Interview: Vijay Pravin Maharajan On BitsCrunch’s Approach To Curb Wash Trading & Ensure Credibility Of NFT Creators

Speaking to TechGraph, Vijay Pravin Maharajan, CEO & Founder of bitsCrunch spoke about the company’s strategies to promote trust and integrity in NFT marketplaces, addressing concerns related to wash trading and manipulative activities.

Read the complete interview:

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TechGraph: As NFTs gain popularity, so do concerns about fraud and wash trading. Can you shed light on how BitsCrunch ensures NFT listings’ authenticity and prevents fraudulent activities?

Vijay Pravin Maharajan: Non-fungible Tokens created on blockchain systems give an immutable and transparent record of ownership. Each NFT has a distinct identification and persistent transaction history, making it impossible to forge or counterfeit.

Blockchain technology ensures that every transaction is recorded on a secure, decentralized ledger, giving a tamper-proof ownership record. Despite such technology, wash trading happens on the markets when the purchaser and seller in a transaction are either the same person or a group of people collaborating to influence the price of an NFT.

Wash Trading influences approximately 58% of the NFT market’s transaction volume. BitsCrunch has developed exclusive AI-based tools that take into account valuable metrics such as trade patterns, and volume of trade pertaining to specific NFT or collections within a period, to detect and flag malicious transactions. The period can range from 7 days to one year. We aim to help NFT enthusiasts and users make educated decisions about their NFT transactions.

TechGraph: Fraudulent practices such as “pump and dump” schemes and wash trading have plagued the crypto industry. How does BitsCrunch actively detect and prevent these activities on your platform, specifically within the realm of NFTs?

Vijay Pravin Maharajan: Pump and dump scams in the NFT world are unfortunately plaguing genuine buyers and sellers. When the price rises to a high level, the original pumpers dump the asset and leave the unassuming owners with a valueless NFT.

At bitsCrunch, we have devised an AI tool that accurately determines the value of NFTs based on their sales history, metadata, hype on social media, insights into wash trading patterns, in-depth market reports, market overview, NFT collections trading volume, and other metrics. By providing comprehensive insights into transaction details, NFT users can better understand NFTs and make transaction decisions based on real and valuable data.

TechGraph: Transparency is crucial in NFT marketplaces. How does BitsCrunch ensure that its users have access to accurate and trustworthy information about buying and selling activities on the platform?

Vijay Pravin Maharajan: bitsCrunch promotes transparency in its NFT marketplace by putting in place several safeguards to give consumers accurate and trustworthy information about buying and selling operations. We provide analytics insights like the NFT Market Cap, the difference between the Total NFT Sales volume, and the Total NFT Wash Trade volume. We also provide the marketplace Wash Trade Index. Based on that, a user can decide whether or not potential NFTs are wash-traded/forged or legitimate.

Over time, if the changes using these insights can be implemented by NFT companies, it could lead to the identification of fraudulent or deceptive listings, and ensure that users have access to authentic and legitimate NFTs.

Through near real-time updates on NFT transactions, and in-depth market reports that streamline available NFT data and offer buyer/seller-specific data, bitsCrunch has provided to-the-T, trustworthy information.

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TechGraph: NFT marketplaces have faced criticism for inflated trading volumes and artificially inflated prices. How does BitsCrunch maintain the integrity and guard against wash trading and other manipulative activities?

Vijay Pravin Maharajan: bitsCrunch deploys innovative market surveillance technologies and algorithms. These technologies analyze trading patterns, total sales volume and total wash trading spikes, a market overview of a particular brand of NFTs, and other pertinent data points to identify possible wash trading and other manipulative practices.

With wash trading rife in the NFT market, bitsCrunch has made several inroads into addressing this problem and protecting the ecosystem and its users. It is also developing compliance tools to help genuine NFT marketplaces detect wash traders and block them from gaining access.

By evaluating daily and historical patterns across collections, blockchains, and marketplaces, bitsCrunch’s Wash Trade Index gives reliable insights and reports on wash trading activity in the markets. This helps traders spot fraudulent behavior. The index is calculated using several data points, offering a comprehensive measure of trade conduct.

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TechGraph: In recent times, there have been instances where celebrities and prominent figures have been associated with fraudulent NFT projects. How does BitsCrunch verify the legitimacy and credibility of NFT creators and projects before listing them on your platform?

Vijay Pravin Maharajan: BitsCrunch provides insights into fraudulent wash trading activities. Through extensive back-end work on NFT authenticity, bitsCrunch has developed tools that work on-chain using metrics such as daily trends, historical data, analyzing traders, monitoring transactions, and a comprehensive view of the market volume of sales to detect wash trading and report suspected transactions through the dashboard.

Our expertise also extends to tracking sanctioned wallets, i.e., crypto wallets involved in fraudulent activities. We report these to the clients we work with. Tracking through wallet scoring, especially of Whale wallets and wallets banned by the American Council, is done. This ensures the legitimacy of these wallet users based on their scores. The verification process supports creators’ creative outputs before listing on marketplaces.

TechGraph: Education and awareness play a vital role in preventing users from falling victim to NFT fraud. What initiatives has BitsCrunch taken to educate its user base about potential risks and provide guidance on how to identify and avoid fraudulent NFTs?

Vijay Pravin Maharajan: To help platforms educate their users about NFT fraud risks, bitsCrunch has undertaken several specific initiatives:

• bitsCrunch has generated a variety of instructional resources such as articles, blog posts, and tutorials. These resources are intended to explain the foundations of NFTs, highlight fraud concerns, and give advice on how to recognize and avoid fraudulent NFTs. These items are easily accessible to consumers via their website.

• Through UnleashNFT, bitsCrunch’s AI-powered analytics and forensic dashboard, users can get in-depth analysis, research, and statistics about the NFT ecosystem that will empower them to make informed decisions about transactions. The tool uses 50+ unique metrics such as visually comfortable rich infographics, easy-to-read market reports, and a comprehensive study of how to identify wash trading on marketplaces. It extracts the analytics and communicates the insights to the clients.

• One of the easiest methods to learn about wash trading is to understand the bitsCrunch wash trading index.

• bitsCrunch has also recently launched the STARTUP program through which new NFT project owners can use their cutting-edge analytics and risk-management tools to get data that can help their NFT projects and startups.

TechGraph: The anonymity and decentralization of blockchain technology can make it challenging to track and prevent fraudulent activities. How does BitsCrunch collaborate with regulatory bodies or law enforcement agencies to address NFT-related fraud and protect the interests of its users?

Vijay Pravin Maharajan: bitsCrunch addresses any new NFT-related fraud and protects users’ interests. Through the various AI tools launched by bitsCrunch that detect and prevent wash trading, perform wallet scoring, KYT (Know Your Transactions), and sanctioned wallets, companies can ensure that they meet regulatory requirements to find and address the fraud. bitsCrunch seeks to collaborate closely with finance, regulatory, and legal organizations to streamline fraud prevention activities.

TechGraph: Smart contracts and blockchain technology offer opportunities for transparency and trust in the NFT space. How does BitsCrunch leverage these technologies to ensure the provenance and authenticity of NFTs listed on your platform?

Vijay Pravin Maharajan: Blockchain applications are built on smart contracts. They are computer programs kept on the blockchain that allow traditional contracts to be converted into digital analogs. Smart contracts are quite rational, with an if this, then that structure.

With this framework in place, bitsCrunch’s major goal is to create a conducive environment for a creator-based economy. The long-term goal is to move towards decentralization through increasing trust and openness. The Data Query Layer is the initial stage of decentralization.

• The data query layer enables users to access information from the network securely and efficiently.

• The layer allows participants to transact and interact without a central authority or intermediary.

• The system is permissionless, allowing anyone to join and use the network without approval.

• The network is designed to be frictionless, with easy onboarding, navigation, and transaction processing.

• High scalability and throughput are crucial for handling large volumes of queries without slowing them down.

• State-of-the-art security measures are implemented to ensure network safety and the security of users.

TechGraph: The evolving nature of NFT fraud requires constant adaptation and innovation in detection methods. How does BitsCrunch stay ahead of fraudsters and continuously improve its systems and algorithms to protect users from new and emerging fraudulent practices?

Vijay Pravin Maharajan: bitsCrunch constantly updates its systems and algorithms to safeguard customers from emerging fraudulent practices. bitsCrunch has an active research and development team to stay current on the latest fraud trends and techniques and collaborate with industry specialists to improve their systems utilizing AI-assisted technologies.

They employ advanced artificial intelligence-based monitoring systems to monitor user activity, and transactions, listing behaviors in real-time and frequent risk assessments to discover gaps in their systems and procedures.

AI aids in the identification of new patterns, allowing bitsCrunch to keep the lead in the race. The commitment to staying on top of the latest fraudulent practices guarantees users’ interests are protected.

TechGraph: Lastly, what advice would you give to individuals who are new to the NFT space to protect themselves from potential fraud? How will this ensure they make informed and secure transactions?

Vijay Pravin Maharajan: Here are some quick recommendations for newcomers to the NFT area on how to protect yourself from potential fraud and conduct educated and safe transactions:

Conduct extensive research: Learn about NFTs, blockchain technology, and the platform you want to utilize. Understand the fundamentals of how NFTs function and the dangers they entail.

Check for authenticity: Before purchasing an NFT, check for authenticity. Examine the creator’s reputation and track record. Look for red flags, such as contradictory facts or dubious assertions.

The latest offering from bitsCrunch, “Unleash NFTs,” is an ideal place to start for someone new to the NFT space.

• This is an AI-powered NFT analytics and a forensic dashboard that gives trustworthy information on popular and growing NFT collections, markets, and the entire NFT industry.

• The platform provides in-depth analysis, research, and data on the NFT ecosystem, allowing users to make educated decisions about the purchase and sale of non-fungible tokens while also understanding crucial indicators such as market capitalization, trade volume, and other trading activity.

• UnleashNFTs also provide information about wash trading, which is an illegal practice in the traditional financial sector.

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