Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has compiled a list of (independent) third-party rating reports that help investors assess the legitimacy of blockchain projects. Binance’s library of almost 1,000 reports is called Info 2.0.

The exchange noted that Info 2.0 consists of information gathered from over 50 cryptocurrency rating agencies and various blockchain-related media sources. Info 2.0 (https://info.binance.com/) is free to download and allows crypto investors to analyze whitepapers published by initial coin offerings (ICOs).

Research-Based, Due Diligence Investments

Given the increasing number of scams orchestrated under the guise of ICOs, Binance’s crypto project library aims to provide accurate information on a blockchain startup’s founding members. It also helps investors determine whether the proposed project has the potential to develop legitimate products.

As covered on CryptoGlobe, investors are now more skilled at identifying legitimate blockchain projects according to Andy Bromberg, the president at CoinList, a startup that helps crypto firms perform anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) checks.

Vision Hill Advisors, a New York-based crypto asset and blockchain consultancy firm, has also joined a growing number of research focused companies that are helping investors make more informed decisions.

In a Medium blog post published by Vision Hill Advisors (on September 21st), the research firm recommended the development of a collaborative and standardized framework to evaluate the nascent cryptocurrency market.

Crypto Asset Nomenclature

As confirmed by other crypto industry professionals, the private token market has an “aggregated network value” of $10-$15 billion. A few such notable projects in this niche market, which did not raise funds publicly via an ICO, include DFINITY, Filecoin (blockchain-based data storage and retrieval platform), and Blockstack (a decentralized network for helping users maintain privacy).

In addition to recommending that crypto market participants formulate a standardized classification system for digital tokens, Vision Hills has researched an asset class in the blockchain industry called “crypto-enabled markets.” These are described by Vision Hills as follows: “[projects] that either bootstrap existing business models and tailor them toward crypto, or create new businesses in crypto.”

According to Vision Hills, a “new business” in crypto would be something like the development and implementation of a novel digital currency mining algorithm. “Bootstrapping” existing models may be done by launching a crypto-related news site – which has now been done extensively.

As covered on CryptoGlobe, an increasing number of firms have come forward to help new investors enter the crypto industry. Kendrick Nguyen, the founder of Republic, a crowdfunding platform for digital assets, has emphasized the importance of doing research before investing in blockchain projects. Nguyen also recommends only investing small amounts into cryptos as he considers them to be highly speculative and very risky at this stage of their development.