- Market-making arrangements are disclosed by fewer than 1% of crypto protocols, a rate dramatically lower than that of traditional finance.
- A comprehensive review of over 150 major crypto protocols found that only decentralized liquidity platform Meteora had publicly disclosed the terms of its market-making deals.
- The opaqueness fuels scrutiny, as certain models, like the “loan option” structure, can incentivize dumping tokens and trigger price declines.
- Third-party analytics coverage is high, but structured quarterly updates and token holder reports are rarely published by protocols.
A review of more than 150 major cryptocurrency protocols reveals a profound lack of transparency around market-making arrangements, despite their critical role in token trading. The Novora study covering protocols with valuations ranging from roughly $40 million to $45 billion found disclosure rates below 1%. Consequently, market participants operate without key information that is routinely disclosed in traditional securities markets.
Novora founder Connor King wrote on X that this is “the single most consequential transparency gap in the industry.” Only decentralized liquidity platform Meteora was found to have publicly disclosed details of its market-making arrangements in a token holder report. Meanwhile, 91% of reviewed protocols generated trackable revenue, yet investor communication remains sparse.
The finding points to a broader investor relations gap, as only 18% of protocols publish quarterly updates. However, third-party analytics infrastructure has matured, with coverage exceeding 85% across major platforms. Sector-level breakdowns show perpetual futures and decentralized exchanges lead on disclosure, while layer-1 networks lag.
Opaque market-maker deals have long fueled scrutiny, especially around loan structures leading to potential price manipulation. As previously reported, the widely used “loan option model” can create strong incentives for market makers to sell borrowed tokens. This practice often triggers price declines, benefiting the market maker while harming the project’s token performance.
✅ Follow BITNEWSBOT on Telegram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X.com, and Google News for instant updates.
