Create a DeFi White Paper That Will Attract Investors

A white paper is a deep presentation of your project, which not only introduces it but also explains why any investor will be interested in working with you. Speak in simple language, and investors will be drawn to you. After all, to do this, they must clearly understand what their interest is.

Having 5 years of experience, we will share our knowledge on how to create a DeFi white paper that attracts investors. Let’s talk about structure, key points, and professional tips for writing the DeFi white paper. Remember that the main purpose of such a document is to clearly explain why your project is important. What problem will it solve for the market right now? Well, and provide all the technical details about how this will happen.

Basic Rules to Write a DeFi White Paper

Fast blockchain development, in general, has given rise to many interesting projects, including those in the field of decentralized finance. Carrying an interesting idea and creative solutions, such projects require investments to develop and implement this idea into reality. This is the point when the need arises to create white papers that will tell the investor in simple language everything he needs to know about the project to become interested in it. 

Note that there are several approaches to what is called a white paper in DeFi. If a product has some fundamentally new model, it would be good to describe it in a document, as Uniswap did, show how it works, explain the math, etc. But if the product is based on already known approaches, it is often enough to write product documentation, for this they use GitBook and this documentation is more casual and simple. In your case, firstly, you need to determine what exactly the documentation format for your project should be.

There are basic rules that you can follow when creating the DeFi white paper. Of course, every project is different, and a personal approach will always help. However, here are some writing tips:

• Know your audience. This will affect both the language you should write in and the information you should provide first. For example, if you are talking about investors, you should immediately tell why your product will be interesting and what profit or benefits you predict for investors.
• Simple and clear. Your investors may be very far from the technical aspects of blockchain or DeFi. They will be interested not in the smallest technical details but in how the product will work as a whole and its potential. So, use short but meaningful sentences. Talk about what means the most. This recommendation applies primarily to the GitBook variant.
• Don't hide information. It's important to find a balance between not overloading the text with technical details and not providing the necessary information at all. It's not enough to say that your project will change the world. You need to tell how exactly it will do so.
• Use visuals. Long texts are tiring. Using the right visuals will not only make the presentation more attractive but will also help convey the necessary information. Graphs, illustrations, diagrams, etc. should be used.
• Talk about your team. Investors want to know who they're working with. Use white papers for this initial introduction. This will show that you can be trusted.

This is just the start, the first steps to writing successful white papers. You will see how much depends on the wording you use, the design, and even the structure of the document itself.

Structure of the DeFi White Paper

It's not how many details you give about your project that matter, but in what order you show them. For example, you can evaluate the structure of the most famous documents from Aave or EigenLayer. The best practices for writing a DeFi white paper come from experience and a deep understanding of what you wish to achieve.

Introduction

This section must tell shortly about your project and how it will change the world. In a maximum of two paragraphs, you need to explain what problem exists now and how your product will help solve it. A good example would be a Bitcoin WP Introduction with its brevity and simplicity.

Background Analysis

Here any investor can adjust his glasses and delve deeper into reading. It is important to make it clear what is wrong with the market at this very moment. Having assessed the problem, you can move on to assessing the solution that you propose. It must provide data and trends supporting the need for your DeFi solution. Not all projects include this part, but we say do it, as this will show the problem in detail. You can go further and try to calculate the interest of the project for investors based on market needs.

Technology Overview

This covers the underlying blockchain technology and protocols used in your DeFi system. This is where you need to strike a balance between technical details, which you are undoubtedly a master of and the conciseness of the presentation of information. The investor will be interested in your calculations, but it will be difficult for him to understand each figure. Try to convey the main idea. Check out Uniswap v3 Core White Paper to see how they did it. 

Use Cases

In this part, you must show practical examples of how the DeFi platform will be used, such as lending, staking, trading, etc. It must emphasize the value proposition for different users. Be creative, detailed examples always help to visualize your idea.

Legal and Compliance Considerations 

Many DeFi white papers also include a section on regulatory and legal frameworks, explaining how the project adheres to laws and regulations in various jurisdictions. It will depend on the country of the project's residence and many other variables. If in a situation with the technical part, to write white documentation you need the help of technical specialists of the project, then here you will need to involve legal advisers.

Team Introduction

As we said, to gain trust, you need to show trust. To let people know the team behind the project. It can be a short introduction, preferably done with photos.

This list is not exhaustive, of course. In the examples of successful projects that we will provide further, you will be able to see the application of Strategy, Roadmaps, and other elements. Be different, but use successful recipes.

Importance of the Design for DeFi White Paper 

Blockchain development means a growing number of projects and competition. In the past, the white paper might look like a volume of a technical dissertation. Now, design and layout are taking center stage. Yes, it is still technical documentation, but you want to attract investors with it, which means it should be bright and eye-catching. Here are some tips:

• Length of the document. Of course, you love your project, know every little detail about it, and want to share it with those who might appreciate it. However, how will all that knowledge help you if the investor simply gets tired of the text and closes the document after 2-3 pages? Based on our personal experience, the ideal length should not exceed 9-12 printed pages. The main thing is that the document contains exactly what will be important for your investors.
• Illustrations and charts. Visual design will not only help to dilute the dry text but also convey to the investor the technical aspects of your DeFi project. Charts, formulas, illustrations, graphs, diagrams – all this can and should be added to your DeFi white paper.
• Branding. A few years ago, when white papers for Bitcoin were created, no one thought about branding or its use in such documents. Now, as more and more projects appear and the fight for investors in the DeFi sphere becomes more intense, young projects try to attract attention to themselves. Including with the help of branding and its use in documentation. This can be expressed even in the simple choice of corporate colors and logo, as well as the further design of the project's technical documentation in this style.

It is not always the case that a good designer is available who can merge the available technical details with an attractive design in the brand style. For our clients, for example, we involve specialists in visual design for the best effect. 

How to Attract Investors with the White Paper for DeFi Project

So, you know the basics. But how to create a DeFi white paper that attracts investors? The best way is to be inspired by these projects who’ve managed to do so and be creative at the same time. Remember, you must be noticed and heard. See how they did it.

Bitcoin

Key elements:

• Innovation: We all know that this was something no one ever thought of or even considered serious. However, the technical background of the project and its presentation caught the eye.
• Step-by-step explanation. The whitepaper needed to explain a new system in a few pages. And you can literally see how it's performed with simple, understandable terms. Step-by-step, with talking on decentralization, a system of transactions and mining.

DAO Maker Launchpad

Key elements:

• Market Analysis. The project can be called a pioneer in the DeFi sphere since the idea and the project itself were born in 2017. The blockchain and cryptocurrency themselves were no longer something new, which means that the creation of white documentation had to be approached seriously. DAO Market did it specifically with an eye on attracting investors, creating a detailed analysis of the market and how their product can fit into this market.
• Strategy and Roadmap. This document also shows a successful use of the project development strategy and roadmap for investors and users. 

Ethereum

Key elements:

• Problem/Solution. Look at the perfect example of a Problem and Solution layout. First, you get information about the existing problem, such as BTC's limitations for complex applications. Then, you get a possible solution.
• Clear Vision. The creators of the project clearly saw the need for it and were able to convey in the white paper how exactly such a platform can help with executing scripts using an international network of public nodes.
• Alternative option. It not only proposed a new token and technical innovations such as the use of Turing completeness to enable executable smart contracts, but also presented these solutions as an alternative to the existing market situation.

The project raised more than $18 million and is now considered the second most trusted cryptocurrency. Vitalik Buterin and his team's work on white papers set the tone and rules for other similar projects.

How Do We Help?

In simple terms, we will turn our experience into ready-made white papers for your DeFi project. We will prepare drafts of the design that, as we already know from our work with clients, will grab attention visually. We will share insights based on the specifics of your project and suggest what information will be of most interest to investors.

Of course, we do not limit our services to just creating white papers. We offer a full complex of services you will need, including:

• discovery; 
• design;
• development (backend, frontend, blockchain);
• deployment; 
• delivery.

Typically, to start our collaboration with DeFi projects, we offer a free 30-minute introductory consultation. This way, we will learn about your project, and you will learn more about us and how we manage things. We will then offer you a package of services that will suit your needs.