Why we support Augur (REP) - our token criteria

As our company continues to develop as a universal cryptocurrency exchange gateway, we will soon begin listing new tokens on our platform.

So far we have intentionally kept our portfolio of cryptocurrencies small, offering only three cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum and Augur.

Some of you may be wondering why Augur, so we’ve put together some criteria for what leads us to support a particular project.

We have operated in a mostly self-sovereign and unregulated space since we first launched our crypto finance company. We’ve had to exercise our own due diligence when deciding which tokens should be given a platform to grow, as this is important for maintaining the integrity of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

What is Augur (REP)?

Augur, also referred to as REP (Reputation), is a cryptographic token used in the prediction market platform AUGUR. Reputation Token holders are responsible for truthfully reporting on event outcomes and are what allows Augur's decentralized oracle consensus to exist. For more info you can visit Augur's website.

The 4 key principles we believe all crypto tokens should uphold

While this checklist could be filled with many more standards that a token should meet, below are four key principles we believe all tokens should uphold, with Augur being one such cryptocurrency.

1. Legitimacy

Blockchain projects should be led by strong and reputable teams, driven by a shared ambition to enhance our daily lives using this transformative technology, rather than to profit off investors.

Unfortunately, scams do filter into the blockchain space. While various governments and financial authorities around the world are trying to create regulatory processes for cryptocurrency, many illegitimate projects still operate within the industry.

We want to support only honest and valuable projects which strengthen the ecosystem, not dilute it with greed or technical incompetence.

2. Value

Tokens should hold value beyond their market price. What is their intrinsic value? What kind of problems do they address, and how do they improve our economic, political or social lives.

Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer payment network has a far-reaching social impact as the foundation for the new digital economy. Ethereum, as an entirely new network, took blockchain technology one step further, enabling its users to also build decentralized applications or execute smart contracts (self-executing agreements).

Augur is the future of forecasting, led by a team who are passionate about the potential of decentralized applications. It is a prediction market protocol which anyone can contribute to. People can trade on the outcome of upcoming elections, hedge against catastrophic events like natural disasters, or even create more accurate weather prediction tools.

We believe in the power of decentralization, and in the tools that will become the core technology of tomorrow’s financial world. We believe that Augur is one such tool, encompassing all the key elements to be one: it is a strong protocol, embraces the game theory, finds the right consensus mechanism to bring truth on-chain, is backed by a passionate and very competent community, triggers ideas for businesses and services to be built on top of it, it is disruptive, and it makes us dream.

3. Driven by community

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Augur are all decentralized, fully open-source, permission-less protocols. In turn, these projects have seen large and committed communities grow around them.

Being open source means that a project’s code is fully transparent, enabling others to audit and offer suggestions on how to improve it. This also helps other developers learn, driving forward innovation and creating a progressive and collaborative technological ecosystem.

While not as large as Bitcoin or Ethereum, Augur’s community is strong. The team values and proactively engages their community, whether through their Reddit, Discord or Twitter, which has 121,000 followers. The protocol itself allows anyone in the world to participate and contribute to it. It was built specifically for its global community of users - to “be owned and operated by the people that use it.”

4. Distribution and liquidity

Liquidity of a cryptocurrency is something we must consider. Assets considered liquid can be bought, sold and traded quickly. Cryptocurrencies should be able to move freely, passing through different wallets, exchanges and applications with ease. This creates a healthy crypto-economy and enables greater financial freedom.

Bitcoin has the highest amount of liquidity, listed as the number one cryptocurrency with approximately $109 billion in market capitalization. Augur has comparatively less so, listed as the 50th coin by market cap at $135 million, as it was built for a specific application to be used for science. There are many projects we want to enable on our platform, increasing their liquidity and by extension, their ability to contribute meaningfully to the industry.

We ensure the crypto we support has something to offer

As we grow, we will continue to be very selective in our token offerings. We want to ensure that the technologies built around these cryptocurrencies we offer - their protocols, their consensus mechanisms, their influence on our outdated and exclusive financial system - carry more weight than any speculative profit.