Arkham’s foundation is built upon seven principles concerning crypto and the significance of intelligence within it.
The first principle emphasizes the inevitability of deanonymization. In the early days of the internet, individuals used pseudonyms, but now real identities are prevalent. This shift can be observed in the transition from MySpace to Facebook. Similarly, blockchain identities are evolving, with the rise of ENS and NFT profile pictures. Ultimately, everyone’s blockchain identity will be linked to their real-world identity.
The decentralization of access to crypto data is predicted. In traditional finance, data is concealed within black boxes controlled by established entities like brokers, exchanges, regulators, and banks. However, in the realm of crypto, raw transaction data is publicly visible on blockchains. Yet, its usability relies on data platforms that process, aggregate, and analyze this information. Although existing tools are limited and costly, they will eventually be disrupted by more accessible alternatives available to everyone.
Crypto is progressively becoming an integral part of the global financial system. Its efficient, reliable, and robust nature will drive mass global adoption. Once individuals experience the seamless process of conducting significant transactions through a browser wallet, going back to explaining wire transfers and their purpose to traditional banks becomes intolerable. While there will be challenges and resistance, as with any technological shift, crypto will overcome them through a process of creative destruction.
The widespread adoption of crypto intelligence tools is anticipated. Depending on their cost and usage, technologies differ in their adoption rates. While only governments and major corporations own rockets, billionaires utilize the same smartphones as the general public. In a future where crypto is used by everyone, crypto intelligence tools will resemble smartphones in their usefulness. They will cater to a broad range of users, from individuals tracking their stablecoin remittances to multibillion-dollar firms trading complex derivatives.
The projected size of the crypto intelligence economy is expected to exceed $30 billion annually. As crypto tools become more powerful and global adoption increases, crypto intelligence tools will serve as real-time maps of the new financial system. They will be indispensable utilities for serious participants and observers. The traditional financial data market currently stands at $30 billion annually, led by companies like Bloomberg and Palantir. In comparison, on-chain data offers more insightful analysis, particularly when combined with new AI-based analytics. These factors indicate that the market for crypto intelligence will be at least as large as its traditional counterpart.
The future of crypto data lies in an entity-based approach. When it comes to understanding crypto activity, knowing who is behind it is paramount, surpassing the traditional journalistic framework of the five Ws. Arkham’s focus on entity-level intelligence enables the provision of a versatile tool that caters to various aspects of the crypto data industry, such as trading, compliance, research, and portfolio tracking. This entity-level approach is pivotal in offering an all-in-one platform.
Crypto intelligence will empower self-regulation within the industry. Self-regulation is essential for any industry’s health, regardless of external regulations and decisions made by governing bodies. It involves establishing institutions that uphold trust and quality by monitoring, promoting, and enforcing conduct standards. This concept is not new; for centuries, working communities like guilds have devised standards and guidelines for practitioners. Similarly, such institutions will naturally develop within the crypto space as users learn where to place their trust, reducing the need for external regulation and allowing the industry to effectively address its challenges. The investigation and verification of on-chain activity serve as the foundation of crypto self-regulation, and crypto intelligence tools will play a central role in this process.
In summary, these seven theses collectively support a vision for a comprehensive crypto intelligence platform that offers deanonymized, entity-based intelligence to everyone. This platform should ensure complete coverage of the blockchain, cater to a wide range of use cases, and remain affordable for the average person. Its primary function should be the systematic collection, aggregation, and attribution of transaction data to provide a holistic view of crypto activity.
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