Due Diligence Checklists › Crypto / Web3 › Seed
Crypto / Web3 Startup Investment Checklist: Seed Stage (2026)
This checklist covers 22 due diligence items for Crypto / Web3 startups at the Seed stage. Each item has been validated against institutional investor practice. DDR automates the majority of these checks from a single pitch deck PDF upload.
22 checklist items · 3 red flags automatically detected · See a sample DDR report
Seed Requirements
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Product-market fit signals: retention, NPS, organic growth
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Early revenue: $10K–$100K MRR is the seed sweet spot
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Repeatable go-to-market: clear acquisition channels with data
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Team completeness: key hires made, gaps identified
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Path to Series A: clear $1M ARR milestone credibly achievable
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Unit economics: CAC and LTV directional even if not optimized
Crypto / Web3 Sector
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Smart contract audits from 2+ reputable firms reviewed
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Token legal opinion obtained on securities classification
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Founding team KYC completed
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Treasury management policy reviewed
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On-chain metrics (TVL, DAA, fees) verified independently
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OFAC compliance process documented
Deep Dive
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Smart contract audit reports from recognized security firms
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Token economics and distribution analysis
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Regulatory framework: SEC vs. commodity classification
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Treasury management: stable vs. crypto-denominated reserves
Regulatory
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Verify: SEC Howey test classification: tokens may be deemed securities
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Verify: FinCEN money transmission licensing for exchanges
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Verify: OFAC compliance: screening for sanctioned entities on-chain
OSINT Signals
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Check: On-chain analytics: Dune dashboards, Nansen, Chainalysis
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Check: Smart contract audit reports (public on GitHub)
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Check: Token holder concentration (top 10 wallets as % of supply)
DDR AUTOMATES THIS CHECKLIST
Upload a Crypto / Web3 startup pitch deck and DDR automatically completes 15+ of these 22 checklist items — sourcing data from 13 OSINT signals, benchmarking against 2 comparable companies, and detecting all 3 critical red flags.
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