In 2025, the crypto market is full of promises, loud with projects promising huge, fast profits. However, many of them are what we call “exit liquidity” schemes, which are designed for insiders to cash out.
To find the real gems, you must look beyond the hype and into what is real, which is what you get with verifiable proof, not just noise.
This simple 5-point checklist will help you separate real projects from those set up to fail. You need to check the proof, not trust the talk.
The Proof is in the Work: Builders and Usage
Finding a long-term winner requires checking two things. First, is a serious team actually building the product? Second, are real customers actually using it?
Builders: Who’s Actually Working?
To start with, look into the team behind the project and what they are doing. The best indicator of a good project is a team that puts out code very often and in public. For that, look at their GitHub activity.
You want to see consistent progress over time, not just sudden bursts of work. Look into multiple people actively maintaining the code.
Furthermore, outside validation is key. A team that gets grants or does well in major competitions is one that is looked up to. Visible work along with external validation, helps to rule out empty projects.
Usage: Are People Actually Using It?
Once the team checks out, the second thing to confirm is if people are truly using the product. While paying attention to this, there are two most important things to watch out for, which are the Fees and Revenue.
Fees report what users pay to be a part of the service, while revenue is the money the project takes in after they have paid out to players like liquidity providers. Strong usage shows up as growing profit and a steady number of active users.
Don’t be fooled by temporary spikes caused by free rewards or incentives. At the same time, be cautious if activity drops immediately after a giveaway ends.
Protect Your Money: Liquidity, Tokens, and Security
The final three checks protect your money from market crashes and unexpected failures. These steps help secure your investment against common crypto risks.
Liquidity: Can You Easily Get Out?
Do not trust the daily trading volume, as this number is often faked. What you should pay attention to is the Order Book Depth.
An Order Book Depth shows the amount of money sitting on both the buy and sell sides of the market. A “deep” order book means you can transact large volumes without seeing large price changes; however, if the depth is low, what you will see is high “slippage”.
High slippage means you get a much worse price than what you were hoping for. Finally, look for deep liquidity across several reliable exchanges.
Token Design: Is There a Time Bomb?
Many projects fall to the poor design of their token release schedule. At the base of that risk is the issue of low Circulating Supply (Float) combined with a high Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV). FDV is the total value if every single token were on the market today.
In a case where large amounts of tokens, which are meant to be locked up for future release, are unlocked at once, this new supply can crush the token price.
Always review the unlock schedule first for any steep release events. Strong projects publish clear, slow, and gradual unlock timelines.
Security: Who Controls the Keys?
Security is often overlooked and this is one of the main reasons people lose their investments. An audit report is only of use if you know the auditor and if the findings were fixed.
The more pressing issue is who has the authority to make system changes. If just one person is able to alter the code or transfer funds, then the project is at great risk of immediate theft.
See to it that you have upgrade permissions which are under the control of a Time Lock or a Multi-Sig wallet. These steps prevent quick, unauthorized changes by requiring multiple signers and a waiting period.
That said, finding a real, high-quality crypto gem is mostly about rigorous screening. Use this 5-point list as a guide to what to look for. Most projects will fail our checklist which is fine.
You must be prepared to walk away from any project that seems questionable. Discipline is key. Following a smart process is a path to your success, instead of letting FOMO play a role in your decisions.
Also Read: Michael Saylor Expects Bitcoin to Rise Toward Year-End
