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If every coin has a Whitepaper, that means both the scam coins and the legit coins has a Whitepaper. Then how can a beginner differentiate a scam coin and a legit coin with the Whitepaper?

You mostly don't do it through the whitepaper(though you can have a rough idea on how much BS they're spewing), but by doing background checks of the people involved(and if the claims of who the team consists of are true or not). You still can't say for sure though, because not because the team consists of real people, doesn't automatically mean it's not a scam. Apparently some people just don't care about their reputation.

tl;dr there's a reason why "investing" in altcoins is broadly not recommended.

You can't because you are not supposed to. Whitepapers are basically the abstract idea about the project and what makes the project good or bad or scam is how that idea is implemented. For example you can't really figure out what bitcoin potential is by reading the paper since that will only introduce the general idea about what bitcoin is trying to achieve. Not to mention that sometimes the idea is very good but the implementation is terrible/scammy like ethereum where the idea of a "decentralized smart contract platform" is good but they implemented a centralized platform for scammers with lots of protocol flaws and a mutable blockchain.

Typically, the creators of scam projects put little to no effort into making their whitepaper unique or technically interesting. Those whitepapers are written in vague language using a lot of senseless buzzwords and marketing tricks with tons of promises to make you rich. Of course, naive investors may fall for this because being wealthy is their goal after all, and these whitepapers make investors focus on the wrong things, distracting them from the fact that a given project may have no working product or even a well-structured website. Moreover, oftentimes these whitepapers contain blatant plagiarism: they steal ideas from other, more successful projects and pretend to be original ideas. Copypasting is the easiest way to start your project because that requires minimum effort and time, and given that scammers want your money as soon as possible for zero cost, a plagiarized project is a clear indicator of it being a fraudulent one. So, check a whitepaper for plagiarism before starting to interact with the project, and if you find something unusual or suspicious, run away from it immediately.

Most times scam project tend to use Plagarised whitepaper so you could check if there are traces of Plagarism in the whitepaper of the project.
But that doesn't mean that a project is legit if it doesn't use Plagarised content in their whitepaper some still use unique whitepaper and still turn out to be a scam. Aside from the whitepaper you could also check for several other red flags like; if the team are real or not, if they truly have what it takes to actually execute their roadmap plans etc.

You could also check out the following threads for guidance:

• [Guide] How to detect fake token and spot scammers. (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5049749.msg46840651#msg46840651)
• [GUIDES] on Bitcointalk. Index thread (until there is a dedicated subforum?) (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4928968.0)
• 🌍[Guide] Prevent scam!!! Some useful tools for find scam / fake ICO team 🌍 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4586576.0)

Well scammers put a little effort now and wise, basically --they created it to look good and to be true.
There is no way to know not unless they will be listed on the top exchange.
A good project is not only determined by a white paper but also by the team and the background check of them, the project goals, and utility, transparency on the team and the last one is the DexTools ^[1]--this is a platform that can able to view token information. From the ETH network to the BSC network by searching contract addresses.
In short, don't rely on the Whitepaper.
^{[1] https://www.dextools.io/app/}

If the whitepaper is poorly written or dont have enough design or even given effort to do so. Most scam coins doesnt give time to make whitepaper ending up plagiarize to original projects and even lazy enough to completely edit it. You can gaze some errors on names terms or even such tokenomics details.

Also you dont need to rely on whitepaper cause it can easily be feel by their presence once you see their website, social hub and team.

A beginner can't do that, because you need a deep knowledge of cryptography, distributed systems, blockchain, and lots of other fields where the projects are applied - like supply chains, finance, filesharing networks and so on. If you don't understand these things, then any whitepaper is just a bunch of cool-sounding words to you, and your mind will focus on phrases like "revolutionary solution", "banking 4.0", "new paradigm" and so on.

But like others here have noted, scams can be very elaborate, they can present an idea that sounds good to anybody who isn't a high-tier crypto expert (and not the safe-proclaimed gurus, but rather somebody like a Core developer). That's how scams like Terra Luna get so much traction - few people understand what is wrong with them, until it's too late.

There's no way to differentiate scam coins and tokens through whitepaper since any developers will write a good thing and try to create an excellent project that will convince investors to buy their coins or tokens.

I think 99% coins and tokens that still exist until now is scam, including BNB This coin has no use case for real life, it's only can be used to get discount if you're using Binance exchange. So this mean most of the holders are Binance users and if the exchange collapse, the coin will follow the same situation too.

Even the most beautiful whitepaper does not guarantee that the project will eventually be successful and not fraudulent. You can hire a good specialist who will write a competent document, but in the end, you can still not be sure of success. In addition, scammers do not hesitate to copy or simply create a white paper of two or three pages that do not represent anything.
So don't rely on it. If you are new, choose tokens that are already trusted by the community, or take your time and watch the development of the project and the interest of others in it.

Having Whitepaper is not a sure sign that a legitimate project is behind it. There are many text spin applications today, anyone can write a wp full of some phrases or just do a rewrite from an already existing project.
only reading WP is not enough to make a decision about a possible investment in a coin, but WP plus additional research can give a final answer. if after all, you are still not sure, then it is a sign that it is better to give up that coin.

Check the Github repo if it has a little to no activity. Article spinner exists, so the written stuffs in the WP might give little to no red flags. I would start as well in the LinkedIn profile of the devs and look up where they previously worked at and check the site of whatever company they were previously at and confirm if they really worked there before.
There are way more methods to look out for red flags other than the WP.

It's now getting more difficult to identify a scam coin from a legit one, whitepaper can't be used to identify a scam coin from the real coin, let's just be honest I don't think their is anything that can be used to identify scam coin from real once, scammers are going extral miles just to make all their plans look real, if you see a scam project you might even think it's the real one because they way they will plan everything, you will never believe it's a scam coin, that's why the best thing you should do is just invest in bitcoin and have rest of mind, you won't be disturbed if it's a scam coin or not, just invest in bitcoin and hold, you will never regret you invested in bitcoin later in the future.

Projects can pay someone professional and wp might look cool but there would be no substance in project itself, and then there is tron whose wp was plagiarize yet it's relatively successful.

The whitepaper only tells you so much. But, at the very least, whitepapers suggest a lot.

The problem the project is supposed to address is indicated in the whitepaper. How the project intends to address it is also in the whitepaper. The roadmap is in the whitepaper as well. The tokenomics is also in there, so you will also get a rough idea of whether a project is sustainable or not. Further details such as the token supply, distribution, and so on are also in the whitepaper. And unlike Bitcoin's whitepaper, crypto whitepapers these days also include the development team, their credentials, and other information.

So more or less, you can gauge whether a project is likely to succeed or not based on the whitepaper. Well, that also depends on your own standard. But, as opposed to other opinions here, I guess whitepapers are a good material to start with in order to somehow judge the potential of a project.

However, of course, it's one thing to talk the talk and quite another to walk the talk. So a promising whitepaper doesn't really guarantee success. And because it's altcoin projects that we're mainly talking here, always proceed with caution. A good whitepaper, smooth project development and growth, huge rise in token's price, big partnerships, and so on do not mean the project isn't a scam. It isn't until it is.

Remember, Terra was a scam and Do Kwon is a scammer.

Success is not defined by scale of the pump, it is defined by adoption and Tron has failed already when it comes to adoption. The thing about all the "top" altcoins is that they can only get pumped better than the rest of them but they are just as useless. The reason for better pumps are also due to having better pumping teams!

Whitepaper will not be able to help you determine whether this project is fraudulent or not. After all, no fraudster will write to Whitepaper that this project is being created for the sole purpose of deceiving investors by appropriating their money. Although if you see that the Whitepaper is copied from another project, then this will indicate that you should refrain from investing.

In my opinion, I don’t think whitepaper is what we really based if the project’s token is scam or not. Even scam projects can design a well-constructed beautiful whitepaper by just outsourcing it to various service providers or so.

“Who’s behind it” is what we base if the project is scam or not. If the team is legit and has verified LinkedIn accounts but the token is dumping, I am not saying they are a scam but just being a failure and not sustainable in maintaining their floor price.

Most of the scammers are anonymous and they can rug pull anytime without warning. This is why I don’t really trust ANON projects because we do not know who is really behind the project.

It is not possible to judge a project as a scam or not by the whitepaper, we need a lot of factors that come together. It can be said that today's scammers are getting more and more sophisticated and wise in creating a scam project and it is getting harder and harder to distinguish. Even an experienced person in the market sometimes makes mistakes when evaluating a new project, the best way to avoid such scams, I recommend you as a newbie focus on the top coins, invest the old coins. They may not be as profitable as new projects, but they are safer for you.

Is it only pump tho? Been 5 years and it still exists, people use it for cheap transfers. I dunno other adoption, but for cheap transfers, it's one of best at the moment.

it's true, other than bitcoin being widely accepted and used no coin has a real life use case. But what people care about in this market is profit, not technology, everything is just trying to be hyped, new technology, superior technology but the end goal is still to make that coin increase in value to take profits.

BNB and binance are a solid empire in the market, if it collapses, I believe the market will be hit hard. I don't care about its technology, I don't care about its usefulness, but if it dies it will crash the market. So I don't expect that to happen.

For sure no one can know if the existence of a coin is a scam or not.  But at least we can find out through their white paper.if the concept they run does not match the white paper, then don't dare to invest in the project. this is just a small input from me

You can find some in an obvious way but some are not until the time has come.
As I invest in altcoins and in new projects, I don't rely on the whitepaper, not even bothering myself to read it all but just focus on the team, development, community support, and feedback. But this is somewhat challenging, not even the way to find assurance because most of the time scam happens in the later part when many people had already trusted the project.

It is very difficult to distinguish whether the project that we follow is scam or not, the scam project is getting tidy by making everything like social media, sites, and whitepaper that looks like real, the easiest thing we do is ask the experts we can meet in this forum.

I think it is very hard to know if a project is a legit one or a scam project from the whitepaper alone but it is a good indication of course. I think first of all you should check if it is not just a copy paste whitepaper that was used by other projects before. Then you should check, if the Whitepaper has informations about very important aspects of a project like the team members, the tokenomics including vesting schedules and also other stuff like use cases and a roadmap.

If a whitepaper is not too technical enough or it doesn't give a good overview and technical explanation of the final purpose, along with its philosophical basis, and real-world use for the project, it immediately raises red flags and reeks like scam all over. IMO, if a whitepaper doesn't give you an assertive overview of what the project is and you cannot find any real-world application for the token or coin, you should run away like Forest Gump. On the other hand, you can always find the perfect plan and find a pretty well-written Whitepaper which attracts you, but then, unknowingly you may find yourself inside a rug pull.

In Most cases Scam project Whitepaper are Just plagiarism {COPY PASTE} from other project They Definitely put the Less effort so their design and Style of Language Delivery is just Awful if a Project is Attracting you with their Whitepaper with no sense means less technical it is Probably a sign of Red Flag a Whitepaper is Just a Way to know how a project will Work and which problem will it solving, It is also important to Check the Team so looking at whitepaper and Analyse the project Definitely not a good idea

Honestly there's no way to differentiate scam and legit coin, so whitepaper, social media, complete website, active customer service, fast development etc etc are useless. The only way to know if the project is legit or scam is by talk personally with the CEO and hire a psychologist to know if he's lie or honest.

And this is one of scam project that anyone should be careful and avoid this project at all cost, if you want to promote your project just create Announcement thread on Altcoins Announcement section and not spamming in every thread with your scam project!

I think I have a rough idea of how to detect scam projects via whitepaper. The idea comes from reading many whitepapers and having an idea of how to survey through the verbage and picking up the main points. Many scam tokens or coins copy these main points and try to cover it with verbose bullshit but it still is decipherable if you check properly

This days it's easy to create a good Whitepaper to deceive people, there are experts out there that takes less money to write a attractive Whitepaper, this days Whitepaper is not on the list of what to look into when researching a project, Whitepaper only consists of the project journey into the future, why not look into the team themselves?

It is very difficult to distinguish real coins and scam coins through the Whitepaper. Because basically, Whitepaper is a general idea about the project. many projects with good Whitepaper and promising concepts but in the end, their coin is a scam. So, to be able to determine an original coin or a scam coin, don't just stick to the Whitepaper but also look at their website and also the team behind it.

That is really unfortunate and this makes a lot of people fall into scam projects due to such deceiving whitepaper. I'd seen before that whitepaper is a medium to know that it was worth investing but for now, it was been used to trick people and investing the wrong project/s. It was really disappointing that we spend time reading their whitepaper but all of those words written there are fake or might copied from others.
This make me think that it was hard to trust new projects. I preferred old coins coz I already have to see what is their performance, unlike in new projects.

For me, the concept of Whitepaper is closely related to 2017, when there was a lot of hype with the ICO.
I invest funds in good and serious projects at the initial stage, which then help the project to develop. Therefore, the first thing I do is look at the description of the project and investors.

The whitepaper is like the "tinder profile" for any project. Do you expect the owners if their motive is to scam the investor, will make sure to include and explain all the red flags in the whitepaper? No.

Hence for a newbie/less-experienced eye, the scam projects will not seem to be scam. You have to learn how to do background checks, try PMing the advisors on Linkedin about the project and see if they really exist or not and then do reverse searching on whitepaper texts to check if they are copied or not.

This is a cat and mouse game and the more time you waste on it the more you learn that you are actually wasting your time. Reason is that 99% of altcoin projects and scams and that 1% even if legit are going to fail in a few months, so what is the point of doing this research anyway?

Still I would encourage you to learn how to use these methods to get an overview of a project from a critical point of view.

The whitepaper is the one that contains all the information related to the project, which is the heart and face of the project, If it contains plagiarism and there are no links to the sources from which the information is taken, or it is primitive and unprofessional, then it can be said that it is 80% whitepaper for a scam project, and through the whitepaper, through the team section it is possible to know if the team’s photos are real people or fake people and through their personal profiles on LinkedIn. There are many other factors by which one can know if the coin is a scam or not, and not only through the whitepaper.

But it is possible that we can identify some of the obstacles that are often found in whitepapers for fraud project cases:
- plagiarism whitepaper
- the project concept is irrational and seems forced to achieve goals that are impossible to develop even though they claim to have raised high funds from fundraising or private sale.
- fake whitepaper

As a beginner, it is very difficult to differentiate the scam project moreover from Whitepaper. Because a whitepaper can be easily manipulated. However the WP may be copied from other projects. You can search for several information about it. But reading all whitepaper contents may be boring. That is why you may need other ways such as analyzing their team members by checking their social media, Linkdin acount, and otehrs. YOu cancrosscheck the infomration. The group in the telegram may also help you. If they are too good to be true with many big promises but no progress, it is better to stay way from this knd of project.

It is now known that scammers are too smart, they can simply produce a copy of WP from a successful project and use it for their scam project. It is actually hard to determine where it is coming from as we never read all the WP, in fact, I don't read it all. So, the possibility is that they will succeed in their plan and it becomes too late to determine if the project is a scam unless they are too obvious about it.
And if we are talking about social media accounts - scammers will use others' identities. Perhaps, it was a rampant doing that caused a lot of newbies to fall into the hands of scammers.

I agree with your point of view. To tell the truth, white papers are conceptual things, and I don't have a good way to filter them. In most cases, some project teams and project endorsements are seen, and then eggs are not put in one basket, and small investments are made. The essence is whether the project party wants to do evil? Or, someone forced him to do evil.

The project owners already have their roadmap in front of them which will never get revealed to their investors. The main scams that happen, happen in the form of abandonment of the project or simply vanishing into thin air. The way this is done, is by making sure the investors remain in the dark while the money is collected by the abstract in th whitepaper, while the team remains anonymous.

If you think whitepaper will tell you about a scam, you are mistaken. Even then a well established whitepaper and a legit team can fail.