The Methodology

Capital propagates in stages.

Crypto markets aren't random. Capital enters at the reserve tier, migrates outward through institutional rails into productive protocols, runs along narrative beta into terminal speculation, then funds the hidden infrastructure and asymmetric bets that survive the next cycle. Knowing which rung capital sits on tells you which signals matter, which sources to trust, and how to size a position.

Where capital lives, and what it's doing there.

These are the seven primary propagation stages — the same layers used to organise The COIL. Each block covers what kind of capital sits there, the psychology driving it, the per-layer scoring weights, what a strong setup looks like, and what to avoid. The source stack at the bottom of each block is where you read the signal in real time.

The checks that cut across every layer.

Liquidity Integrity and Partnership are not propagation stages — capital doesn't "live" in them. They are diagnostic overlays applied to every project regardless of which layer it sits on. A project can pass narrative, on-chain proof, and cohort cycle reads and still fail here. Skipping these overlays is how operators end up holding positions they cannot exit.

What to actually watch.

Thirty-five signals grouped by what they measure. The same source can power signals across multiple layers — Glassnode shows up in fuel-tier cycle reads, productive on-chain activity, and infra network health, because cohort and valuation data cuts across the propagation chain.

Reading on-chain proof, not headlines.

These are the deeper techniques that separate operators from spectators. Each is a class of analysis — wallet flow, cohort cycle, cluster mapping, miner pulse — paired with the primary tools, the strong-signal pattern, and the failure mode to avoid.

Twelve factors. Same evidence every time.

Before a project earns capital, run it through these twelve factors. Each row gives the question, the primary source(s) to verify it, and the patterns that distinguish a strong setup from a weak one. A position should clear most rows — a position based on one or two is a gamble in a costume.

Conviction Bands

The composite score sorts every project into one of five bands. Position size scales with band — not with how loud the narrative is.

Volume / Market-Cap Reading

V/MC tells you what kind of flow is in a token. Use it to filter out wash-traded volume and pump-tops.

The number is two numbers. Read both.

Every asset surfaces with two values that operate on different axes. Confusing them is the most common mistake readers make on first contact with the matrix output. The Power Rank is a peer-group ordering inside one capital layer. The L9 Band is an absolute quality assessment against the entire universe. Both are correct, both are useful, and they answer different questions.

Where signal actually comes from.

Forty-eight tools grouped by what they do best. Crypto research goes wrong when one source is asked to answer every question. The stack below is partitioned by capability so each signal is read from the platform purpose-built to surface it.

Putting it together.

The methodology in six repeatable steps. Run every potential position through this loop. The discipline is in doing it the same way every time — especially when the narrative is loud.

What's excluded from the propagation read.

The Matrix scores propagation. Some token types don't propagate — they mirror, peg, or wrap existing exposure. The COIL applies these filters across its 395-token universe and the methodology endorses them at the framework level.

Score your bag.

The methodology grades projects against twelve factors across nine layers. Your portfolio deserves the same treatment.