Not everyone in Web3 has good intentions. But that's not entirely a bad thing, as there is a wealth of publicly available information that you can use to do your own research. Most crypto projects have their own white papers, Discord channels, and the details of the underlying smart contracts can also be viewed through blockchain browsers such as Etherscan.

Web3 is attractive to criminals, but it also provides the tools to distinguish true from false and independently verify information. This article introduces several key resources to help you do this.

Let's start with the basics of blockchain. Every crypto project, token or platform is generally built on smart contracts. Since smart contracts run on blockchain, their important data will be recorded on on-chain and made public for anyone to view.

If you want to access this data, you need to use an blockchain browser such as Etherscan. The blockchain Browser is a bit like a search engine built specifically for the blockchain network, processing large amounts of on-chain data on a specific blockchain and displaying a variety of results related to the project you are working on.

By looking at key indicators on blockchain browsers such as Etherscan, you can usually form a clearer judgment about a project. These indicators include:

Contract creation date:
This will show the creation time of the project's underlying smart contract, helping you determine how long the project has been around. This is useful for identifying potentially high-risk or unreliable projects, as such projects often have short life cycles.

Total supply of token:
Viewing a project's total token supply can help you understand its token economic model and the actual size of the available supply. Purchasing 1,000 token sounds like a lot, but if the total supply is 50 million, you can quickly see that your share of the project is actually very small.

token distribution:
How token is distributed can also reveal important information. A supply of 50 million token might seem reasonable, but if 10 million of them are concentrated in a single wallet, it could be a red flag. This could mean a lack of project stability or even a risk of price or reputation manipulation because a single holder has too much influence over the project.

Wallet transaction history:
By viewing a project's smart contract data, you can also learn about its transaction history, as well as the wallet addresses that the contract interacts with. If a large number of transactions are only circulating among a few wallets, it may indicate the existence of fake trading activity used to inflate the price or reputation of the project. Similarly, if a certain token claims to have a large supply but has very limited recent transaction records, it may also indicate that the smart contract is unreliable. In either case, checking out Etherscan can help you better understand the actual workings behind the project.

Before analyzing this data, you need to find the project's smart contract address. The address may appear on the project official website, OpenSea page, white paper, or even GitHub page, or may be included on CoinMarketCap or CoinGecko.

After copying the address, open the blockchain browser that supports the project's underlying chain and paste the smart contract address. You can then view the metrics mentioned above, as well as other data that will help you evaluate your project.

Discord started out as a social platform for gamers and developers, but has since grown to become one of the core communication hubs of the Web3 world. Almost every crypto project has its own Discord server for community Q&A, collaboration, and early development information sharing.

On a deeper level, Discord is also a repository of information. You can learn about the community atmosphere of the project and even observe the communication style of the founding team.

For example, if you have questions about the future of a project or technical design, Discord is often a good place to ask. Teams that are willing to respond to concerns and answer questions are generally more in line with the characteristics of reliable projects and responsible founders. On the contrary, if there is no response to the problem for a long time, or the core team refuses to communicate, it may indicate that the project lacks a clear vision and may even be at risk.

Reading community discussions can also help you learn about the project. If most reviews are just promotional words or constantly urging others to buy quickly, then the project may not be as real as it seems. Discord should be used to build real communities, not just make market hype.

At the same time, you can also observe the community's overall feeling about the project: whether members are actively participating, expressing disappointment, or sharing important information for future development.

Overall, looking at activity and conversations on Discord is another effective way to gather information about your project and should be part of your research process.

The third important research resource is white papers. In Web3, most projects publish a white paper describing the underlying technology, specific use cases (if any), future roadmap, and founding team. All this information can help you determine whether your project has realistic and sustainable prospects.

First, you should examine your project's use cases. Does it apply to a real business or industry? Who are the competitors? Does this project really need to be built on blockchain? If you don't have clear answers to these questions, you need to reconsider whether the project's realistic value will stand up to the heat of the market.

White papers often profile the founding team, which is valuable information. Projects will be more attractive if the founders have a proven track record in the DeFi or NFT space. Conversely, if the founder is anonymous or lacks a credible background in cryptocurrency, business, or the project's core application areas, you should conduct more in-depth research before making any investment decision.

Finally, a solid white paper will usually include a roadmap of how the founders plan to move the project forward in the future. This can help you understand their intentions and determine whether the plan is actually feasible before getting involved.