Bitcoin is the dominant cryptocurrency in the marketplace. Why doesn’t it get an A?
Thanks to its strong adoption and brand, Bitcoin does merit an A in one of our four indexes. But it falls short in two other important areas: Our Risk Index, and Technology Index. As soon as the metrics on one or both of these improve, an upgrade for Bitcoin is likely.
As stated in all our releases, the primary goal of the Weiss Cryptocurrency Ratings is to help protect investors from risk, while leading them to the most sustainable, robust cryptocurrencies. That goal requires playing close to the pattern of recent price declines as well as tech issues that could hinder a price recovery.
Who is Weiss Ratings?
Weiss Ratings, which began in 1971, is the nation’s leading independent rating agency, covering 55,000 banks, credit union, insurance companies, stocks, ETFs and mutual funds. Unlike Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch, we never accept compensation from the entities we rate. Our independence and accuracy have been noted by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Barron’s, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times, among others. Now, we are applying our 46 years of accuracy and independence to cryptocurrencies.
Why is Weiss Ratings issuing cryptocurrency ratings?
The cryptocurrency marketplace is murky, overhyped and vulnerable to crashes. It desperately needs the clarity that only robust, impartial ratings can provide. We are proud to be the first to bring that benefit to investors – to help them cut through they hype and identify the few truly solid cryptocurrencies.
Who will buy this new service?
The Weiss Cryptocurrency Ratings are designed for all stakeholders in the cryptocurrency marketplace, beginning with individual investors who crave unbiased guidance free of any conflicts of interest. They want to know which cryptocurrencies can provide the richest rewards with the lowest risk and the most sustainable technology. Plus, they need the guidance to help avoid cryptocurrencies that are the most vulnerable to devastating crashes. The Weiss Cryptocurrency Ratings can also be a vital selection tool for consumers holding cryptocurrencies to buy goods and services, for merchants accepting payment in cryptocurrencies, and for any entity seeking to raise money via cryptocurrencies.
What is the Weiss Ratings track record and how is it applicable to cryptocurrency ratings?
Weiss Ratings has a long track record of accurately identifying both the weakest and strongest institutions and investments in each industry sector.
In the insurance sector, for example, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Weiss Ratings of life and health insurance companies were first in warning of future financial difficulties three times more often than A.M. Best and many times more often than Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s or Duff & Phelps. Similarly, a follow-up study by Weiss, using the same methodology, found that Weiss Ratings was also the leader in correctly identifying the truly safe companies.
With respect to stocks, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Weiss Stock Ratings ranked #1, ahead of all major rating agencies and research companies covered, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Standard & Poor’s.
Weiss Ratings has achieved this performance accuracy by combining three strengths: (1) robust, intelligent computer models built by our team of analysts and software developers, (2) analysis of vast amounts of data, and (3) above all, independence. These same strengths are directly applicable to cryptocurrencies. In addition, Weiss Ratings has benefited directly from the knowledge and experience of specialists in the field of blockchain technology and the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
How is Weiss Ratings different from most other financial rating agencies?
We never accept compensation from any company or issuer for our rating. We publish our ratings on all companies or investments whether the issuers wants us to or not. We reserve the right to publish our ratings based exclusively on publicly available data. We never suppress publication of our ratings at a company’s request. Our customer is the individual investor and consumer – not the companies or issuers we rate. This is why Esquire noted that Weiss Ratings is “the only one that provides ratings … with no conflicts of interest.”
In addition, while other rating agencies focus mostly on companies that can afford to pay them large fees, Weiss Ratings covers all companies and investments, large or small, as long as there is sufficient data available for analysis. This allows us to provide far broader coverage, including nearly all U.S.-traded stocks, ETFs and mutual funds; nearly all U.S. banks, credit unions and insurance companies; and now, cryptocurrencies as well.
How can I purchase this service?
The Weiss Cryptocurrency Ratings are now available for purchase. Go here for all the details on how to claim immediate access to our ratings.
The leading icons and experts in the cryptocurrency space have been around since 2012 or even earlier. How do you suddenly jump into this field now and profess to know more than they do?
A. We know enough about blockchain technology to understand the limits or our knowledge about blockchain technology. That’s why we’ve hired experts and consultants in the field to help us build our Weiss Cryptocurrency Ratings model. Meanwhile, we think we know a thing or two about accurately rating any investment; we’ve been doing it for the last 46 years. We rate 55,000 domestic banks, foreign banks, savings and loans, credit unions, life and health insurance companies, property and casualty companies, stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, money market funds, closed-end funds, plus sovereign governments. And now we’ve applied those skills, along with the deep experience of our subject-matter experts, to cryptocurrencies.