- CoinMarketCap has launched the Data Accountability & Transparency Alliance
- A number of big-shot exchanges including Binance and OKEx have joined the alliance
- The alliance aims to impart a degree of accountability into the workings of exchanges
Cryptocurrency exchange platform Bancor on June 10, 2019, announced that it was joining CoinMarketCap’s Data Accountability &Transparency Alliance (DATA) to streamline reporting standards in the largely unregulated cryptocurrency industry. Notably, Bancor is just one of the many exchanges that have joined the initiative including the likes of Binance, Bittrex, OKEx, among others.
A Move Toward Uniform Reporting in the Cryptospace
Cryptocurrencies have for long enjoyed the infamy for being the “Wild West” of the technological revolution where, over time, shovel sellers have managed to outperform the price of gold that is being mined. Applying the same analogy to the digital asset space, it won’t be a stretch to say that cryptocurrency exchanges have a lot more in common with shovel distributors than one would think.
Both the institutes work as facilitators that enable the masses to mine the precious resource. In the cryptoverse, exchanges allow users to trade crypto assets among each while charging a minuscule transaction fee. However, among all these beautifully interwoven webs of mechanized processes, sometimes the loudest symptoms can go unnoticed.
The multi-billion dollar Bitconnect fiasco left a radiating impact on the reputation of exchanges in the crypto world. Of course, today we have exchanges like Coinbase and Binance that claim to follow the most sophisticated of AML and KYC strategies and undergo periodic audits but the menace of inflated trading volume and market manipulation still exists at large.
In order to put a stop to such ill-intentioned practices by exchanges, crypto analytics and research website CoinMarketCap is launching DATA. The initiative is an attempt to bring all the major global cryptocurrency exchanges together to promote greater transparency, accountability, and disclosure from crypto ventures.
We're thrilled to be among the 1st members of @CoinMarketCap's Data Accountability & Transparency Alliance (#DATA) — enhancing accountability & aligning reporting standards across the #blockchain industry. https://t.co/sO5ZYNqaCB pic.twitter.com/I2I5V1zynR
— Bancor (@Bancor) June 10, 2019
Putting a Check on Untamed Crypto Exchanges
According to the official post by CoinMarketCap, the two primary objectives of DATA are to:
- Review, align and enhance reporting standards across the industry
- Identify gaps, propose strategies and measures to enhance data accountability and transparency
It would be interesting to see whether the initiative extends beyond its goody-good intentions and actually helps propel the industry into the next level of maturity.
As reported by Blockchain Reporter on April 26, 2019, the New York Attorney General (NYAG) had accused exchange platform Bitfinex and stablecoin firm Tether of colluding to hide a mammoth investor loss of more than $850 million.
