Use this checklist as a practical sprint plan to reach investor-grade evidence.
Table of Contents
- Core “Must-Have” Documents
- Technical & Operational Controls
- Jurisdictional & Licensing Notes
- Pre-fundraising Checklist
- Conclusion
Core “Must-Have” Documents {#core-must-have-documents}
- RoPA / Data map (Article 30) — mandatory
- DPIA for AI high-risk processing
- Token Whitepaper + legal opinion draft (MiCA readiness)
- Incident Response Plan (72-hour practices)
- AML/KYC policy (if payments or token flows present)
- Vendor register with criticality scoring
Technical & Operational Controls {#technical-operational-controls}
- Access control & least privilege
- Encryption at rest & in transit
- Secure model training pipeline (audit logs for datasets)
- Backup & recovery tests (quarterly)
- Logging & monitoring with retention policy
Jurisdictional & Licensing Notes {#jurisdictional-licensing}
- Have a banking & entity backup plan for EU and UAE
- ADGM/DMCC/Estonia are often primary targets for crypto startups — document why you chose one
- Prepare bank and investor dossiers early
Pre-fundraising Checklist {#pre-fundraising}
- One-pager compliance summary (for DD)
- Evidence folder: policies, contracts, RoPA, incident logs, third-party audits
- Legal readiness statement for term sheet negotiations
Conclusion {#conclusion}
This checklist turns vague compliance anxiety into a short, funded roadmap. Startups that prepare this document outsell peers in term-sheet negotiations and banking requests.
