Data Transparency is oxygen to rejuvenate the Cryptocurrency Ecosystem
ICO & STO rating based on Data Transparency
Why Data Transparency grading is essential in ICO rating?
With the advent of big data, businesses are slowly moving from their mentality of “need to know” basis to complete transparency. It’s unsurprising then that many businesses in mature industries are now looking for easy ways to increase data transparency. However, the same cannot be said of the crypto space. To give you a glimpse of the numbers:
With core essentials of ICO details missing from any public source disclosed by the company, it is no wonder the ICO market is in the doldrums.
Does Crypto Space needs to renew faith in ICOs & STOs?
Akin to the credit risk ratings S&P & Moody’s provides, the crypto space is in dire need of an independent research house to provide a data transparency grade to ICOs to ensure independent investors — retail or institutional have clarity on their investments.
The benefits of such an independent grade would be manifold
Ease of understanding for the investor
The retail investor will struggle to sift through volumes of information, be it a 150-page whitepaper or the numerous blogs or social forums that the ICO provides information in. A Data Transparency Grade will allow the investor to concentrate, just on the project, it’s deliverables and the feasibility and take away the voluminous effort of data handling. It will allow for easy benchmarking of similar projects and support to the right ventures.
Transparency in the community
What the crypto community lacks today, ironically, is trust. A complete disclosure of ICO details is a bare minimum expectation of the ICO team. To foster this spirit, a rating on clarity and exhaustiveness of data will hold founders accountable to the process of the ICO.
Building credibility for the ICO
A clear understanding of how funds are going to be utilized, for example, adds an element of forethought on the part of the founders. It goes to add significant credibility to the ICO process and the thoroughness on the part of the ICO team.
In this ecosystem, rating providers have been often sponsored by ICOs to boost specific ratings. A required alternative to this conflict-of-interest ridden society is an independent research-house providing this rating and InWara is primed to do this. With no affiliation to ICOs, and an exhaustive database of over 4150 ICOs & STOs, InWara is equipped with the scale and team to deliver this direly needed requirement of the crypto community. InWara doesn’t accept any monetary compensation for listing ICOs on their database and hence have a robust ecosystem in place to breathe life-breath into the space.
Methodology adopted for ICO rating based on data transparency
The entire dataset provided by the ICO is divided into the following sections:
- Company Details: This will include simple elements like the address, holding company (if any), among others
- Token Details: This will include all elements of the token sale from Sale Dates to Funds raised among other essentials.
- On-Chain Data: This will include the paper-trail of token sale, creation and post-sale distribution activities on the blockchain
- Documentation: This will include clear sources for all claims made by ICOs
- Miscellaneous: This will include miscellaneous details around deployment of a clear bonus structure, github activity among others
Based on the disclosed fill rate of each of the data points, a individual score is designated to each of the sections and the individual sections are then weighted to give the final letter grade. The expected number of datapoints across these five sections is ~120.
Data Transparency Grading
The same gradation is followed for all ICOs with no exception.
What is the current status of ICOs in the Industry?
Having completed this exercise for 4150+ ICOs, InWara is happy to publish this as a summary:
Number of ICOs vs Rating — Bottom heavy, top light as expected (Source: InWara’s ICO Database)
The number of ICOs with AA transparency is at a abysmal 0.7%. The number of ICOs in the bottom two ratings is a significant 33%. Over 60% of ICOs are disclosing only 65% of potential data to the public during or after their ICO event.
What’s the value of the Data Transparency Grade?
An analysis of InWara’s Data Transparency Grade immediately indicates value. Post evaluating ICOs and assigning grades to each ICO, the following were noted:
Better the rating — More active the development (Source: InWara)
Companies with good disclosure habits, tend to work more honestly and perform better.
For a full understanding of the ratings, subscribe to the InWara Database.
Disclaimer: Content sourced from InWara. This is not financial advice. InWara does not promote/demote any company/ICO. Opinions, statements, estimates and projections in this message or other media are solely those of the individual author(s). They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Inwara or any of its affiliates (“Inwara”). Inwara has no obligation to update, modify or amend this message or other media, or to otherwise notify a recipient thereof, in the event that any matter stated herein, or any opinion, projection, forecast or estimate set forth herein, changes or subsequently becomes inaccurate. Any content, information and any materials provided in this message or other media is on an “as is” basis. Inwara makes no warranty, expressed or implied, as to its accuracy, completeness or timeliness, or as to the results to be obtained by recipients, and shall not in any way be liable to any recipient for any inaccuracies, errors or omissions herein. Without limiting the foregoing, Inwara shall have no liability whatsoever to a recipient of any message or media, whether in contract, in tort (including negligence), under a warranty, under statute or otherwise, in respect of any loss or damage suffered by such recipient as a result of or in connection with any actions, opinions, recommendations, forecasts, judgments, or any other conclusions, or any course of action determined, by it or any third party, whether or not based on the content, information or materials contained herein. For more details visit terms and conditions.
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