What DYOR Actually Means
DYOR — Do Your Own Research — is the most repeated phrase in crypto. It’s plastered on every Discord server, every Twitter thread, every trading group. And most people completely ignore it.
Here’s the problem: when someone tells you to “DYOR,” they rarely explain how. What exactly should you research? Where do you look? What data matters and what’s noise? Especially on Solana, where thousands of new memecoins launch daily and most are designed to take your money, knowing how to research a token is the difference between profitable trading and expensive lessons.
This guide breaks down exactly how to DYOR on any crypto token — step by step, with the specific tools and data points that actually matter.
Step 1: Check On-Chain Safety Data
Before you look at the price chart, before you read the website, before you check Twitter — look at the on-chain data. This is the stuff that can’t be faked because it lives on the blockchain for everyone to verify.
Mint Authority
Every Solana token has a mint authority — the wallet that can create new tokens. If mint authority is still active, the creator can print unlimited tokens, flooding the supply and crashing the price to zero. This is one of the most common rug pull methods.
What to look for: Mint authority should be revoked. This means nobody — not even the creator — can ever create more tokens. On TokenRadar, this shows up in the safety panel automatically. Green checkmark = revoked. Red flag = still active.
Freeze Authority
Freeze authority lets the creator freeze any wallet’s tokens, preventing them from selling. Legitimate tokens revoke this immediately. If it’s still active, the creator could freeze your wallet at any time — you’d own tokens you literally cannot sell.
What to look for: Freeze authority should be revoked. Same as mint authority — check the safety panel on any token scanner.
Top Holder Concentration
Who holds the tokens, and how much do they hold? If one wallet (outside the liquidity pool) holds 20-50% of the supply, that single person can crash the price by selling. This is called a “whale dump” and it happens constantly with new memecoins.
What to look for: No single non-LP wallet should hold more than 5-10% of the total supply. On TokenRadar, the holder data shows you the distribution so you can spot concentration without manually checking Solscan.
Liquidity
Liquidity is the money sitting in the trading pool that allows people to buy and sell. Low liquidity means high slippage, price manipulation, and difficulty exiting your position.
What to look for: At minimum $5,000 in liquidity for any token you consider buying. Under $1,000 is a red flag — the token is either brand new, abandoned, or intentionally thin to trap buyers. Ideally, liquidity should be locked (the creator can’t pull it out suddenly).
Step 2: Evaluate the Token’s Profile
On-chain safety data tells you if a token can rug you. The token’s profile helps you judge whether it will.
Website
Does the token have a website? Is it a real website or a one-page template that was set up in 5 minutes? Legitimate projects invest time in their web presence. A website with roadmap, team info, and documentation is a positive signal. A single-page site with just a contract address and a Telegram link is not.
That said — plenty of successful memecoins started with no website at all. A bad website is a red flag, but no website on a very new token isn’t automatically a deal-breaker if other metrics are strong.
Social Media Presence
Check Twitter/X and Telegram. Look for:
- Follower quality — 50,000 followers but zero engagement means they’re bought followers. 500 followers with active discussions is much healthier.
- Age of accounts — Was the Twitter created yesterday? The project is brand new at best, suspicious at worst.
- Content quality — Constant “WAGMI” and rocket emojis with no substance? That’s hype, not development.
- Community interaction — Are the developers responding to questions? Or is the Telegram just spam bots?
Contract Verification
For more advanced research, check the token on Solscan. Look at the creator’s wallet — have they created 50 tokens this week? That’s a token factory, not a legitimate project. Have they interacted with known scam contracts? That’s an even bigger red flag.
Step 3: Analyze Market Data
Once a token passes safety checks and has a reasonable profile, look at the actual market data.
Market Cap
Market cap tells you the total value of all tokens in circulation. For memecoins, market cap helps you gauge how much upside potential remains versus how much hype is already priced in.
| Market Cap Range | What It Means | Risk Level |
|---|---|---|
| Under $50K | Micro-cap, very early stage | Extremely high risk, high potential |
| $50K – $500K | Early but gaining some traction | High risk, good potential |
| $500K – $5M | Mid-cap, established community | Moderate risk |
| $5M – $50M | Well-known in the memecoin space | Lower risk, lower multiples |
| Above $50M | Major memecoin | Relatively stable for a memecoin |
Volume
Trading volume tells you how actively a token is being traded. High volume means interest and liquidity — you can buy and sell easily. Low volume means you might get stuck holding a token nobody wants.
Key ratio: Volume-to-market-cap. A 24h volume that’s 20-50% of market cap indicates healthy trading. Volume under 5% of market cap suggests the token is stagnant.
Holder Count and Growth
How many unique wallets hold the token? More importantly: is that number growing? A token going from 50 to 500 holders in a day has organic interest. A token stuck at 30 holders for a week is dead.
TokenRadar shows holder count for every token. Check it on the detail page — and compare it to the token’s age to see if growth is healthy.
Price History
Look at the chart — but look at it critically:
- One massive green candle followed by a steady decline? Classic pump-and-dump. The money was made already.
- Gradual uptrend with healthy pullbacks? Organic growth. Much better entry opportunity.
- Flat line for days? The token might be dead. Check if volume has also dried up.
- Wild swings every few minutes? Extremely volatile — only trade if you’re comfortable with fast moves.
Step 4: Use Multiple Tools
No single tool gives you everything. Here’s how to combine them for thorough research:
TokenRadar — Your starting point. Use it for real-time discovery, safety ratings, holder data, price charts, and trending tokens. This handles steps 1-3 in one place for most tokens.
RugCheck — For a deeper safety audit when TokenRadar flags something as “Warning” and you want to understand exactly what the risk is. RugCheck breaks down every risk factor with detailed explanations.
DEX Screener — For advanced charting across multiple timeframes. If you want to see detailed candlestick patterns or compare a token’s performance against others, DEX Screener’s charts are excellent.
Solscan — For raw on-chain investigation. Check the creator’s wallet history, token transfer patterns, and smart contract details. This is the blockchain explorer — the most granular data available.
Twitter/X — For community sentiment and news. Search the token’s name and ticker to see what people are saying. But remember: Twitter is full of paid shills. Treat everything you read there with extreme skepticism.
Red Flags That Should Stop You Immediately
If you encounter any of these during research, walk away. No amount of hype overcomes these fundamentals:
- Mint authority not revoked — The creator can print tokens and dump them on you.
- Freeze authority not revoked — The creator can lock your wallet so you can’t sell.
- One wallet holds 30%+ of supply — A single dump will destroy the price.
- Liquidity under $1,000 — You can’t realistically exit your position.
- Creator has launched 10+ tokens recently — It’s a token factory, not a project.
- No social media or community — Nobody is building anything behind this token.
- “Guaranteed returns” promises — Nothing in crypto is guaranteed. Anyone who says otherwise is scamming you.
- Pressure to buy NOW — “Last chance” and “launching in 5 minutes” are manipulation tactics. Real opportunities don’t need pressure.
Green Flags That Suggest a Healthier Token
No token is “safe” — especially memecoins. But these signals indicate better odds:
- Mint and freeze authority both revoked
- Liquidity above $10,000 and ideally locked
- No single wallet holds more than 5% of supply
- Holder count growing organically over days
- Active community with real discussions (not just moon emojis)
- Token graduated from Pump.fun to Raydium
- Consistent volume over multiple days, not just a one-day spike
- TokenRadar safety rating: “Safe”
How Long Should Research Take?
For an established token (listed on major DEXs, large community): 5-10 minutes. Check safety data, glance at the chart, verify it’s not in a massive dump.
For a new or micro-cap token: 15-30 minutes minimum. Check every item on this list. The smaller and newer the token, the more research it needs. Skipping steps is how people lose money.
For a token someone is shilling you: 30+ minutes, with extra skepticism. When someone else is promoting a token, you need to independently verify everything they claim. Assume the promoter has a financial incentive to get you to buy — because they almost certainly do.
The DYOR Checklist
Save this checklist and run through it before any trade:
| Check | Tool | Pass Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Mint authority | TokenRadar / RugCheck | Revoked |
| Freeze authority | TokenRadar / RugCheck | Revoked |
| Top holder % | TokenRadar / Solscan | No wallet > 10% (ex-LP) |
| Liquidity | TokenRadar / DEX Screener | > $5,000 minimum |
| Holder count | TokenRadar | Growing over time |
| Volume | TokenRadar / DEX Screener | > 5% of market cap daily |
| Price chart | TokenRadar / DEX Screener | No single massive dump |
| Creator wallet | Solscan | Not a token factory |
| Community | Twitter / Telegram | Active, organic engagement |
| Overall safety | TokenRadar | Safe or Warning (investigate) |
The Bottom Line
DYOR isn’t about spending hours reading whitepapers or understanding complex DeFi protocols. For memecoin trading, it’s about systematically checking the data that predicts whether a token will rug you or has a fair chance of performing.
The 5-minute version: check safety data (mint, freeze, holders, liquidity), look at the chart, verify there’s real community activity. If any safety check fails, skip the token. There are thousands more launching tomorrow.
The traders who consistently make money aren’t the ones who find the “next BONK” — they’re the ones who avoid the 99 scams for every 1 legitimate opportunity. Research is your filter. Use it.
TokenRadar automates the first and most critical step — safety analysis on every new Solana token, in real-time, for free. Start there, then go deeper with the checklist above. Your research is only as good as the data you base it on.