It’s no secret that finding good cryptocurrency market data can be challenging. The recent increase in values and corresponding mainstream acceptance have led to vast amounts of new data, all of which is difficult to process.
Data confusion
The cryptosphere is still nascent, hence there’s a wide disparity among fact providers, often resulting in extensively different information propagated. Nevertheless, the need for open and clear marketplace data is critical for investors, even as cryptocurrencies continue to gain greater market presence.
In the field of price and volume trading data, Chicago-based Barchart has begun offering a full range of data for cryptocurrencies, including streaming, on demand, and historical data. Mark Haraburda, CEO of Barchart, says:
“The crypto marketplace is complicated and still developing best practices. Barchart’s ability to provide institutional-level service and support serves as a differentiator, can help simplify, and add transparency to the crypto ecosystem.”
The company will provide data for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dash and Monero, as well as cover major exchanges such as GDAX, Bitstamp, Poloniex, OKCoin, Kraken, HitBTC and Huobi.
Crypto-friendly news
While data is certainly a struggle, so is news, especially regarding ICOs and cryptocurrency information. The recent Chinese exchange ban highlights the volatility of news in the ever-changing crypto world.
The ban began as a rumor propagated on Twitter, and was quickly picked up by major news outlets. Shortly after, the news was questioned as fake, and the same outlets published a series of reversals. Finally, the Chinese government released a statement calling for the end of exchanges. At each turn, the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies responded quickly and negatively, added volatility to an already strained market.
What’s more, many news outlets are anti-cryptocurrency, and are quick to publish information that is not particularly friendly. In the recent Chinese confusion, certain outlets published news without having reliable sources, leading to greater levels of fear.
Some Blockchain-based pro-crypto companies are looking to provide new sources for such events. Companies like Snip, AKASHA, onG and Zloadr are seeking to create new sources for media by linking news writers and consumers together over peer-to-peer networks.
This means that news comes directly to the consumer without being influenced by external centralized news outlet control. These Blockchain platforms allow news to be promulgated via known sources. Snip, for example, claims:
“The platform is powered by the community, with members writing stories, voting on the best stories, engaging in discussions, and rewarding contributors with tokens. The important role of community feedback gives writers an incentive to create high-quality content. Content is therefore managed directly by the community, and sourceless information or weak articles are quickly rejected.”
Fact-checking Twitter, Reddit
Still, most cryptophiles are using Twitter and Reddit as their news feeds. The only issue with these outlets is that they often contain news intended to have shock value in order to gain likes, retweets, and so on.
That being said, news seekers can pursue information from these sources, but should be careful to fact check. Reading the comments will often give clarity on the veracity of the news tidbit. Further, readers should seek out contributors who have proven themselves to be non-incendiary and generally unbiased.
Of course, we at Cointelegraph aim to offer the best news source for all things crypto.