Since its advent over a decade ago, blockchain technology has made grand promises of decentralization, disintermediation and radical transparency. Underpinning such visionary rhetoric, however, lies a sobering reality: Much of the wealth of data generated on public blockchains remains sealed off from average users.
There are numerous examples of how existing analytics platforms offer powerful, consequential insights into on-chain data. In February 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it had recovered over $1 billion worth of bitcoinAdditionally, metrics tracked by platforms like Skopenow could have helped foresee the FTX implosion before it impacted hundreds of thousands of crypto holders.
Transparency does not simply relate to how value moves on blockchains but who can access information about that movement. After all, transparency does not simply relate to how value moves on blockchains but who can access information about that movement.