DYOR: four words that mean two opposite things

Do your own research began as a conspiracy slogan and became crypto's favourite nudge. This page separates the advice from the disclaimer and the dodge, then turns the slogan into a short routine.

Published: · Last reviewed:

Hardware wallet app screen composed in Flexdger Wallet: a portfolio named Halcyon, a total balance and its change for the day above a row of Transfer, Swap and Buy buttons, the list of holdings with each amount and its move for the day, in a dark theme with a lavender accent.
Composed in Flexdger Wallet. Every figure on it was typed in; nothing is held, sent or received, and no chain is read.

Same letters, two lineages

Before it was a crypto acronym, "do your own research" was a slogan. A 2023 paper in the Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review, by Sedona Chinn and Ariel Hasell, follows it to the conspiracy theorist Milton William "Bill" Cooper in the 1990s. Anti-vaccine advocates picked it up from the 2010s and it spread widely during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors found that people who endorsed "doing your own research" were more likely to believe COVID-19 misinformation and to distrust science. Wiktionary reflects both uses: it can be a reproach for laziness or, in conspiracy circles, an invitation to reject expert opinion.

Crypto aimed the same words in a different direction: toward verifying claims instead of doubting experts. CoinMarketCap's glossary dates the phrase's spread to the ICO wave of 2016 to 2018, when crowdfunded projects poured into the market and plenty of buyers lost money to scams. Kraken Learn describes the acronym as a term made by crypto users to remind each other to do thorough due diligence before investing in any digital asset.

The acronym keeps both meanings alive: it can say "verify this" or it can say "trust no one but me".

What it does depending on who types it

Speaker and momentRoleTone
A veteran answering a newcomer about to ape inAdviceWarning
The last line of a post recommending a coinDisclaimerOften ironic
Someone asked for evidence in an argumentDodgeMocked by the asker
A checklist in a guideReminderNeutral

Three invented lines, written for this page:

The NFA pairing

You will rarely find DYOR alone at the foot of a recommendation. NFA states that the poster is not advising you, and DYOR hands you the checking. Side by side they can shield the author more than the reader, a point developed in NFA meaning.

Turning the slogan into a routine

Kraken's guide lists the project's documents, the team's credentials, the technology, market data, community backing and competitors, and adds the caveat that strong due diligence still cannot catch every fraud. For a freshly launched token, six actions fit into a few minutes:

  1. Source the address correctly. Take the contract address from the project's pinned post, never from a reply or a direct message.
  2. Inspect the code and the authorities. Look for verified code and, on Solana, revoked mint and freeze authority. Renounced explains what that does and does not rule out.
  3. Map the holders. A handful of wallets with most of the supply can sell onto everyone else.
  4. Test a sale. If you cannot sell, you are looking at a honeypot.
  5. Find the paid voices. The FTC asks influencers to state any financial tie to a brand clearly, inside the post. See shill and KOL.
  6. Write the exit first. Pick the price or the loss at which you leave while you are calm, before the position exists.

What the regulators add

FINRA's page on crypto assets lists checks that most posts skip. Read the offering documents, white paper and website, and watch for misleading claims. Ask the SEC whether the asset is registered as a security. Do not buy because of social media posts or videos touting new crypto assets, and treat fear of missing out as a red flag. Remember too that crypto sent to a scam is generally gone for good.

Company names appear here only as sources or examples. We are not affiliated with Kraken.

Sources

Questions

Who said "do your own research" first?

The Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review traces it to the conspiracy theorist Milton William "Bill" Cooper, who used it as a slogan in the 1990s. Anti-vaccine advocates adopted it in the 2010s, and crypto later borrowed the wording.

Does adding DYOR protect a poster who is paid?

No. The FTC expects influencers to disclose any financial relationship with a brand clearly in the post itself, and it warns against assuming followers already know. A DYOR tag does not count as a disclosure.

How is DYOR different from due diligence?

Same job, different register. Kraken Learn calls DYOR a reminder to do thorough due diligence before investing in a digital asset. Due diligence is the formal term, while DYOR is a casual shorthand with no checklist inside it.

Why does NFA usually come attached?

NFA says the poster is not an adviser and DYOR says the checking falls on you. Together they shield the poster at least as much as they help the reader, and CoinMarketCap notes that NFA is often used ironically after a recommendation.

Can research still miss a scam?

Yes. Kraken's guide admits that even strong due diligence cannot catch every fraud, because bad actors can fake metrics. Research lowers the odds, it does not reduce them to zero.

When did DYOR become common in crypto?

CoinMarketCap places its popularity in the ICO wave of 2016 to 2018, when crowdfunded projects flooded the market and many investors lost money to scams.

Keep reading