While research queries may change, the research methodology stays the same. After establishing questions for risk mitigation, evidence collection is next. Without access to corporate investigative tools, retail investors must rely on open sources to build a project profile.
Open Source Intelligence (OSINT)
OSINT, or open-source intelligence, comes from information available to the general public. This data could derive from many sources, including Google searches, the deep web, databases, interviews, block explorers, and more. It’s up to the investor to decide how extensive an investigation should be.
Below is a sample report based on the ten queries from the previous lesson using OSINT data (retrieved on 11/8/2022). Google was the search engine used to collect information on the clear web. We found the project on CoinMarketcap.
Crypto Project Analysis Sample Report
Angel Dust (AD)
1. What is the URL of the official cryptocurrency project website? Are there any obvious UI/UX errors?
The official site for AD is here https://angeldust.org/. The header links are not clickable, however.
2. What problem is the project trying to solve?
“Angel Dust is a Marketplace that aims to change NFT culture and the way the NFT and Token communities currently see one another by effectively bringing both these communities together with a wide variety of token payment acceptances and a functioning token burn concept that any crypto token or NFT community can use and provide their holders with even more utility.
The Angel Dust launchpad on the Marketplace also makes it easier for new users to launch their own NFT and create their own NFT sale.”
3. Is there a working product (MVP)?
According to the website, AD should be an active NFT marketplace. However, the links on the site are not clickable.
4. Is there a known development team for the project?
A development team is listed, but none of the members have full names, real photos, or social media links to accounts on the website. Per the project’s Instagram, the project founder is Devan Wonders.
5. What is/are the intended use(s) of the project coin within the project?
The website does not mention the AD token’s use within the NFT marketplace.
6. How do coins come into public circulation?
Per a graphic on the official website, partners hold 1.6% of tokens, the team holds 8%, and 15% is for staking.
It is unclear what the other uses for the token mean. 12% is future use, 15% for CEX tokens, 34.4% for Pinksale Special Sale, 10% for prev. Holders, 4% is leftover supply.
7. Are most of the coins in circulation (>50%)?
The self-reported circulating supply is 100b out of 100b tokens, or 100%. The team at CoinMarketcap has not verified these numbers.
Per BSCScan, Pinksale PinkLock V2 token contract holds 56% of all AD tokens.
8. What is the size of the official project’s social media pages (Reddit, Telegram, Twitter, YouTube)?
The project had 16k Telegram members, 8k Instagram followers, and 22k Twitter followers. These channels are on their website.
There is also a TikTok account with 4k followers and a YouTube account with 234 subscribers. A link to a Discord group with 1.6k members is available on the Telegram channel.
9. Are the social media posts (and reactions related to the project) recent, and do they appear organic?
Most recent comments appear to come from legitimate accounts.
10. Are community members generating independent content to promote the project (YouTube, TikTok, etc.)?
YouTube videos exist for the project that appears to come from independent channels.
- Cryptography – A study of secure communications techniques in an adversarial environment
- Metadata – Data that describes some other data. Ex. the caption describing an image
- Whitepaper – Information document used to promote or highlight the features of a solution to a problem, product, or service
Crypto Analysis Scoring
Angel Dust (AD)
1. Does the project have an official website, and is it error-free?
No = 0
2. Is the project’s purpose known?
Yes = 1
3. Is there a working product (MVP)?
No = 0
4. Is there a known development team for the project?
Yes = 1
5. Is the project’s coin necessary for the functionality of the project overall?
No = 0
6. Is the source of coin supply inflation known?
Yes = 1
7. Are most of the coins in circulation (>50%)?
No = 0
8. Does the project have over 2,000 community members across its social media accounts?
Yes = 1
9. Are the social media posts (and reactions related to the project) recent, and do they appear organic?
Yes = 1
10. Are community members generating independent content to promote the project (YouTube, TikTok, etc.)?
Yes = 1
DTC Score = 6 / 10 | 60%
Considering the limited number of risk factors we looked for, a score of 60% should raise a red flag. Ideally, we would prefer to see a score of 90%+.
Based on the analysis above and our risk tolerance at Dark Water Research, we would not consider investing in this crypto project today. The project could continue developing in the future. At that point, a secondary investigation should take place.
Next Steps
View additional articles in this series:
If you feel prepared, take our Introduction to Bitcoin and Blockchain quiz:
- Angel Dust Marketplace (@Angeldusthq) • Instagram Photos and Videos. https://www.instagram.com/angeldusthq/.
- “Angel Dust Portal.” Telegram, https://t.me/AngelDustHQ.
- “Angel Dust Price Today, AD to USD Live, Marketcap and Chart.” CoinMarketCap, https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/angel-dust/.
- “Angel Dust.” YouTube, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpIK_WXn5q4pcw2hK7gl3lw.
- Dust, Angel. “Angel Dust Nft Marketplace: 0% Minting Fees: Create Your Own NFT.” Angeldust.org, https://angeldust.org/index.html.
- “Join the ︵Angeldust✧Market︵ Discord Server!” Discord, https://discord.com/invite/AngelDustHQ.
- “The Launchpad Protocol for Everyone!” PinkSale, https://www.pinksale.finance/.
- Token Tracker | Bscscan. https://bscscan.com/tokens.
- Twitter, Twitter, https://twitter.com/AngelDustHQ.
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