Once you’re all set to navigate in the Sol NFT ecosystem how to assess a project and avoid rugs when you begin?
**1/ Accounts creation date**
**One of the first thing to check is: when did the team really become active on Twitter and Discord?**
If less than a few weeks, I don’t do further investigation.
Indeed, it means stealth mode projects are a no-go for me, especially if you are new here
**2/Twitter activity**
**What is the number of followers on Twitter and the Discord members? and especially is it botted ?**
Run a Twitter follower audit with websites like:
[https://twitteraudit.com](https://t.co/tMitoGxvhA) or [https://followeraudit.com](https://t.co/VSKupJY6Tj)Anything with more than 10-15% fake and I’m out
**3/ Discord activity**
Quickly check the ratio between online members vs total members at 2 different time during the day
Anything below 10-15% and I’m also out is it is a clear sign of bots and massive invite contests
You can also check the number of reactions vs total members
**4/ Other activity**
Side note on some of the things we’ve seen recently:
– Any projects for which I receive a lot of spam in DM is a red flag for me (which will be visible in the ratio above at some point)
– And I’m not a big fan of discord drop and creating hype like this
**5/ Market cap**
Always do the math of supply x mint price, and check the total market cap
Then compare it to the current market cap of listed projects on
It will give you an idea of the projected rank and if you believe the project can achieve it
**6/ Mint process**
What’s going to happen during the mint:
– Is it minted in different batches with increasing price ? If so, only mint in the first batches
– What’s the % allocated to WL and is it limited per wallet ? to see if you stand a chance or not
Getting here takes less than 10mn and you’ve certainly taken out most of the rugs.
I know it seems quite selective, but then you can spend more time investigating the remaining projects.
It also means you can start talking about in your communities as you have cleared the risks
**7/ Use cases and applications**
**What are the use cases ?**
**Is it an avatar for metaverses or a game character ?**
Is there any unique selling points which would bring value to the project ?
You’re an investor when buying an NFT so better to understand what you can expect from it!
**8/ Roadmap delivery**
**Did the team deliver on the roadmap they announced as of now ?**
I really value teams announcing what they want to do and sticking to it, or even better over delivering.
This creates confidence in the team for the rest of the roadmap and avoid soft rug
**9/ Marketing**
**What is their marketing strategy ?**
This will give a lot of information on the audience they target.
**Do they have a consistent storytelling and easy to understand ?**
I see [@StonedApeCrew](https://twitter.com/StonedApeCrew) as a reference in that part, easy and unifying communication
**10/ Team**
**Does the team have strong connections in the ecosystem? What’s their background?**
**Is the team doxxed?**
Teams can also do it through 3rd parties like [@civickey](https://twitter.com/civickey) or [@RadRugsNFT](https://twitter.com/RadRugsNFT) if they don’t want to reveal themselves publicly.
So really few good reason not to do it
**11/ Aesthetics**
The most important one according to me: do you like the visual and the design?
If yes, then
– you’re probably not the only one
– you will find it way easier to hodl and not paperhand when there is a slight drop or fud
Art NFT is a good example
**12/ Project community**
**How are the interactions with the members/OG there ?**
You’ll have an accurate understanding of who is genuinely interested in the project and going to **hodl long term**, or not!
You might also enjoy it and decide to stick around so I encourage you to do it
**13/ External perception of the project**
Final check is the perception from the NFT community, whales and influencers, just be careful with paid shillers as there are many.
We have seen new whales from ETH entering SOL and it’s never a bad idea to follow the smart money!
This is my own checklist and indeed it makes me miss some projects like **Boryoku Dragonz** or **Monkey Kingdom**. But I’m completely fine with it as I can hodl the rest with confidence.
Ofc, I encourage you to create your own and adjust it to your to your taste
As long as you define your plan and you stick to it, You GMI!
Hope you’ll find this informative and please share your own perspective to build on this
