FMV Scorecard

How reviews are scored

Every FMV review grades the project on the same 7 dimensions, each out of 5, for a total out of 35. The rubric never changes between reviews. That is what makes a 13 and a 22 comparable. Scores grade the evidence, not the vibes: a claim that cannot be verified scores as if it were false.

Why 35 and not 100

A five-point scale per dimension is the most granularity an honest reviewer can defend. The difference between a 2 and a 3 on token-thesis linkage can be argued from evidence; the difference between a 67 and a 71 on a hundred-point scale cannot. Precision beyond the evidence is marketing.

The seven dimensions

Underlying thesis strength

Is the problem real, and is this a credible way to attack it?

Scores low when: The thesis only works inside its own pitch deck.
Scores high when: The thesis survives contact with sceptical first principles.

Token-thesis linkage

Does the token capture the value the thesis creates, or just sit next to it?

Scores low when: The token is a fundraising instrument with a narrative attached.
Scores high when: Value accrual is mechanical, documented, and already in force.

Founder/team credibility

Has this team shipped before, and do their public claims check out?

Scores low when: Anonymous or unverifiable, with claims that don't reconcile.
Scores high when: Named, accountable, with a verifiable record in the domain.

Community and traction

Is usage organic and retained, or rented through incentives?

Scores low when: Activity is mercenary and disappears when emissions stop.
Scores high when: Retention holds without payment; users would miss the product.

Narrative timing

Is the market ready for this story, or is the project early, late, or off-cycle?

Scores low when: Fighting the cycle, or arriving after the narrative is exhausted.
Scores high when: Positioned ahead of a narrative with visible catalysts.

Risk/reward

At current valuation, what do you risk against what you could plausibly make?

Scores low when: Downside is structural; upside requires everything to go right.
Scores high when: Asymmetry favours the holder even under conservative assumptions.

Transparency and disclosure

Can the project's own numbers and claims be independently verified?

Scores low when: Key facts are missing, obfuscated, or contradicted by on-chain data.
Scores high when: Docs, treasury, vesting, and metrics are public and reconcile.

What a score means

The same anchors apply to every dimension. Where the evidence is ambiguous, the score rounds down.

1/5Claim contradicted by evidence, or no evidence exists.
2/5Claim unverified; what evidence exists cuts against it.
3/5Mixed: real signal, real unresolved problems.
4/5Claim substantially supported by verifiable evidence.
5/5Claim independently verified; would survive a hostile audit.

Verdict bands

The verdict on each review is written editorially. It can carry nuance like “Avoid, Watch for Reform,” but it must sit inside the band its score lands in. Verdicts cannot drift from scores.

Band	Score	Meaning
Avoid	Below 40% (0–13)	The evidence cuts against the pitch. The burden of proof is on the project, and it hasn't met it.
Watch	40–59% (14–20)	Real signal, real unresolved problems. Worth tracking; not worth underwriting until named risks resolve.
Speculative	60–79% (21–27)	The thesis holds but key claims remain unproven. Constructive, with explicitly sized uncertainty.
Conviction	80%+ (28–35)	Claims verified, incentives aligned, risks named and survivable. The rarest band by design.

Re-scores and corrections

Projects change; scores follow. When material new evidence emerges (an incident, a delivery, a disclosure), the review is updated, the change is dated in the article, and the score is revised against the same rubric. We do not silently edit verdicts. Factual errors are corrected and flagged; email hello@funnymoneyverse.com if you spot one.

Independence

No project pays for a review, a score, or a re-score. Scores are not investment advice. They grade the quality of evidence behind a project's claims at the time of writing, nothing more. See legal & disclosures for the full policy.

See the rubric in action: browse the reviews. Every scorecard links back here.