RealOpen Certified · Field resource
Crypto buyer qualification checklist
The ten first-conversation questions with the routine, dig-deeper and stop answers, and the green, yellow, red screen on one page.
From Lesson 3, Qualifying crypto buyers and avoiding scams. By Johnny Schiro. Updated 2026-10-10.
Before any showing
- Asked how the buyer plans to use the crypto: sell first, borrow against it, pay the seller, or convert at closing. Cash or financed.
- Asked the ten questions below and wrote the answers down.
- Placed the buyer on the screen: green, yellow or red.
- Green or yellow: sent the buyer to get verified today. Red: no showings until something changes.
The ten questions
| # | Ask | Routine | Dig deeper | Stop and verify first |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What crypto do you currently own? | Named coins you know | A token you cannot find | "It's complicated"; a token they created |
| 2 | Roughly what is it worth? | A number, price moves | A to-the-dollar figure from a platform | A number they never checked themselves |
| 3 | Where is it held? | A wallet or well-known exchange | A platform you have never heard of | Cannot say; "my partner handles that" |
| 4 | Do you personally control it? | "I do" | An LLC, trust or custodian with signers | A partner, advisor, trader or broker |
| 5 | Available today, or expected? | Available | Staked, vesting, on hold, with a date | Expected: a distribution, payout or release |
| 6 | If someone else controls it, who, and why are they in this purchase? | Not applicable | A documented business partner | An investor or overseas contact never met in person |
| 7 | Any of it staked, locked, pledged, restricted? | "No" or "this much, until this date" | "Some, I'd have to check" | "Locked until I pay the release fee" |
| 8 | How much of the purchase is crypto? | A stated share | Depends what a partner releases | All of it, from funds not received |
| 9 | All cash or financed? | Clear | Not sure yet | Depends on funds arriving |
| 10 | Can we verify the funds before showings? | "Sure, how?" | "What does that involve?" | Postponed repeatedly, or "impossible" |
The screen
| Green | Yellow | Red | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assets | Exist, controlled by the buyer today | Exist, temporarily restricted | Promised, pending, or only on screenshots |
| Control | The buyer | Entity, custodian or multisig the buyer is part of | A partner, advisor or contact |
| Location | Named wallet or known exchange | Exchange with limits; institutional account | Cannot be named; unknown platform |
| To use it | Verification, welcomed | Documents and time | An upfront payment to anyone |
| Verification | Now | After the restriction clears | Postponed or "impossible" |
| Buying power | Covers cash to close with a cushion | Narrow, or after an unlock | Depends on money not received |
A screen, not a verdict. Red means stop showing property, not that anyone committed fraud.
Never
- Ask for or accept a private key, seed phrase, exchange password or two-factor code.
- Take custody of a buyer's crypto or give them your own wallet address.
- Send a buyer a deposit address. Addresses come from the buyer's own RealOpen account; wire instructions come from escrow, confirmed by phone.
- Recommend a platform, a trader or a recovery service.
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