CIRI, a crypto interest rate index - Unqualified Opinions
plus a re-skin of our home page and boards prototype
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New Messari.io Features
We just pushed some exciting new updates to the Messari home page, features that mark our most recent iterative step to build the “S&P of crypto.”
As we’ve written before, the S&P of crypto (reference data / indices, ratings, and market intelligence) will look very different from its historical comp. It will be built on open data and public APIs; the product suite will cater to digital natives; and the platform will have a very strong social component.
Our goal is not to build a large editorial or research desk, and it’s not to be the deepest provider of analytics in any given vertical. Instead, we’re working to create better reference data standards, promoting transparency ratings through our registry, and curating market intelligence. We’re going broad, and (hopefully) helping people navigate the crypto chaos a bit more sensibly. Today’s updates reflect that.
Our new home page contains a v1 discovery feed that makes it easier to filter by the subject or media type that a consumer would find most helpful in going down the rabbit hole on a given topic. Every data type is modularized via a “card.” Every card is categorized and connected. Every data point ties back to our reference data standards. Based on basic math and common sense, we do not expect that Messari will offer the deepest part of the crypto rabbit hole on every topic for every audience. But! We should be able to synthesize the best available resources and point you in the right direction.
Speaking of reference data, we also released v1 of our Crypto Interest Rate Index (CIRI). Right now we’re only pulling from a handful of sources (the markets are nascent), and looking at a very narrow initial rate (BTC - 30 day rate). We’ll add to this over time in terms of both duration and asset coverage, and there is a LOT of work still to do on our methodology. Earning industry buy-in that this can prove to be a much needed industry benchmark will take time. CIRI v1 is now live (and Bitfinex as an input is making it look pretty ugly).
We’ve incorporated our Boards prototype into the main site. It’s still janky. We’ve heard the feedback, and are working feverishly on building accounts for our power users so it’s easier to save custom views, and create private boards that teams can share. For now, we’ve made discoverability a much bigger feature of the prototype, so you can keep creating, sharing and searching new content that our research community has been pulling together.
The future of financial data, particularly in crypto, will be socially curated. We knew that from day one as we built out our volunteer army of analysts. We knew that when we started working on a registry that could be decentrally governed and data standards that were 100% open and transparent. And we’re building our product with that social-first mindset.
Much more coming. Stay tuned!
-TBI
P.S. Share. Subscribe. Spread the (rational) crypto love. Tweet at me or Messari for requests, feedback, comments, or questions.
Best of the Boards
This week we are switching things up and highlighting some of the best user generated boards from the past week. Build your own, tweet it, and tag us us for a chance to be featured next week!
Long Reads Sunday Watchlist - @nlw
Get a behind the scenes look at Nathaniel Whittemore’s long reads Sunday with this board run by Nathaniel himself. If you missed it the first time around you need to check out.
Our board on registry participant Maker was popular last week. Check out some updates from the team and some helpful DeFi tools.
Bitcoin Banks - @ericturnr
What is a Bitcoin Bank? Take a look at this board to get some historical context and a recent YouTube discussion that covers the topic.
Speaking of DeFi, this board tracks a range of DeFi projects including updates, price, analysis, and more. Take a look at let us know what you think.
Did I miss something?
Send me the link, your twitter handle and your best imitation compression algorithm write up. If I like it, I’ll include your bit next issue (with attribution).
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