A founder of several Web2 and Web3 enterprises in the Czech Republic and Singapore recently explained how he successfully obtained CertiK’s Gold KYC Badge for his new high-budget meme project:

“A friend of mine who obtained the badge a few months ago recommended that I apply for it. It was quite easy for us to achieve the gold level, as we are used to being transparent, and we knew that CertiK takes privacy very seriously. We did a video call with CertiK and answered their follow-up questions, and they handled all the verifications without requiring any extra preparation or work from us.

This KYC Badge helped us quickly get listed on Gate.io, Bitget, Mexc, Bitmart, XT.com, and BingX, and we grew from 19K followers on Twitter to 54K followers within 30 days. In the very competitive meme environment, we can not waste our launch investment and are always looking for differentiators to stand out from the crowd.”

As both institutions and Web3 users become more engaged with projects led by verified teams, more developers are applying for the CertiK KYC Badge. Just like any startup, the success and security of a project depend not only on the code, but also on the team behind it.

Security engineers have observed that a simple bank-style ID check is insufficient to verify who is truly behind a startup project; this is why CertiK has brought in professional investigators with law enforcement and military backgrounds to conduct comprehensive background investigations tailored for Web3 development teams.

Since the CertiK KYC Badge is awarded at three verification levels—Bronze, Silver, or Gold—many developers are left wondering, how can they pass verification and achieve the highest level? In this blog, we’ll look at five tips.

1. Keep it Real

The background investigation is not an exam, so you don’t have to prepare or study anything. The investigators and analysts are the ones doing all of the work. To succeed, it is important to answer the investigator’s questions naturally. Their only objective is to get to know you better and to understand your specific way of doing things.

There’s no need to be formal, stressed, or to try to sound perfect; it is actually easier to get to know you if the conversation is casual and authentic. The more the investigators know about you, the better they can mitigate risks inherent in any development team.

2. Stick to the Instructions

The investigators are here to help you and will tell you exactly what to do to pass. It is therefore important to listen attentively and follow the instructions provided. Following instructions also means that you should not try to cheat the verification, as it could backfire and negatively impact the risk assessment.

Here are some common examples of applicants trying to cheat:

• Asking the investigators not to look into something
• Trying to conceal a person who has significant influence or stake in the project
• Using a fake ID or someone else’s ID
• Hiring a KYC actor or a friend to KYC on your behalf

Threatening the investigators to influence the result of their assessment. Trying to cheat during a verification process is obviously a major risk signal, and you can easily avoid it by simply sticking to the instructions.

3. Prioritize Transparency

In any background investigation and assessment, transparency is key. Being collaborative and open-minded signals trustworthiness, whereas being elusive and avoiding sharing information will trigger risk flags and raise concerns.

Examples of typical background evasion would be trying to hide your past, your collaborators, or your connections to specific partners. Keep in mind that lack of transparency is easy to detect, and that investigators and analysts have access to a broad range of open source intelligence as well as specialized proprietary databases.

Since the assessment rewards transparency, it is better to share your background as it is, rather than to try to hide it. Not only will a transparent approach help you obtain the badge, but it’s a policy that will also nurture a good relationship with the community supporting the project.

4. Do Not Lie

During a background investigation, many candidates are tempted to lie or use deceptive strategies to make their profile look better and increase their chances of passing. When dealing with a simple bank ID check—easy to defraud—it may work, because bank analysts are simply looking to check their boxes.

During a professional background investigation, however, lying can seriously backfire, as it is a major risk signal. When the background investigation is conducted by experienced, career law enforcement investigators and military intelligence analysts, the best choice is to be honest. These professionals will easily detect lies and deceptive strategies through discrepancy analysis.

Moreover, being honest will help establish credibility and build trust and confidence within the community, as well as among your investors and partners.

5. Set up Your Team for Excellence

A team that is fully engaged in their project and motivated to reach success will always do better in a verification process because they understand the benefits of achieving verified status.

In fact, verified status not only provides internal security within the team, but also helps differentiate the project from hundreds of unverified ones, facilitates listing on centralized exchanges, and builds trust with retail users. Knowing that one of the most common security concerns for Web3 developers is protecting their own privacy and personal safety, verification by a top-tier security company is an efficient way to establish transparency without the risk of doxxing personal information.

Aiming for a high level of trust within a project team can act as a virtuous circle, because once the team is aware that the project has top-level security standards, they will take operational security more seriously, which reduces risks, boosts pride in working for the project, and enhances performance and loyalty.

For more information about CertiK’s KYC Badge, visit our KYC Leaderboard.