There are nearly 1,600 cryptocurrencies on CoinMarketCap (CMC) and many more that aren’t listed. These coins and tokens on CMC are being traded on one exchange or another, but you would struggle to find a single exchange that lists all, or even many, of them -- and for good reason. A lot of the cryptocurrencies available today will not be around in one year, two years or five years time. The crypto space is largely unregulated, unchecked and unbalanced. As a result, there are many projects with questionable merit.

But where do you draw the line between a project that adds value and one that does not? Listing processes vary from exchange to exchange. While most exchanges don’t go into too much detail about the steps taken before a listing is made, there is a need for a level of transparency to assure traders that when we list a token, you know that we vouch for it.

Doing our own research

At QUOINE, we implement a strict due diligence process for any potential listing on our exchanges or token sale launch on our ICO platform by vetting the management team, carrying out a technical review, assessing token economics and analysing marketing outreach efforts, among other criteria. We like to see activity being made on Github and a vision for using blockchain technology to improve upon some aspect of life in the modern world. In order to protect our community, we endeavor to list only quality projects that have valuable utility in the ecosystem.

We get approached by multiple startup projects on a daily basis asking to list on our exchanges or use our ICO platform. If a project doesn’t meet our standards, we won’t list it. It’s more important to us to focus on quality than quantity, even though we forego potential listing fees by opting for this approach. We see a bright future for all of the projects we list and we pride ourselves on finding new and interesting cryptocurrencies, some of whom have been flying under the radar, to share with our community. These are projects we consider gems and in due course we believe they will flourish.

Leveling the playing field

We will always be selective about who we choose to work with. When we put a coin or token on our exchange, we do it to benefit everyone, from our token participants through to the developers of the project. Some fluctuation in price after listings should be expected, but when that turns into an obvious pump and dump, clearly something has gone wrong with the system and many traders will end up losing out. This is unacceptable.

Inorganic movements in price happen and we are aware of that, but if we as a community end up expecting new token listings on major exchanges to suddenly shoot the price up by 50%, 100% or even more, then there are fundamental flaws in the listing approach and how it is carried out. Our forthcoming World Book, which will connect a global network of crypto exchanges, will help enable more price transparency in this space, and also address the issue of large price discrepancies between different exchanges, so we can help make it a level playing field no matter which exchange you use.

Why should customers who put their trust and faith in an exchange, end up buying a coin or token at a vastly inflated price, only to see their investments dwindle in a few short hours? Every time a coin pumps, there will be people who have bought at the top, or thereabouts. While we acknowledge that prices will always go up and down, when this happens as a result of manipulation of the market, questions need to be asked about how such a scenario was able to unfold.

This is why we err on the side of caution. We want to work with startups that share our vision of a free and fair market that protects the interests of their communities. We need to remain vigilant about who we work with in the rapidly evolving crypto space, and continue educating our customers about the benefits and risks of participating in ICOs, especially if we want bring new people into crypto and make them feel welcome.

Building trust

We believe that trust is the most important factor in the relationship between exchange and community. That’s why we take extra precautionary steps when it comes to elements of the business such as security. As many of you will know, we are regulated by the Japan Financial Services Agency. Such an accolade is not handed out lightly. The values of being secure, transparent and trustworthy are deeply embedded into our DNA, especially as we move forwards towards the launch of our LIQUID platform and World Book.

Much of what we do remains behind the scenes, but we are committed to sharing with you as much as we can about the development of our project and our business practices so we can continue on this long and wonderful journey together. We don’t want anyone to get left behind because our vision is one of inclusion and truly democratising finance.



