1 — Surface check (Listed)
- Project name, symbol, chain, and category provided
- Working website live at the stated URL
- Verifiable contract address present on-chain
- Basic socials present (X / Twitter, Telegram, Discord, or docs)
Methodology
How Chainlume reviews crypto projects, what each trust badge means, and the on-chain checks behind every listing. We publish this in full because trust requires transparency.
Our review process
Four steps. No shortcuts. Same process for sponsored and non-sponsored projects.
- 01
Submission
Project team submits via /submit. Contract address is added internally by our team after review — never collected on the public form.
- 02
Automated on-chain checks
Liquidity, contract verification, mint/freeze authority, holder concentration, and DEX activity are pulled from public sources (DexScreener, GeckoTerminal, Birdeye, block explorers).
- 03
Human review
A team member reviews the website, socials, docs, and the on-chain signals together. Trust level is assigned conservatively.
- 04
Publication & monitoring
Project page is published with a trust badge and indexed by search engines. We continuously monitor on-chain signals; badges can be downgraded or removed.
The trust ladder
Every project earns a badge based on the depth of review. Higher badges require more checks — and more time. Badges describe review depth; they are not investment advice.
2 — Reviewed
- Website content matches the stated category and use-case
- Active social presence (recent posts, real engagement)
- On-chain footprint check: liquidity visible, sufficient, and not orphaned
- Contract verified on the relevant block explorer
- Mint / freeze authority status documented (where applicable)
- Holder concentration sanity check
- No public rug-pull or scam reports outstanding
3 — Verified
- Everything in Reviewed, plus:
- Team disclosed publicly (LinkedIn / X / Doxxed) OR project is community-led with verifiable on-chain history
- LP locked or burned (locker contract verified)
- Token utility documented in public docs / whitepaper
- No critical risk flags during continuous monitoring window (≥30 days)
4 — Audited
- Everything in Verified, plus:
- Third-party security audit linked
- Audit verified to come from the stated auditor (signed PDF or auditor URL)
- Critical/high findings either resolved or transparently documented as accepted risk
Badge legend at a glance
Listed
Basic info provided. No verification yet. Treat as informational only.
Reviewed
Website, socials, and on-chain footprint reviewed.
Verified
Stronger checks plus team validation when public.
Audited
Third-party audit linked and verified.
Sponsored listings are clearly labeled. Paid placement does not equal endorsement and does not affect trust scoring.
Frequently asked questions
Most submissions are reviewed within 24–72 hours. Priority review is available with the Website + Group Post package.