Messari Launches Disclosure Registry for Cryptos
Cryptocurrency data and research company Messari is opening a disclosure registry for cryptocurrency projects that issue tokens. Now, information that would otherwise have been difficult to find about these projects will be publically available.
Messari is a startup based in New York that provides market data, research and insights for the cryptocurrency industry for regulators, investors and the public. The company had conducted an early-stage fund-raiser in March this year, through which it was able to generate $1 million to $1.5 million for this project.
Messari announced that it had now officially launched the open-source disclosure registry. The announcement was made on Tuesday at Coindesk’s Consensus: Invest conference.
This new registry will share a range of information that is typically not available to the public. This information will include details about information design, supply, audits done on the technology, official communications, the management of treasuries and team member profiles.
The founder and Chief Executive Officer of Messari, Ryan Selkis said that this new platform’s aim was twofold – standardizing information disclosures as well as automating them. This, he said, would make it easier for both casual observers as well as investors to learn about projects that interested them.
Selkis said that the most important part about this new platform was that it would usher in an era where there was standardization. Currently, standards are being driven by insiders as well as information asymmetry, wherein the last person to find out about changes that have taken place to a crypto project is the casual observer.
Messari will only collect data that is voluntarily disclosed by the participating parties and this information can be accessed for free within the industry. So far, twelve partners have already joined the project, including industry majors such as Civic and the Blockchain protocol Aion.
Developing the Crypto Economy
According to Selkis, transparency is key to the development of the cryptocurrency economy. He said that the projects that have participated with Messari in this venture share the same vision that information should be freely accessible to all, rather than being locked up behind a paywall of any data provider.
Messari is not the only firm to focus on the larger picture. Other organizations have also created self-regulatory and crypto development entities.
For example, in April this year, 16 Japanese crypto exchange operators joined hands to launch the Japanese Cryptocurrency Exchange Association (JCEA). In fact, crypto self-regulation organizations are cropping up across the globe in a bid to standardize the industry and bring legitimacy to it.