The technical map for identifying fake crypto projects: from contract auditing to on-chain forensics
In 2025, the Hong Kong HashKey Exchange reduced the probability of private key cracking in the compliance sandbox to less than 10 ^ 3 ^ by "dynamic key sharding" technology, while supporting the quantum signature algorithm XMSS, becoming the first exchange in the world to pass the full-process audit of the European Union's Digital Assets Anti Money Laundering Regulations. This breakthrough marks a new era in the cryptocurrency industry from "hype-driven" to "technology verification-driven". After a DeFi project adopted its cross-chain protocol, the AML verification time was reduced from 24 hours to 1.2 hours, proving that technical compliance has become the core engine for identifying fake projects.
"Microscopic" inspection of smart contracts
Tencent Cloud's "blockchain + AI" system builds a three-tier defense system:
- Syntax parsing layer : Converting Solidity code into Syntax Tree (AST), a project discovered a reentry attack vulnerability through this technology, avoiding the loss of $3.20 million worth of assets.
- Pattern Matching Layer : Based on the SWC Registry Vulnerability Library training model, identify known attack patterns. In Q2 2025, 127 undisclosed integer overflow vulnerabilities were detected, blocking over $180 million.
- Semantic reasoning layer : Combining symbolic execution technology to deduce contract logic conflicts. A loan agreement finds mortgage rate calculation errors through this technology, avoiding systemic liquidation risks.
Arkham platform's "Global Address Graph" technology builds a monitoring network.
- Clustering analysis engine : Associate anonymous addresses with entity identities through 128 dimensions such as IP Address and device fingerprint. 32,000 high-risk addresses were identified in Q3 2025, with interception amounts exceeding 270 million dollars.
- Abnormal transaction identification : Set 37 risk thresholds such as "more than 100 small transfers in a single day" and "cross-chain fund concentration > 80%". After a certain exchange adopted it, the suspicious transaction identification rate increased by 400%.
- Cross-chain data association : Integrate 15 public chain data such as BTC and ETH to track the cross-chain flow trajectory of assets. In a money laundering case, the conversion path of funds from USDT → BTC → NFT was fully restored, and the evidence collection time was shortened from 2 weeks to 8 hours.
Authenticity Verification of Team and Community
LinkedIn data shows that there are three main characteristics of fake project teams.
- Resume gap : A core member of an NFT project claimed to have worked at Coinbase, but after verification, his LinkedIn account was forged and he was actually a member of the South East Asia fraud gang.
- Tech Hollow : The GitHub code repository shows that 90% of the smart contract code of a certain DeFi protocol is copied from Uniswap V2 and has not been optimized for security.
- Identity forgery : Through reverse search of Google images, it was found that the founder of a DAO project stole the photo of a well-known scholar and was actually an anonymous developer.
The authenticity of Telegram groups can be verified through three major indicators.
- User portrait : In a fake NFT project group, 83% of user account registration time is concentrated within 1 week, and there is no historical speaking record.
- Content quality : Technical discussions of high-quality projects account for more than 60%, while groups of false projects are filled with marketing narratives such as "pulling up" and "getting rich".
- On-chain behavior : Arkham platform data shows that the core member address of a fraudulent project transferred 90% of the tokens to the exchange 1 hour before the token was launched, and then the price plummeted by 95%.
Stress testing of economic models
HashKey Exchange's "dynamic key sharding" technology reconstructs the asset security system:
- Liquidity lock : A stablecoin project locks 90% liquidity through a smart contract, and the contract code shows that its USDT reserves correspond to 1:1 circulation, while fake projects usually lack such mechanisms.
- Reasonableness of returns : The European Union's Digital Asset Anti Money Laundering Regulation requires projects with an APY exceeding 30% to submit an economic model white paper. A certain DeFi protocol was deemed a Ponzi scheme because it promised an annualized return of 200% and could not provide mathematical verification.
- Cross-chain data correlation : Chainalysis' "Global Address Map" shows that the fund flow of fake projects presents typical characteristics of "single entrance → multi-exchange dispersion → anonymous wallet collection". In a certain fraud case, the conversion path of funds from USDT → BTC → NFT was fully restored.