From humble beginnings as friends catching up to discuss blockchain over a beer, the guys behind Blockdata invited us to their new offices in Amsterdam to showcase their recently launched web application. Frustrated with the difficulty of separating the hype from legitimately promising uses of blockchain, they set out to simplify blockchain research.
Founded on an underlying passion for blockchain adoption, they focus on presenting a user-friendly interface that encourages users to build an understanding and appreciation for this disruptive technology.
Change in Scenery
Noting that during the crypto-craze hype was carrying prices, Blockdata have noticed institutional investment replacing retail, and with that a need for more in-depth and holistic information. These professional investors require more than basic financial information, seeking qualitative data as well. This is the gap in the market Blockdata have committed to filling.
Considering the attention blockchain technology garners, Blockdata’s team found it “impossible to find good quality information quickly and easily”. Their solution is motivated by a desire to embrace the benefits of the technology and “disassociate it from the pump-and-dump cryptocurrency phase”, which doesn’t “represent the actual product development and use cases”. Aiming to foster sustainable investment and progression of blockchain, Blockdata merges qualitative information about the team, their project’s progression, and price metrics. “We don’t want to be just another data company, we want to embody and support the blockchain revolution, its merits and its useful development.” All their data is verified, unbiased, as they don’t solicit company registration or sponsorships, and aimed at building a bigger picture of the health of projects, companies, and tokens rather than just the trading data.
An example of this more fundamental approach to investment can be seen by looking at the profiles of two blockchain development platforms on Blockdata to compare technical progress. For example, “Looking at EOS and Stratis indicates the former is potentially overvalued based on how its progress measures up to its development goals”.
Blockdata painting a better picture
Underlying an interface inspired by a “less-is-more” philosophy, Blockdata offers two tiers of data, with a third in the pipeline.
The first tier is targeted at those generally interested in the technology, retail investors, and those surveying developments across industries. This results in a carefully curated presentation of public data including token fundamentals, funding rounds, team composition, and similar projects.
Tier two delves into tech developments and roadmap progression, including updates on bug fixes, coding and deliverables. Generally targeting institutional investors, corporates, and banks, this tier unravels the technical succession of projects and the data driving token price fluctuations.
The soon-to-be-released third tier will revolve around report generation for particular projects and industry verticals. This more in-depth offering is targeted at technical researchers, research analysts, and blockchain companies themselves.
Unveiling masterpieces
While mentioning Blockdata’s competition, the team were enthusiastic to reveal where they are differentiated from other similar, but “fundamentally different” competitors. Their first point of difference is derived from an interface that “champions the user” and allows for the easy navigation of a very simple and elegant interface whilst offering the ability to delve deep into project and company specifics, generate time series graphs, and favourite promising companies. Given the recent controversy surrounding ostensibly ‘independent’ ICO reviews that were actually paid for, Blockdata is proudly “completely unbiased” and only presents data that is verified by them and does not allow companies to pay for featuring their projects
Finally, Blockdata sees their application as “blockchain research simplified.” Whereas other providers show market data, Blockdata additionally reveals the underlying health of the project borne by the qualitative metrics. During their demonstration, the team showcased the ability to swiftly compare the current valuation with funding rounds and technical developments to separate healthy and unhealthy projects. “Everyone understands that it’s currently a bear market,” and Blockdata hope they can highlight the companies still operating and developing in this market, and thus will be “extremely promising when the bull market returns”. With an eye for facilitating smart investment, the application cuts through the huge noise surrounding the industry and reveals roadmap progression and whether their whitepaper deliverables are being met, all set against traditional market data.
The final stroke
After a successful launch in early December, Blockdata is offering new users a free trial that can be extended by signing up their friends and colleagues. With the third tier currently being developed, the team are also keenly soliciting feedback to improve their offerings. Early customer feedback has revealed a market for a mobile application and side-by-side comparisons, the latter being developed and released this month. Finally, the team are looking for organisations and interested individuals to learn more about blockchain or access their database.
