6 Red Flags To Watch Out For Before Investing In NFT Projects

few days ago i asked what to look out for in nft projects.

here is the crowd sourced version. 👇

what are some red flags that u look out for in nft projects? 👇

(will be compiled for thread tmr)

— wil (@wilxlee) February 15, 2022

1. undoxxed team
2. fake followers/acc
3. artificial hype
4. unrealistic mint price
5. predatory tactics
6. meta cliche 

1. Undoxxed Team

– this is a big one. there is really no reason why a team should be undoxxed when there are millions are the line.
– doxxed team regardless of skillset, background adds a layer of trust that these are real ppl building real projects. 

re:
question in their discord as to why undoxxed, if they can’t provide an answer as to why that satisfies ur bs meter, stay away. plenty of projects out there. 

2. Fake Followers/Acc

– invite contest/discord lvl ups mostly fall into bots or hired guns
– $20/1 msg every min per hr.👇
fiverr.com/share/qRDbw9
– $129/5000 followers 👇
getviral.io/buy-twitter-fo…
– even with real life ppl, this tactic does not encourage real community buildin

re:
do a quick bs audit 👇
twitteraudit.com
look through engagment on post to see if its real ppl or bots. easy to tell if you just look. 120k account with 50 likes… etc. also check if any of your frens or other notable ppl follow the account. if not, red flag. 

3. Artificial Hype

– leveraging celebrity endorsement + paid cameo gigs
– you can hire one of the top soccer players in the world to shout you out for $500… 👇 (thiago silva)

re:
shady project often purchase endorsements and generate unrealistic hype. really dig into whether the partnerships are official or a paid/photoshopped “partnership”. 

4. Unrealistic Mint Price

– hype + fomo is equation for unrealistic mint price.
– real community builders start at something affordable and not extract all the liquidity out of the market.
– just b/c the project can/may demand such price, doesn’t mean they should re:
a project that allows the original minters to be in the money is what builds loyal raving fans to weather the storm + lulls. projects that mint at ridiculous high prices often have difficulty finding a support during lull times. 

5. Predatory Tactics

– floor sweeps, banning member for listing below prices
– echo chamber, harassments, threats, etc.
– piggyback of popular projects/ips 

re:
confirmation bias = seeking narratives that only supports while denying any red flags. step out of the chamber for a few days. this often allows for the head to clear so better judgement can be made. 

6. Meta Cliche

– repetitive meta/roadmap that brings little innovation
– failure to address legality concerns over securities and insurance of tokens.
– lack of ability to create proper tokenomics/p2e for sustainability/longevity. 

re:
meta is easy to copy. tokens can be launched in matter of hrs. real economies take mths/yrs to create. for instance, axie infinity is still balancing their economy despite being a $3B company with yrs of exp. look for niches and teams ability to execute. 

final thoughts:
there are no blue prints to follow in this new industry, which means there are no right or wrong way to approach an idea/project.

it all comes down to is the founding team and
how they work,
what their values are,
and their grand vision. 

key skillsets for the team:
1. respect
2. transparency
3. communicative 

this is a list that i’ve created for my irl’s joining nfts and also a list that i need to constantly remind myself of when there are so much noise in the market place.

much love🌟
wil