Research Before You Buy
Identity, permissions, holders, liquidity, narrative and evidence, ending in a written note.
What you will be able to do
Produce a documented research note with explicit unknowns.
Before starting, First Day in the Trenches, or equivalent familiarity.
- 01
Identity and permissions
14 minRead the full article: Check a token without turning a checklist into a verdictWho can mint, freeze, change fees, upgrade or restrict transfers, and how this differs by chain.
Exercise
Name two Solana-specific permissions and three EVM-specific risk areas.
What to look for
Solana: mint authority, freeze authority (plus token extensions). EVM: ownership and upgradeable proxies, transfer taxes, blacklists or pause functions, max-wallet limits.
- 02
Supply distribution with exclusions
12 minRead the full article: Check a token without turning a checklist into a verdictRead concentration after excluding pools, burns, known custody and vesting contracts.
Exercise
A top-holder list shows one address with 42% of supply. Give two innocent explanations and one way to test them.
What to look for
It could be the liquidity pool or a burn or custody address. Check the address on an explorer and against the pool address used by your trading route.
- 03
Liquidity and route
12 minRead the full article: Market cap does not tell you whether you can exitIdentify which pool the displayed price describes and whether your intended size is executable there.
Exercise
Explain the difference between a pool's displayed total value and the depth available to your sell.
What to look for
Displayed value counts both sides of the pool at current prices; your sell consumes one side along a curve, so realisable proceeds are lower and fall as size grows.
- 04
Narrative evidence
10 minRead the full article: SocialFi connects attention and assets in different waysSave primary posts with timestamps and separate promotion from independent participation.
Exercise
Given a wave of identical posts in one hour, list three explanations with different implications.
What to look for
Coordinated incentives or a points programme, automated accounts, or a genuine catalyst drawing independent attention.
- 05
Write the note
15 minRead the full article: Start in the trenches with a research processProduce a documented research note with evidence, alternative explanations, unknowns and invalidation.
Exercise
Write the invalidation line for your note in one sentence containing an observable condition.
What to look for
A usable invalidation names something you can observe, such as a specific address selling a stated share, or liquidity falling below a stated level.