Fewer than 1% of crypto protocols disclose the terms of their market-maker agreements, according to a Novora study published April 14, 2026, that assessed more than 150 protocols against 15 binary investor-relations metrics. The benchmark on crypto market-maker terms disclosure names Meteora as the only protocol in the dataset with a public market-making disclosure, sharpening longstanding questions about token-market transparency.
What the Novora study found about crypto market-maker disclosure
Novora’s 2026 IR Transparency report evaluated 150+ crypto projects against 15 binary investor-relations checks, ranging from revenue trackability to token-holder reporting. The report concluded that less than 1% of assessed protocols publish the terms of their market-making arrangements.
Market-maker terms typically describe how a project compensates a designated trading firm to provide liquidity, including loaned token quantities, call-option strike prices, and contract duration. In traditional equity markets these arrangements are routine exchange-filed disclosures; in crypto they are almost always private.
TLDR KEYPOINTS
- Novora found under 1% of 150+ assessed crypto protocols disclose market-maker terms.
- Meteora is identified as the lone disclosed example, via its FY2025 token holder report.
- The study is a transparency benchmark, not an allegation of wrongdoing against any project.
The framing matters: the study measures disclosure practice, not market-maker conduct itself. A protocol that does not publish terms is not, by that fact alone, accused of any improper arrangement.
Why undisclosed market-maker agreements matter for token transparency
The same Novora dataset reports that 91% of protocols generate trackable revenue and that 72% are covered by four or more third-party data platforms, yet only 8% publish a token holder report. The gap between abundant market data and scarce structural disclosure is what the report frames as the core transparency problem.
Novora’s research index rounds the headline figures to 0% disclosing market-maker terms, 2% maintaining a dedicated investor-relations hub, and 98% making revenue data accessible, underscoring the asymmetry between what tokens reveal about flow and what they reveal about structure.
Implications for liquidity expectations
Without published terms, holders cannot independently verify how much float a market maker controls or when option-style unlocks could shift supply. That ambiguity feeds into the same liquidity questions that have surrounded recent rallies, including the period when bitcoin’s move near $75,000 stalled on onchain signals.
Trust and due diligence
The report’s lone named example, Meteora, publishes its arrangement through an investor-relations site that links a FY2025 Annual Token Holder Report. That document is the reference point Novora cites for what a public market-making disclosure actually looks like in practice.
Governance and pricing implications
For governance forums weighing treasury actions or new listings, a missing disclosure leaves token holders voting without knowing the counterparties already shaping their market. Pricing models that ignore option-style market-maker contracts can misread supply pressure around vesting cliffs.
What the finding could mean for protocols, traders, and the wider market
The benchmark lands during a defensive market session. Total crypto market capitalization stood near $2.62 trillion on April 16, with the Fear & Greed Index at 23, or Extreme Fear, a backdrop in which transparency complaints tend to gain traction faster than during euphoric phases.
Protocol communications teams now have a published yardstick to be measured against, and the 8% token-holder-report figure suggests a low bar to clear for projects looking to differentiate. The Token Transparency Framework adoption rate of 9% noted in the report points to early but limited industry movement toward standardization.
Traders and analysts are likely to scrutinize upcoming token launches and annual reports for the specific items Novora tracks, particularly market-maker terms and IR hubs. The same scrutiny is reshaping adjacent debates, from stablecoin issuer disclosures to protocol-level upgrade transparency, where investor-grade reporting is becoming a competitive feature rather than a compliance afterthought.
Whether the sub-1% figure rises in Novora’s next benchmark will be the practical test of whether the report changes behavior or merely measures it.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.
