I look at whether the project team is really doing things. Instead of focusing on the “vision” they keep shouting about, I first check whether the treasury expenditures and milestones line up: where the money is spent, how often it’s spent, and whether they consistently put it in places like “operations” or “BD,” where the output isn’t immediately visible. If they’re genuinely working, the budget will be tied to the delivery schedule—expenses like code, audits, and infrastructure will leave clear traces, and any delays will be explained properly, not swept over with some new narrative.

Lately, the community has been arguing again about whether privacy coins and mixing coins are actually crossing the line… Put simply, once the compliance boundaries get tighter, the destinations of treasury spending should be even more transparent. Otherwise, saying “we protect privacy” while the books are a jumbled mess—who would dare trust that? When I see contracts with overly broad permissions or funds moving around in convoluted ways, I’ll still quietly flag them. I’d rather be called suspicious than have to scramble to catch up later.