed Editorial Team. (2022) “Managing Reputation and Competitive Risk in Business.” indeed.com
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-manage-reputation-and-competitive-risk

Jude, J. (2021) “Checklist For Evaluating Startups.” jjude.com
https://jjude.com/startup-checklist/

Kissflow. (2021) “How to Create a Roadmap in Project Management? – 9 Simple Steps” Kissflow.com https://kissflow.com/project/project-roadmap/

Mindtools. (2022) “Estimating Time to Complete -Calculating Realistic Project Timelines” mindtools.com https://www.mindtools.com/aajcfe6/estimating-time-to-complete

Nasser, S. (2020) “How to Evaluate an Early-Stage Startup.” openvc.app
https://openvc.app/blog/how-to-evaluate-a-startup

Ravindran, S. (2022) “7 Ways to Analyse Crypto White Papers so you can Invest in the Right Cryptocurrency.” Cryptostars.is
https://blog.cryptostars.is/7-ways-to-analyse-crypto-white-papers-so-you-can-invest-in-the-right-cryptocurrency-97869be958c

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