The team
An important question is who is the agent behind the ICO in question? The answer to this question will depend on the degree of confidence that will be placed in the project, before going further in the analysis. First of all, the team’s stakeholders – and in particular its founding members – must be published publicly, with links to find out more about each. The possibility of going to their Linkedin and Github profiles (for professional profiles) is significant if it is essential to get a better idea of their experience.
The Roadmap
The roadmap is a crucial element which concerns both the transparency of the project and the seriousness of the work of its members. Investing in the ICO project means that you should have a knowledge of the steps that will follow the fundraising, which must already be planned by the company, and publicly displayed on its site, at least in part. An incomplete and ill-defined roadmap can hide a lack of strategic vision or the risk of a scam. In addition, it is essential to try to assess the credibility of the roadmap and to be wary of projects that would promise months and wonders quickly …
The Role of the Token in the Project
Blockchain is the solution, but what was the problem? In the same way as for the evaluation of a blockchain, the project requires to ask if it answers an existing problem, to evaluate an ICO project requires to verify that the issued token is of real use.
Will it be used as intended?
Could the plan work?
It is common that projects running ICOs do not need to create a new token.
It is also essential to verify that the token complies with the ERC-20 standard, which has become a recognized standard.