The crypto news cycle in 2017 and 2018

Who could forget the collapse of BitConnect (BCC) in 2018? The lending and exchange platform’s proprietary coin, BCC, declined 90% in value in just one month, going from a market cap of around $3 billion to just $50 million.

Accused of running a Ponzi scheme using their currency, BitConnect flew to the skies through false promises of massive returns. While many savvy investors kept their distance, many new and naive investors flocked to capture this “opportunity.” They lost big.

The glaring issue was a lack of objective information about BCC. Sure, there were some cautionary news articles on crypto publications and warnings on forums. Look at this conversation on Quora in 2017 about BitConnect (some said stay away while others said it was a great opportunity). In general, it was hard for investors to see the warning signs.

BitConnect’s fraudulent activities — and those of other crypto scams like it — point to the bigger issue here: the need for sound investment research in the crypto publishing industry.

The current crypto content landscape

Consider the top publications in the crypto and blockchain industry. Names like NewsBTC, CryptoCoinsNews (CCN), and Coin Telegraph are commonplace on most lists you see.

These websites have risen rapidly to become leaders in the crypto content marketplace because they provide the latest crypto news and a wealth of educational information for beginners. Many of these sites also give insights into upcoming ICOs and pricing analysis for coins.

For many cryptocurrency and ICO investors, these publications serve as authorities for making trading decisions. And some of them do offer analysis and forecasts for coins, ICOs, and blockchain startups. But if you look through most of their content, it’s hard to argue that their focus is professional financial analysis.

For instance, CoinDesk is the most popular cryptocurrency and blockchain publication in the U.S. They’ve earned that rank, considering the sheer amount of content they produce. From breaking stories to technical analysis of ICO projects, CoinDesk offers its readers plenty of information for understanding the industry and avoiding some potential dangers, like investing in a fraudulent ICO.

However, head to CoinDesk’s or any similar site’s homepage. You’ll find articles mostly covering stories about government regulations, recent price changes, and noteworthy partnerships.

In other words, research is not the focus of these sites. And that’s not surprising. The skills required to be a professional investment researcher can only be gained on Wall Street or in similar asset management settings.

What current crypto research and content lacks

You may notice that CoinDesk does have a data and research section. But it’s not central to their offering.

Other sites, like Hacked.com, prioritize research-driven articles about cryptocurrency and ICO investments. Many even claim to have given their readers great returns.

The problem is traders still don’t have a reliable way to make timely, accurate decisions. That’s because the investment advice you find for cryptocurrencies suffers two key problems:

A lack of depth and complexity: Trade recommendations help, but serious investors deserve advanced tools and data to streamline decision-making and maximize returns. In short, there isn’t something out there like the Bloomberg Terminal for the crypto industry (we’re filling that role with XResearch). A lack of transparency: Investors may be able to view information about the crypto analysts whose content they’re reading, but they don’t have access to an immutable record of their trades to see their performance (so they can’t be absolutely sure these writers are actually reliable).

Furthermore, since Bitcoin arrived in 2009, there’s been uncertainty over the data and news being delivered to investors and enthusiasts. From claims of inaccuracies over cryptocurrency market cap valuations to mere rumors spooking the market (like premature worry over a ban in South Korea in early 2018), it’s hard to know what’s trustworthy and what isn’t.

Crypto marketing tactics only make investing more difficult

When you have celebrities like Paris Hilton and Floyd Mayweather promoting coins, along with countless YouTube stars, this is an obvious cause for concern. Anyone with a platform can be paid to push coins and ICO projects. This puts even more people at risk of making a bad investment or simply giving money away to fraudulent projects.

On top of these unscrupulous promotional campaigns, there are bad actors orchestrating “pump-and-dumps.” In fact, there are so many cryptocurrency pump-and-dump groups and tactics across social media channels that the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission has issued an advisory to cryptocurrency and ICO investors.

There’s also a lot of market manipulation in general. The US Department of Justice began a probe into this in 2018, citing proof that crypto traders are creating a mirage of increased market demand.

In short, too many crypto marketing strategies are designed to trick people into making bad investments. This is similar to what happens in the penny stock market, made infamous by The Wolf of Wall Street.

The time has come to put a stop to all this dishonesty.

Bringing truth cryptocurrency and ICO investors

The current marketplace is dominated by a handful of B2C publishers that are, simply put, op-ed and news reporting sites. They don’t offer the data and tools savvy investors need to make the most profitable decisions in real time.

This is a big reason why most traditional, institutional investors haven’t begun trading crypto or participating in ICOs — there’s no reliable research out there. A professional research platform and B2B investment research portal don’t exist for serious investors.

In other words, there is still no ‘source of truth’ for the crypto markets.

A single source of truth, a platform where investors have access to the best, reliable research, is the clear solution to the problem. This is how crypto traders can learn to make the best decisions and avoid the dangers inherent to the current crypto content and marketing landscape.

Enter XResearch — the world’s first crypto, blockchain, and ICO investment research firm. Our goal is to empower investors to make good decisions with their crypto investments. It’s that simple.

By democratizing investment research marketplace through the blockchain, and publishing our own expert research from our experienced team, we will take out the guesswork associated with investing in coins and ICOs. And we’ll do our best to help investors and traders around the world win.

Interested to hear more about our project? Visit www.xres.io and join our Telegram group to learn more.