Investor Cost Basis
Investor cost basis is the price each cohort paid per token: seed, private, public sale, or nothing at all in the case of an airdrop.
TradFi parallel: Like a cap table where every round carries its own entry price. When a lockup expires, holders with different entry prices can face the same liquidity event with different incentives.
Key Takeaways
- 01Start with the definition: Investor cost basis is the price each cohort paid per token: seed, private, public sale, or nothing at all in the case of an airdrop.
- 02Read the governing documentation before treating a label as a supply conclusion
- 03Separate scheduled entitlement, contractual transferability, and actual circulating supply
- 04Use dated on-chain or canonical data for any amount, percentage, or event date
- 05A buyback, unlock, burn, or reward label does not by itself establish the net supply effect
- 06Remove or qualify any project-specific conclusion that cannot be reproduced from a primary source
How It Works
Investor cost basis is the price each cohort paid per token: seed, private, public sale, or nothing at all in the case of an airdrop.
The label alone does not establish a token's current supply impact. To evaluate investor cost basis, read the governing token documentation and contract rules, distinguish scheduled entitlement from tokens that are actually transferable or circulating, and use dated on-chain data for any quantity. Do not infer a burn, price effect, holder behavior, or release amount from the label alone.
When a claim depends on a figure, date, allocation, fee route, or prior market event, retain it only when the underlying primary document, governance record, contract state, or reproducible data snapshot is available. Otherwise state the mechanism generally and leave the project-specific conclusion out.
Real World Examples
Scenario 1: verify before concluding
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Use the project's published rules, the relevant contract or governance record, and a dated supply snapshot. Keep only conclusions that those records directly support.
Scenario 2: verify before concluding
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Use the project's published rules, the relevant contract or governance record, and a dated supply snapshot. Keep only conclusions that those records directly support.
Scenario 3: verify before concluding
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Use the project's published rules, the relevant contract or governance record, and a dated supply snapshot. Keep only conclusions that those records directly support.
Scenario 4: verify before concluding
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Use the project's published rules, the relevant contract or governance record, and a dated supply snapshot. Keep only conclusions that those records directly support.
Scenario 5: verify before concluding
View →
Use the project's published rules, the relevant contract or governance record, and a dated supply snapshot. Keep only conclusions that those records directly support.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is investor cost basis different from raise amount?
Check the governing documentation, contract state, and dated on-chain or canonical data. The answer depends on the project's specific rules and current supply state, so do not infer it from the label alone.
How do I estimate a cohort's cost basis?
Check the governing documentation, contract state, and dated on-chain or canonical data. The answer depends on the project's specific rules and current supply state, so do not infer it from the label alone.
If a token trades below the investor entry price, is the unlock safe?
Check the governing documentation, contract state, and dated on-chain or canonical data. The answer depends on the project's specific rules and current supply state, so do not infer it from the label alone.
What is the cost basis of an airdrop?
Check the governing documentation, contract state, and dated on-chain or canonical data. The answer depends on the project's specific rules and current supply state, so do not infer it from the label alone.
Which cohort usually has the lowest cost basis?
Check the governing documentation, contract state, and dated on-chain or canonical data. The answer depends on the project's specific rules and current supply state, so do not infer it from the label alone.
Related Terms
insider unlockraise amountbeneficiary categoryairdropsupply pressuretoken allocationimplied fdvunlock cohort mix
Track on Tokenomist
Supply-side analysis for educational purposes. Not financial advice. Verify assumption and precision labels on the relevant token page.
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