Russia Launched the CoinMarketCap Alternative

The Russian Association of Cryptocurrency Industry and Blockchain (RACIB) has developed an instrument for an accurate estimation of the weighted average rate of Bitcoin. The work on the methodology was carried out in close cooperation with the Commission for Legal Provision of Digital Economy of the Russian Bar Association.

How the index is calculated

In essence, the software continually gathers information from as many as 13 most popular cryptocurrency exchanges: Binance, Bitfinex, Crex24, Bitmex, Exmo, HitBTC, Huobi Global, Kraken, Kucoin, Livecoin, OKEX, and Poloniex. RACIB analyzes the price of Bitcoin against the US dollar or USD Tether, depending on the exchange, provided every 30 seconds by each exchange, and then displays the updated cross-rate of BTC price every day at 11:49 pm Moscow time; the rate is calculated in both US dollars and Russian rubles. The highest and the lowest prices of Bitcoin are not being taken into account for the purpose of providing a more precise weighted average rate.    

The organization specifically states that use the information provided only by the licensed cryptocurrency exchanges in order to avoid publishing the information from the platform that might manipulate the price of the major cryptocurrency for malicious means. The concept was developed by Mikhail Uspensky, who works at RACIB as a legal advisor, and the entire team of the in-house Blockchain Laboratory.

Possible use cases

According to the developers, the cross-rate of Bitcoin aligns with the expected all-encompassing cryptocurrency regulation, though the Russian government officials can’t seem to arrive at the final decision regarding the proper legalization of cryptocurrencies. Regardless of the strictness - or the liberality - of the future legislative framework, the RACIB cross-rate would be made applicable to various cases of administration of the law, including taxation and accounting. Moreover, the new system will allow businesses to conduct official financial operations with digital assets and also estimate the potential economic damage in the event of legal proceedings.

The opinions have divided

Basically, RACIB makes an attempt to create the Russian alternative to CoinMarketCap, a globally renowned online service for monitoring cryptocurrency prices, market capitalization, Bitcoin dominance, etc. The opinion of the Russian cryptocurrency community regarding the instrument at hand was somewhat ambiguous.

Some insist that the cross-rate provided by RACIB would be more precise and reliable since CoinMarketCap utilizes the data from all exchanges, including the ones that provides the “cooked” data or even resort to manipulation; whereas the Russian agency relies on information provided strictly by the approved platforms that carry out their operations in a transparent manner, in compliance with legal framework. Allegedly, the Russian courts could use this service to get a more accurate price of Bitcoin on a given day, for instance, when assessing the damages inflicted as a result of robbery or financial machinations.

However, there are doubters, like Arseniy Poyarkov, a member of the advisory board of the Gosduma (Russian parliament) for the introduction of digital economy and blockchain technology. He reckons that the RACIB’s initiative might be of benefit to some users, but it is utterly useless at the state level. Poyarkov insists that the assessment of the weighted average of Bitcoin, or any other security, is the regulator’s prerogative, in that case, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

Author: Alex Paulson for Crypto-Rating.com