Coin Metrics is pleased to announce the release of version 4.9.1 of our Network Data Pro (NDP) product.
In this release, we are introducing a new nomenclature policy for cross-chain assets, as well as making some key adjustments to our SplyAdrTop1Pct and SplyAdrTop10Pct metrics. We have identified a problem with the methodology of these metrics, whereby empty addresses were skewing supply figures for some assets. This also entails a change to our Supply Equality Ratio metric for the assets impacted, which uses as one of its inputs the SplyAdrTop1Pct metric.
NETWORK DATA NOMENCLATURE CHANGES
Our goal of our new nomenclature policy is to remove the ambiguity by adding standardized network identifiers to their tickers. The implementation of this framework entails ticker changes that are not backwards compatible for all of our Network Data products, including Network Data Pro, CM ATLAS and FARUM. If you haven’t done so already, we advise a review of ingestion pipelines to account for these changes and appreciate your understanding as we standardize and future-proof network data tickers.
- BNB will be changed to BNB_ETH to denote that this is the ERC20 version of Binance Coin.
- BNB_MAINNET will be changed to BNB_BC to denote that this is the Binance Chain version of Binance Coin (BNB). Future support for the BNB version in Binance Smart Chain will carry the ticker BNB_BSC.
- We are also adding a new USDT_OMNI ticker to denote that this is the OMNI version of USDTether. This new asset will produce the exact same metrics as the legacy USDT, which previously covered OMNI.
- You may continue to see the legacy BNB, USDT, and BNB_MAINNET in the API as we will continue to support these tickers until all clients have migrated to the updated nomenclature.
Important Note: In previous communications, we had announced that we were adding a USDT_ALL as the first aggregated cross-chain ticker. Upon further review, we will not be making these changes in this release.
As cryptoassets continue to span across an increasing number of networks, we still believe an aggregate metric will be useful for assessing an asset’s activity across multiple networks. However, we are still evaluating the most scalable and future-proof methodology to implement aggregate metrics. We are currently exploring making the primary tickers, e.g. USDT for Tether, the ticker that emcompasses aggregate activity as opposed to releasing a new ticker, e.g. USDT_ALL. A trade-off with this approach is that the data returned by primary tickers would change and break backwards-compatibility.
As valued users of our network data products, we would love to hear any insights you have on this matter. Feel free to reach out to [email protected] with your feedback.
INTRODUCTION
With the advent of cross-chain bridges and token wrapping frameworks, a recurring point of confusion for our clients is which network, or mainnet, a specific asset resides in. As a result, there is room for ambiguity when measuring the activity of a single iteration of a cross-chain asset. In order to address this issue, Coin Metrics has decided to increase the granularity and standardization of asset tickers.
FRAMEWORK
In the past, Coin Metrics has added a suffix to denote the specific network that a cryotoasset’s metrics are based on. For example, the ERC20 version of Binance Coin (BNB) issued on the Ethereum network in 2017 was given the ticker BNB. As was the case with several ICOs of that time, a mainnet launch took place, where the token stopped being transacted on Ethereum and its holders migrated to Binance’s own standalone network, Binance Chain. At the time, we decided to call that new network BNB_MAINNET to denote the migration. However, with the launch of Binance Smart Chain and the proliferation of cross-chain issuance, the notion of a single mainnet has changed.
In order to future-proof our network data tickers and remove ambiguity, we will refine and standardize the NETWORK-TICKER suffix of the cross-chain assets we support. ASSET-TICKER will continue to denote the ticker used by cryptoasset exchanges (e.g. ETH). If the asset exists in more than one network, and Coin Metrics supports that additional network, a standardized NETWORK-TICKER will be added: ASSET-TICKER_NETWORK-TICKER.
Please note that _NETWORK-TICKER will only be added to cross chain assets supported by Coin Metrics, such as BNB. In other words, if an asset supported by Coin Metrics exists in additional networks that have yet to be supported by Network Data Pro (NDP), the asset’s ticker will remain the same.
It is also important to note that wrapped versions of assets that have standalone tickers, such as Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) or Wrapped Ether (WETH), will not have to abide by the framework if a) they have their own unique ticker and b) they exclusively exist in one network.
TICKER CHANGES
Coin Metrics will take a discretionary policy when it comes to ticker changes. While there have been multiple instances where a cryptoasset was rebranded, precedents exist where the scope of a change in name was broader than the ticker itself. Notably, the Aave project in 2020 underwent a ticker change from LEND to AAVE. In this particular example, the ticker change was accompanied by a change in the asset’s monetary base unit, whereby one hundred units of LEND were equivalent to one unit of AAVE.
In such circumstances, Coin Metrics may decide to add the new ticker as if it was a new asset in order to make metrics consistent. If the only change is a cryptoasset’s name and ticker symbol, we may decide to simply rename the asset id. Similarly, if an asset that was originally supported by a single network becomes economically relevant in other networks, as it was the case with Tether, we may decide to add the NETWORK-TICKER identifier to the original ticker when adding support to the other versions of that asset. In both circumstances we will proactively notify clients of the change in order to minimize impact.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us through our website or by emailing [email protected]. Thank you for being a Coin Metrics customer.
