I noticed that when you get to evolutions, if you restart or turn off the game it resets progress towards your next evolution. I was 78% of the way to the research evolution, and reloaded the game and now I need 123 trillion research points, where i only needed 160 billion to begin with.
Quick guide for those who are confused.
Coin: Gain by adventuring (click on the circles on the map)
Iron/Gold/Diamond: Used to upgrade gear, click on the gear's picture to bring up the upgrade menu. Some upgrades are unavailable until you get other upgrades (Weapon min damage requires the max damage upgrade)
I think this is likely a result of the recent evolution requirements changes (they were kinda broken for some of them previously!)