In the Web3 world, whether trading, seeking airdrops, or investing, thorough research is indispensable.

Written by: Stacy Muur

Compiled by: Finger Research Institute Team

This article will introduce 50 tools focused on market insights, protocol analysis, and data interpretation. Among them, tools like DefiLlama, TokenTerminal, and Dune may already be familiar to everyone, but there are many other tools designed for specific research directions worth exploring. Let's get to know these essential DYOR (Do Your Own Research) tools.

Fundamentals

Fundamental research is the process of analyzing a project to understand its core value, appeal, and potential. It focuses on key aspects such as product appeal, token economics, fundraising, and community.

The goal is to assess a project's long-term growth potential based on these factors, rather than blindly following market trends.

01 Product Metrics

The following is a list of tools primarily used to research product metrics (such as total locked value TVL, active users, token holders, cross-chain net flow, trading volume, income dynamics, and treasury data) and evaluate the competitive environment.

  • TokenTerminal currently tracks data from over 400 mature protocols and provides one of the most comprehensive analytical metrics. It also offers powerful tools for identifying trends and changes in fundamental and market perception data in Web3, whether in general or analyzed based on specific parameters or categories.

  • DefiLlama follows closely, tracking over 3,000 protocols. If you can't find a protocol on TokenTerminal, you can turn to DeFiLlama for key TVL, volume, and token metrics. It also conveniently compares different protocols, showing their influence distribution in certain categories or blockchain ecosystems.

  • Next up is Dune, which provides a comprehensive dashboard for most Web3 protocols, summarizing the fundamental data of various protocols.

  • * Tip: If you can't find the data you need on Dune, you can check Footprint Analytics. Its design style is similar to Dune and may contain some unique data.

ZKsync Era dashboard on Footprint Analytics

  • When researching Ethereum Layer 2, L2Beat may be the best tool, providing comprehensive data on the Ethereum aggregate status. For Bitcoin Layer 2, Bitcoin Layers is the closest corresponding tool to L2Beat.

  • Nansen is another powerful on-chain analysis tool covering over 35 networks and nearly 400 protocols. It allows users to track various aspects of networks, tokens, and NFTs, even monitoring the behaviors of investors and traders. The downside is that most data requires a subscription to access.

  • Artemis is a blockchain data science platform that provides monitoring of key indicators for projects, including financial, economic, and social data, while also covering statistics specific to certain Web3 areas and specifically tracking developer activity.

02 Releases and News

  • Messari, in addition to providing basic fundamental data, is unique in that it aggregates the latest developments, news, and provides dedicated research reports. Although it is a paid research tool, it is highly recommended.

Aptos: Latest news dashboard on Messari

  • CryptoPanic is a news aggregation and portfolio tracking platform designed for traders and cryptocurrency enthusiasts. It highlights the impact of various events on the market and prices, helping users track news related to cryptocurrencies and associated markets to assess their potential impact on asset prices and investor sentiment.

  • CoinMarketCal is an economic calendar for crypto assets that allows users to track key market events. Stay informed about new coin listings, new exchange openings, NFT series releases, and major events and conferences.

  • Coindar is another calendar tool for tracking projects, assets, and Web3 events. Similar to CoinMarketCal, it allows users to view various important event dates related to projects or tokens.

  • Web3alerts is a platform designed to receive important Web3 event data and notifications. The platform allows users to track new project releases and related dynamics. Investors and venture capital firms can subscribe to the service to ensure timely direct notifications.

03 Fundraising

Many platforms provide fundraising data, the most popular of which is DefiLlama. In addition, there are some recommended platforms that can help discover more fundraising information.

  • CryptoRank is an analysis platform designed to track various data, including metrics for tokens, funding, and projects. It enables users to monitor the fundraising rounds of various projects, track top IDOs and ICOs, and discover current crypto airdrops. Additionally, the platform provides a list of ongoing and potential airdrops, complete with tasks and detailed guides, as well as data on token unlocks.

Latest fundraising round data on CryptoRank

  • CypherHunter is a comprehensive database similar to LinkedIn, designed for the crypto world. It collects information on blockchain projects, individuals involved in the crypto space, and recent fundraising rounds.

  • Crunchbase is a website that tracks detailed project information, including fundraising rounds, major investors, and total fundraising amounts. It also provides insights about employees, events, and potential contacts to connect with founders.

  • Crypto Fundraising is a valuable resource for tracking the latest fundraising rounds, events, and news. It provides project information that hasn't been covered by other analytical platforms. The site also offers a simple and convenient list of funds, investors, and their contact information.

04 Token Economics

  • Token Unlocks is a service platform specifically designed to track token unlocks and token economic data. The platform allows users to filter projects and tokens for in-depth analysis of their potential. Additionally, it monitors token economics data and upcoming supply unlock events in real-time.

  • CoinBrain is an analysis platform that provides both on-chain and off-chain data. It offers various filtering options to help users search for newly created tokens. The platform also includes new coin rankings, lists of upcoming token unlocks, and search capabilities across multiple categories.

Project exploration

Many of the tools mentioned earlier are very useful for protocol discovery and narrative filtering. Additionally, some powerful multipurpose dashboards can help assess the current market situation and uncover new investment opportunities.

  • ChainBroker is a service designed to track various financial metrics of networks and tokens. It allows users to analyze market conditions, investor activity, and platform participation. The site also provides heat maps in certain categories to visually assess the potential of networks and assets over time or specific periods.

Protocol dashboard on ChainBroker

  • DYOR is another excellent platform for tracking DeFi dynamics and providing a set of ranking dashboards based on specific on-chain metrics.

  • Moni Discover is a unique tool that leverages community trends to help you identify new early opportunities, covering everything from meme coins to infrastructure projects.

Trading

This category can be divided into three directions: social and copy trading, meme coin trading, and market analysis.

01 Social Trading

  • AlphaScan displays the market sentiment of specific tokens by monitoring and tracking mentions of public chain coins and tokens on platform X, revealing their discussion frequency on specific dates. Additionally, it reveals potential earnings KOLs might gain through token recommendations. This information can help assess the trading potential of certain bloggers and communities and measure the market heat of specific assets.

  • Cielo is a platform designed to monitor top traders' trades and gain market insights. It provides basic notifications and insights, allowing users to track other traders' wallets and follow trading strategies.

  • Scopescan, formerly known as Watchers, is the first on-chain data analysis platform that utilizes the 0xScope knowledge graph. It can generate important connection data in real-time, providing comprehensive wallet activity information, project and token lists ranked by activity and total locked value (TVL), as well as insights into fund flows and smart money signals.

  • Alphanomics is a multifunctional service platform that helps users track the flow of funds and trading dynamics on DEX chains in real-time, thus grasping current market trends. The platform provides users with real-time insights, uncovers new asymmetric investment opportunities, tracks the smartest traders and their wallet strategies, and provides a deep understanding of their portfolio management practices.

Smart money DEX flow on Alphanomics

02 Meme Coin Trading

  • To find meme coins and other newly created trading pairs, the two most popular platforms are DexScreener and DEXTools. These platforms help find the best prices, liquidity, and activity for specific trading pairs and can track wallet activity among other features.

  • To monitor potential malicious functions in smart contracts, it is recommended to use Honeypot (supporting Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Base), De.Fi, and SolidityScan.

03 Market Analysis

  • TradingView is a leading platform widely used by traders around the world, known for showcasing trading pair data for thousands of assets across major exchanges. Users can customize chart formats according to their needs, add personal notes, and conveniently compare assets.

  • CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap are among the most commonly used market data tracking platforms, both providing rich research centers for users to conduct in-depth analysis.

  • BlockchainCenter is a platform focused on providing various visual charts and metrics to help users track and compare network data. It enables users to evaluate market conditions, asset statuses, and the dominance of specific tokens. The platform's visual charts are particularly prominent and can effectively help novice traders grasp current market trends.

BlockchainCenter's Bitcoin rainbow price chart

  • Glassnode helps traders and investors predict key trends and turning points in digital assets. The platform focuses on advanced blockchain and market data, providing unique insights into fund flows, asset fundamentals, and market sentiment for Web3 blue chips. Additionally, Glassnode offers various economic, financial, and network metrics, as well as research and reports on industry status.

  • Coinglass is a comprehensive platform for tracking the financial status of various markets. It monitors the crypto market and other assets, including liquidations, long and short positions, and options trading, making it very suitable for professional traders.

  • CryptoBubbles presents a market map in bubble form, providing intuitive services. Users can easily track changes in market trading volume, identify which cryptocurrencies' prices are actively rising or falling, view the holder ratio of specific assets, and observe their dynamics.

  • CryptoQuant is a powerful and community-driven market data research platform that offers extensive research and insights from the CryptoQuant team and its users.

  • MarketCapOf allows users to estimate the price of a cryptocurrency when it reaches the market cap of another cryptocurrency. For example, if Ethereum had the market cap of Bitcoin, its price would be approximately $10,000.

Passive income

Finding and managing the best passive investment pools can be somewhat challenging. Here are some tools that can help you more effectively discover and manage these investment opportunities.

  • Revert is a comprehensive exploration tool and user interface designed for AMM liquidity providers of Uniswap V2, V3, and Sushiswap. It helps investors track investment efficiency and perform data analysis.

  • Other platforms specifically for discovering quality passive income opportunities include De.Fi and DefiLlama.

Airdrops

Although the attention on airdrops has declined compared to a year ago, it remains an important source of passive income for many users. The aforementioned CryptoRank toolkit can help users discover airdrops. Here are some platforms suitable for airdrop hunters.

  • DropsTab is a multifunctional tool for tracking portfolios, analyzing markets, and discovering new airdrops. Its powerful features allow it to replace multiple analytical tools at once.

  • Bankless provides services for tracking airdrops and potential projects, helping users select projects to participate in and allowing them to check unclaimed airdrops associated with their wallet addresses.

  • Alpha Drops is a convenient platform specifically for tracking airdrops across various Web3 domains. It offers user-friendly filtering options that allow users to select projects based on different fields. Each project page details available tasks, funding metrics, and project stage information, whether in the testnet or mainnet phase.

Potential airdrop tags on Alpha Drops

  • AirdropsAlert is a website dedicated to aggregating current and upcoming token airdrops, providing detailed steps required to participate in these airdrops. Users can sort airdrops based on different criteria (such as whether KYC is needed) to more easily find projects of interest.

Portfolio tracking

Tracking a diversified portfolio across numerous blockchains, assets, and pools can be challenging. The following tools can help you manage your daily investments more effectively.

  • DeBank is a platform focused on portfolio tracking and wallet checks. It can monitor all assets in a wallet, track transaction history, and view changes in historical net worth.

  • CoinStats is a comprehensive portfolio tracking and analysis platform that allows users to monitor the asset status of the entire market and view financial data in their wallets. It also provides access to transaction history across multiple networks and can identify scam transactions targeting your address.

  • Arkham provides powerful tools that connect cryptocurrency activities with individuals and institutions in the real world. The platform can track the operations of organizations, including large institutions and government entities.

Research

Covering companies that continuously publish valuable market research, focusing on macro trends, narratives, or specific protocols. In addition to Messari, CryptoQuant, and Glassnode, here are some other recommended research sources.

  • Delphi Digital is a research-driven company with a global team dedicated to accelerating and advancing cryptocurrency development. It consists of three distinct entities—research department, lab, and venture capital—sharing the same brand and mission.

Delphi's featured report

  • Chainalysis is a leading blockchain analysis company that provides compliance and investigation tools for banks, crypto companies, and government agencies. It offers a suite of tools for transaction tracking, risk analysis, and data visualization.

Finger Insights

In the crypto market, in-depth research is key to successful investing. By using a variety of tools, investors can gain more comprehensive market insights and analytical capabilities. The article lists 50 top DYOR tools covering data analysis, trend monitoring, and social intelligence, among other aspects. These tools not only help users better understand market dynamics but also enhance the precision of investment decisions.

By making good use of these tools, investors can explore the crypto world more deeply and seize potential investment opportunities. At the same time, as the market continues to evolve, maintaining a passion for learning and research is a quality every crypto investor must possess. Using these DYOR tools, investors can navigate the complex crypto market with ease and make smarter investment choices.