It’s no secret: there’s a lot of noise in the cryptotoken world. No matter who you are, it’s hard to decipher between projects that are game-changing and those that are problematic, questionable, and scammy money-grabs. While running the this summer, I was eager to share the experience especially as it related to the topics of governance and regulation. Tens of thousands of people read , and it wasn’t long before I was invited to be an on a number of projects. benjaCoin ICO The SEC Called About Our ICO, I Answered advisor At first, I was hesitant. I weighed a lot of different questions, the most important of which were these: These are not easy questions to answer. I asked to read white papers, I had coffee with , and I entertained different levels of involvement. how do I choose which projects to work on, and what value can I offer? founders The purpose of this post is to share why, what I found in the projects I work with today, and what value I’m delivering. I hope this serves as a data-point for advisors and token-issuers alike as they consider advisory relationships. My four commandments of crypto advising: There needs to be a where I can clearly see why a cryptotoken is necessary. I have no interest in projects that are issuing tokens as a simple fundraising mechanism when the action (transaction or otherwise) could be completed via BTC or ETH. real product The project needs a , preferably one that has built something together. The longer they’ve known each other, the better. I would argue the founder relationship is more important with the added implications of a blockchain-based business. capable team The team needs to bring up in our first conversation, and they have to agree to be good actors. No securities per the , regardless of whether the project is located in the United States. I consider the Howey to be a good guideline in all jurisdictions. good governance Howey Test There has to be a clear reason why I’m the person who they reached out to, and I have to deliver to the project. I’m not interested in simply being a name on a team page — I want to be involved and I want to know that I’m contributing. real value My name is Andrew J. Chapin — I’m a co-founder of Benja , the merchandise ad network.

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