Crypto’s Secret Handshakes: Only 1% Dare to Whisper Market Maker Deals

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In the shadowed valleys of blockchain, Novora’s lantern reveals a truth: fewer than 1% of 150+ crypto protocols dare to utter their market maker secrets, while 91% parade their revenues in plain sight.

Ah, the crypto bazaar-a place where transparency is as rare as a honest politician. Novora’s latest Research report has peeled back the curtain, only to find a stage littered with shadows. Over 150 protocols, spanning DeFi, Layer 1, Layer 2, AI, infrastructure, and stablecoins, were paraded before the judges. The verdict? Fewer than 1% confess their market maker dalliances.

Market Maker Terms: The Unspoken Romance

Novora, with its magnifying glass, scrutinized protocols worth anywhere from a modest $40 million to a staggering $45 billion. Fifteen public disclosure items were the measuring stick. Yet, only one protocol-the audacious Meteora-whispered its market maker terms in its 2025 Annual Token Holder Report. A lone voice in the wilderness, indeed.

– Connor King (@connorking)

Market maker agreements, those clandestine pacts that sway token prices like a puppeteer’s strings, remain shrouded in mystery. Token loans, options, performance-based rewards-all hidden behind a veil of secrecy. Traders and investors, poor souls, are left to navigate this labyrinth blindfolded, while traditional markets chuckle at their naivety.

Revenue Data: Public, Yet Scattered Like Autumn Leaves

Ah, but fear not! Revenue data, that elusive siren, is traceable for 91% of these protocols. Dashboards, third-party platforms-it’s all there, if you’re willing to play detective. Yet, only 3%-Meteora, Jito, Jupiter, Raydium, and MetaDAO-have the decency to corral this information into a single, investor-friendly hub. The rest? A cacophony of blogs, forums, X threads, and external sites. A treasure hunt, if ever there was one.

Less than 1% of cryptocurrency protocols disclose market maker terms.

Novora research indicates that 91% of the top 150 cryptocurrency protocols have traceable revenue, but only 8% publish token holder reports and less than 1% disclose market maker terms. The manipulation of the…

– Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain)

Token holder reports? A mere 8%. Dedicated investor channels? 5%. One-page summaries? 3%. It’s as if these protocols are playing a game of hide-and-seek, and investors are perpetually “it.”

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TTF Filings: A Rare Breed in the Crypto Jungle

Enter the Blockworks Token Transparency Framework (TTF), a beacon of hope presented to the SEC in June 2025. Covering 18 disclosure areas, it’s a lifeline for those seeking clarity. Yet, only 13 protocols-a mere 9%-have embraced it. Jito, Jupiter, Raydium, Morpho, Aerodrome, Maple, dYdX, Meteora, MetaDAO, Euler, Marinade, EtherFi, and Gains Network stand as the brave few. Layer 1, Layer 2, and infrastructure protocols? Still hiding in the bushes.

And what of tokens that actually return value to holders? A paltry 38% have active value accrual models-fee sharing, buyback and burn plans, staking revenue, ve-model distributions. The rest? Governance rights only. A throne without a crown, if you will. Perpetuals protocols lead the charge at 62%, while Layer 1 and Layer 2 tokens lag at 12%. A tale of two cities, indeed.

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2026-04-16 14:13