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Crypto Trust Score Algorithm

The Crypto Trust Score is a proprietary algorithm that rates Web3 projects on a scale of 0-100 using real-time data from multiple sources.

🧮 The 6-Pillar Formula (v3.3)​

Trust Score = Treasury (20%) + Dev Activity (20%) + Financials (15%) + Security (20%) + Tokenomics (15%) + Community (10%)

Each pillar is weighted to reflect its importance in the current market cycle.

📊 Pillar 1: Security (20%) ✨ NEW​

What it measures: Protocol safety, audit history, and scam risk.

Data Sources​

  • Certik (via Dropstab) - Audit scores and tiers.
  • Dropstab Scam Detector - Real-time "Scam Alert" flag.

Scoring Logic​

MetricConditionPoints
Certik AuditTier AAA / Gold+30
Tier AA / Silver+20
Tier A / Bronze+10
No Audit0
Certik Score> 90+20
> 80+10
< 60-10
Base Score50

🚨 The "Kill Switch" Rule​

If scam_alerted is TRUE (flagged by Dropstab/Certik), the entire Trust Score is capped at 10/100, regardless of other pillars. The Risk Level becomes CRITICAL.

📊 Pillar 2: Treasury Health (20%)​

What it measures: Financial runway and chain adoption.

Scoring Logic​

MetricConditionPoints
TVL Size> $10B+30
> $1B+20
> $100M+10
< $10M-20
MCap/TVL Ratio0.1 - 0.5 (Undervalued)+20
> 1.0 (Overvalued)-20
Base Score50
Smart Chain Detection

For L1/L2 blockchains (Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base), the algorithm uses Chain TVL (all protocols on the chain) instead of Protocol TVL, avoiding false "zero TVL" penalties.

📊 Pillar 3: Developer Activity (20%)​

What it measures: GitHub commit activity and team quality.

  • Source: GitHub API + Vartovii Team Intelligence Engine
  • Metrics: Commits (6m), Active Developers, Verified Founders.

📊 Pillar 4: Financials (15%)​

What it measures: Market stability and liquidity.

  • Source: CoinGecko
  • Metrics: Market Cap, FDV, Liquidity/MCap ratio.

📊 Pillar 5: Tokenomics (15%)​

What it measures: Vesting pressure and investor quality.

  • Source: DefiLlama Emissions, Dropstab Vesting, ICODrops.
  • Metrics: % Unlocked, Next Unlock Date, Investor Tiers.

📊 Pillar 6: Community (10%) ✨ NEW​

What it measures: Social influence and organic engagement.

Data Source​

  • TweetScout (via Dropstab) - The industry standard for crypto social scoring.

Scoring Logic​

MetricConditionPoints
Influence Score> 1000 (God Tier)+30
> 500 (Top Tier)+20
> 200 (Active)+10
< 50 (Ghost Town)-20
LevelLevel 5 (Vitalik follows)+20
Level 10
Base Score50

🚦 Risk Level Mapping​

Score RangeRisk LevelColorMeaning
80-100LOW🟢 GreenEstablished, trusted protocol
60-79MEDIUM🟡 YellowSolid project, some concerns
40-59HIGH🟠 OrangeElevated risk, investigate
0-39CRITICAL🔴 RedSignificant red flags

📈 Real Example Scores​

Polkadot (Score: 73/100)​

PillarScoreWeightContribution
Treasury3025%7.5
Dev Activity10025%25.0
Financials8020%16.0
Tokenomics10015%15.0
Community6515%9.75
Total73

Analysis:

  • Strong development (78 commits, 34 active devs)
  • Excellent investors ($150M raised, backer score 80)
  • Low Treasury because Polkadot is L0 chain (no direct TVL)

Arbitrum (Score: 75+/100)​

  • Lead investor: Pantera Capital (Tier 1)
  • Raised: $123.7M
  • Backer Score: 95/100
  • Active development on L2 infrastructure

🔄 Score Recalculation​

Trust Scores are recalculated when:

  1. Manual refresh — User clicks refresh button
  2. Stale data — Automatic refresh if data > 24 hours old
  3. New project — First-time fetch triggers full calculation

Caching Strategy​

Data SourceCache TTL
CoinGecko24 hours
GitHub24 hours
DefiLlama TVL6 hours
DefiLlama Raises24 hours

🔧 API Reference​

# Get project with Trust Score
GET /api/crypto/project/{slug}

# Response
{
  "project": {
    "slug": "polkadot",
    "trust_score": 73,
    "risk_level": "MEDIUM",
    "score_breakdown": {
      "treasury": 30,
      "dev_activity": 100,
      "financials": 80,
      "tokenomics": 100,
      "community": 65
    },
    "backer_tier_score": 80,
    "total_raised": 150.4
  }
}

The Crypto Trust Score algorithm is continuously refined based on market feedback and new data sources.