Crypto Presale Checklist: 15 Checks Before You Send Funds

Before sending funds to a crypto presale, verify the official domain, read the terms, check the supply and unlock table, look for an external audit, confirm contract addresses on a block explorer and find out what happens if the launch slips. The checks below turn that into a repeatable routine.

How to use this checklist

Score each item as pass, fail or not stated. A “not stated” is not a fail, but several of them in a row should slow you down. We use the bitcoin.one BC1 presale as a worked example because its pages publish enough to check against, and we note where answers are missing. This is a method, not an endorsement of any project.

Part 1: Identity and authenticity

1. Is the domain official? Reach it from the project’s verified channels, not an ad or a message. Check the spelling letter by letter.
2. Is the team named? Anonymous teams are common in crypto, but anonymity raises risk. For bitcoin.one, team identity, legal entity and jurisdiction were not stated on the pages we reviewed.
3. Is there a legal and terms page? Read it. The project has a terms page and a privacy page.
4. Do the links on the site lead to the same domain? Fake clones often mix real and fake links.

Part 2: The token

5. Is the supply table complete and consistent? BC1 states 21,000,000,000 in total, with buckets summing to 100%. Our supply and allocation piece checks the arithmetic.
6. Is there a mint function? The project says there is none, so supply can only fall. Verify this in the contract code.
7. What unlocks when? The presale bucket is fully claimable at launch, and the treasury releases weekly. See the vesting schedule guide.
8. What is the stated purpose? If the only use is to be bought and sold, that is a warning sign. BC1’s stated uses are rewards, payments and buybacks.

Part 3: The sale

9. Is the price stated? Not on the pages we reviewed. Without a price, you cannot judge valuation.
10. Is there a cap or end date? Not stated either.
11. What do you receive and when? Tokens at TGE, targeted Q1 2027, on Ethereum, Base or Solana, per the project. Dates are targets.
12. What is the refund policy? Not stated at last check. Ask in writing.

Part 4: Safety

13. Is there an audit? The project says an external audit is planned and not complete. Do not treat plans as results.
14. Are the contracts public? At the time of our check, the presale widget said contracts were deploying soon.
15. What do the risk disclosures say? The risk page lists eleven categories including total loss and no protection from schemes like the FSCS.

Key takeaway: Count the “not stated” items. Every one of them is a question you are entitled to ask before paying.

Scoring the example

Check area	Result for BC1 (as of our last check)
Official domain, terms, privacy	Present
Team and legal entity	Not stated
Supply table	Stated and consistent
Mint function	None, per project; verify on-chain
Price, cap, end date	Not stated
Refund policy	Not stated
External audit	Planned, not complete
Risk disclosure	Detailed

That profile is common for a presale early in its life: transparent about mechanism, thin on commercial terms. It does not say the project is good or bad. It says the unanswered questions are the ones to resolve first, and our article on what a presale is explains why the payment-to-delivery gap matters.

After the checklist: protecting yourself

• Use a fresh wallet for presales and keep the seed phrase offline.
• Send a small test transaction first, to confirm the address and chain.
• Never approve unlimited token spending to an unfamiliar contract.
• Keep screenshots of the terms as they stood when you paid, since pages change.
• Record the transaction for tax purposes, because rules vary by country.
• Decide your loss limit now and write it down.

When to walk away

Walk away if the site pressures you, a person you do not know offers to “help” you buy, a guaranteed return is promised, the team refuses to publish contract addresses, or the terms contradict the sales copy. The project’s own risk page says you may lose everything, and the same logic applies to any presale: the cost of waiting a week to verify is small, and the cost of skipping verification can be total.

Reading the terms like a skeptic

The terms page deserves a slow read because it is where a project says what it will not do. Look for four clauses. The first is jurisdiction: which countries may buy, and who is responsible for checking. The second is delivery: what happens if the launch is delayed, changed or cancelled. The third is liability: how much the project accepts if something goes wrong. The fourth is change: whether the project can alter the terms unilaterally and how you would be told.

Print or save the terms as they stand on the day you pay. If a dispute ever arises, the version you agreed to is the one that matters, and web pages are edited without notice. Keep the project’s homepage snapshot too, since sales copy, caps and dates are often updated during a sale.

A one-page decision memo

Before paying, write five lines for yourself: the amount you will spend, the loss you accept, the date you expect delivery, the evidence you checked and the condition under which you would sell or walk away. People who write this down are less likely to chase a falling price or add more money on impulse. The exercise also exposes weak reasons: if your only line under “evidence” is “it looks popular,” that is your answer.

Three questions to email the project

If a project has a contact address or community channel, three plain questions are worth sending. What happens to my payment if the launch date moves by six months? Who holds the keys to the treasury and the vesting contract? When will the contract addresses and audit report be published? A serious team can answer in a few lines. Silence, deflection or an answer that only repeats marketing copy tells you something too. Save the replies with your records, and treat verbal promises in chat groups as worth nothing until they appear in the written terms.