DYOR: Why Doing Your Own Research Is Key in Crypto
By | Updated January 7th, 2022
What does DYOR mean?
DYOR is an acronym for “Do Your Own Research.” Just like you shouldn’t buy stock in a company you never heard of before – or buy a Rolex from a guy you just met in a bus station bathroom – you should not buy a coin or token you haven’t yet researched.
DYOR is an acronym for “Do Your Own Research.” Just like you shouldn’t buy stock in a company you never heard of before – or buy a Rolex from a guy you just met in a bus station bathroom – you should not buy a coin or token you haven’t yet researched.
Why Is It Important to DYOR?
“Do Your Own Research” is not a new concept. The idea that you should know about what you’re buying before you buy it must be thousands of years old by now, but it entered English common law (upon which American law is established) in 1603 as the notion of caveat emptor – Latin for “buyer beware.”
The case itself is called Chandelor v Lopus. In brief, a man paid £100 for a special stone that he believed to have magical properties. It turned out not to be the real deal (by magical stone standards), but the judges presiding over the case ruled it had been the buyer’s duty to verify the authenticity of the stone before purchasing it. In other words, Chandelor should have done his own research.
DYOR entered the crypto lexicon during the wave of initial coin offerings that flooded the market around 2017. Several new companies sought to raise money to create new apps, services and coins. Many of these were legitimate and genuinely intended to deliver on their promises. Many others were vicious scams created with the sole intention of draining unsuspecting investors’ coffers. Investors were thus encouraged to DYOR, lest they might become the next casualty in the frontier that is the early crypto market.
People often include DYOR as a disclaimer when they offer their own crypto tips. This is fair, as doing so means they’re not promising their advice to be solid gold. As a disclaimer, DYOR essentially means “Don’t place all your trust in me. If I knew everything there is to know about crypto, I wouldn’t be spending my time tweeting or blogging.”
DYOR isn’t exclusively offered as crypto advice. Nowadays it’s also applied to stocks, bonds, REITs, hedge funds and marriage.
Conclusion
DYOR: It’s like “buyer beware” for crypto investors. Don’t take someone else’s word for it – research any investment opportunity to death before you soak your hard-earned money into it.