What is a Roadmap in Crypto

The world of cryptocurrencies doesn't stop at Bitcoin alone . There are more than 5,000 projects listed on the CoinMarketCap website .

Many of these projects are pointless or doomed to disappear within months or years. However, some of them have interesting potential, and they should be monitored closely.

Behind every serious crypto-asset project is a development team. The members of this team generally have specific skills related to the project's theme and complement each other.

When investing in a project, it's important to know who will be responsible for each task and how the team plans to complete each step. But it's also important to know the deadlines by which the various stages of the project must be completed.

All the key dates in the development of a cryptocurrency project are recorded in what is called the roadmap . This term can be translated into French as "road map." Depending on who you talk to, you may find one or the other of these terms indifferent.

In this article, we'll cover everything you need to know about a roadmap.

What information is found in a roadmap?

The roadmap is a kind of guiding principle in the development of a project. It's what allows you to determine the order in which the various important points of the project will be implemented, and when. Sometimes, you can find ideas that predate the project as it is currently presented.

In a roadmap, we generally find the dates concerning the following information (in chronological order):

A genesis of the various points related to the project. For example, Bitcoin was only presented in October 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto , but the overall idea of ​​a cryptographic currency was much earlier.

The starting point of the project, i.e. the moment when the white paper setting out the terms of development of the project is published.

A key point that demonstrates the creation of a part of the project to demonstrate the team's skills. This could be:

• The creation of a small finished product.

• A semi-functional product.

• The release of a beta version of a website.

• A project previously completed by a team member.

• Etc.

For projects wishing to use ICO financing, the date of the ICO can be mentioned , or the date of a private sale prior to the ICO for certain qualified investors.

Once the ICO is over, you can find the dates for the following information:

The release of the different versions of the project: V1, V2, etc.

The implementation of the various important points of the project:

• Mainnet ( independent network , a term often found in ERC-20 token roadmaps created before setting up a blockchain separate from that of Ethereum ).

• First working product.

• X-th functional product.

• Obtaining a license.

• Solving scalability issues .

• Etc.

The moment the project is fully operational. Money should then normally start flowing into the company's coffers.

There are variations depending on the different projects, but generally we will find this kind of information in all the roadmaps .

Why establish a roadmap?

A rational investor will never invest in a project if it doesn't have a clear and precise roadmap . Given the irrationality of the cryptocurrency market, this has happened in the past. 

But this kind of thing should normally no longer happen in a few years when the crypto-asset market matures.

For investors, it is important for the development team to set a roadmap for several reasons:

• Provide investors with an overview so they know the key dates in the project's development.

• Check whether the development team is able to meet the deadlines it promised to meet. The credibility of the project depends on it.

• Evaluate the time the invested money will be tied up before expecting a return on investment.

• Have an estimate of the risk taken.

• Allows you to analyze the honesty of the development team. This can be done by comparing the team's skills with the planned implementation dates of certain components compared to what the competition has been able to achieve in the past.

If we look at it from the development team's point of view, the roadmap will mainly be used to find investors .

Please note that the dates indicated in a roadmap can be written in several formats:

• A specific date . For example, April 25, 2019.

• A defined period . For example, spring 2020. In this case, it is appropriate to consider that the date will de facto be the last day of spring, i.e. June 20, 2020.

• Around a specific date. For example, mid-2021. This is very vague and should theoretically place this date around July 1, 2021. However, consider that the date will be closer to August or September, given the unforeseen delays that most teams end up experiencing.

What happens if the roadmap is not met on time?

In the event of a delay, the first thing to determine is whether it's due to the project team or an external factor. If the team needs a regulator to obtain a license, as is the case with NapoleonX and the AMF, the regulator may be dragging things out. In this specific case, it's therefore not the fault of the project team. 

These "predictable" delays are not always clearly explained in roadmaps, hence the importance of showing understanding in the event of delays.

Now, what if it's related to a lack of team skills, overly ambitious goals, or internal conflicts within the company?

It's important to understand that no development team will ever explicitly admit that a delay is due to one of these factors. Therefore, it's important to carefully analyze the reasons given for a delay, as well as the circumstances surrounding the delay, and attempt to draw conclusions.

In case we are pretty sure that the roadmap delay issues are coming from the team, here are the usual consequences:

• Investors are losing confidence.

• They then sell their tokens.

• The token price is falling, as is the total capitalization.

This is usually a very bad sign and does not bode well for the future. In some cases, it can simply mean the death of the project, but not always. Indeed, every project always has its core of diehards who will believe in it until the end and who will not want to give up.

At Airdrop Quests, we advise you to do your best to find out before making any decisions. And if it turns out that the team is behind schedule due to simple incompetence, it's generally more useful to sell, even if your goal is to buy back later. 

However, you shouldn't make the mistake of selling last. Furthermore, if this is the project's only weakness, the price drop is sometimes the result of manipulation by a group of whales... who will then rush to raise it again. 

There are no simple solutions in such cases, and you will therefore always have to observe the facts in detail and remain objective.

What happens if the team is ahead of schedule?

Logically, an advance demonstrates the seriousness of the development team. The token price usually increases. But in practice, this must be analyzed with a more cautious eye .

Here are some questions to ask yourself before knowing if a project has actually completed a milestone early:

• Was this step (or another) rushed to allow for faster progress ?

• Will the project be carried out as originally planned in the white paper? Have there been any changes to the nature of the project along the way?

It's extremely rare for a development team to be ahead of schedule. That's why you should always be cautious and ask yourself the questions above to make sure there's nothing fishy going on.

Do all projects need a roadmap?

As we've seen in the previous points, the roadmap is primarily useful for attracting capital to the project. This is a very important point for new projects that need to raise money to begin their development phase.

But what about projects that don't need money to fund their operations? For example, did cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum need money to fund their development? 

What about a finished product that is able to cover its own expenses from the profits it generates, like Binance and its exchange?

In these specific cases, it's worth noting that a roadmap isn't necessarily useful for attracting new investors. Rather, a roadmap's purpose would be to consolidate the community around the project. It's also not necessary to provide specific dates. Giving an idea of ​​what will be implemented in the future is usually sufficient. Here are some examples:

1. Ethereum 's architecture needs to be improved over time. It's a project that's been underway for quite some time, and no specific date has been announced. 

Since Ethereum is a solid project with a proven track record, very few people doubt that this is just an empty promise. 

The only problem with not announcing a date is that some speculators may try to leave the project temporarily by trying to grow their capital on other cryptoassets while waiting to learn more.

2. Binance plans to launch a decentralized exchange (DEX). There's no specific date, but we do know that after four years, its BNB token will no longer offer a discount on transaction fees and will instead be used to run its decentralized exchange. 

So, we can assume it will be up and running around that time. However, we don't know what the token will be used for on this type of exchange and whether token holders will be compensated. 

However, the company has managed to climb to the top of the podium in terms of daily volume thanks to its traditional exchange (and some clever maneuvers that would have been completely illegal in the traditional market). 

Because of this #1 position, investors have confidence without really knowing how the system will work.

Conclusion

Before investing in a project, it's important to review the roadmap detailing the key milestones in its development. This will give you a better idea of ​​how long you'll have to wait before seeing a particular aspect of the project come to fruition and to check whether the development team is capable of meeting the deadlines they promised.

If the roadmap is not followed, you will need to be able to react quickly .

The roadmap will also allow you to know from what point a project will be able to generate revenue independently. The earlier you invest in a project, the less it will cost . On the other hand, you will have to wait longer before expecting to see a return on investment thanks to the economic activities generated by it.

It's also important to remember that a project with a roadmap that extends several years beyond your investment is more likely to fail. You'll therefore need to carefully monitor each stage of development to ensure everything is going as planned.