Recently, I’ve noticed that many newcomers in the community are asking what DYOR and NFA mean. I think it’s necessary to talk about this topic properly.

DYOR is short for Do Your Own Research, and NFA stands for Not Financial Advice. These two terms sound simple, but many people actually haven’t truly understood their weight. If you want to last a bit longer in this market, you have to etch these two concepts into your mind.

How can you truly do your own research well? My experience is that you need to look at three core things. First is the team background—who is running this project, what their track record and reputation are like, because this determines the project’s execution capability. Second is real-world use—what problem this project solves, whether there are real application scenarios, or whether it’s just concept hype. Finally is the technical solution—whether the underlying architecture is reasonable and whether it’s truly innovative. Once you get these three dimensions straight, you’ll have a basic framework for judgment.

I’ve seen too many people make the same mistakes. When some big influencer or OG says they want to get into a certain project, people just follow the trend and rush in. I remember a founder of a certain chain who publicly said they wanted to play meme coins and that they would donate the profits to charity, with the losses covered by themselves. What happened then? A bunch of people saw this signal and swarmed in. But this is not the reason you should buy. One person’s actions don’t equal investment advice, and they definitely aren’t a reason for you to blindly follow suit.

So, in plain terms, the real meaning of DYOR and NFA is: no one can be responsible for your decisions—you have to take responsibility for the consequences yourself. It sounds harsh, but it’s exactly this logic that separates smart investors from followers.