Hi everyone! Passing along news that the Circle exchange released its criteria for listing new coins ans tokens this week, they are calling it The Circle Asset Framework.

Why should you care? Two reasons, really: One, they are looking to become an SEC registered brokerage and trading venue; and two, they are actively pursuing a federal banking license with the Comptroller of the Currency.

If Circle is successful in getting these designations, it may become one of the go-to exchanges moving forward. Further, Circle is being transparent about how coins/tokens will be listed.

And to be honest, they legit have the highest standards we at Crypto Mouse have seen since we started tracking this space.

If you notice, you will see a lot of similarities to how we look at crypto projects, it is refreshing to see someone else look at these so meticulously.

We’ve recapped them below:

• Does this project add fundamentally new infrastructure to the industry?

• Does the problem solved by this project benefit from decentralization and/or peer-to-peer networks?

• Is there a prototype available?

• Is the project well-documented, peer-reviewed, and open source?

• Does the leadership team have experience building cryptocurrency projects?

• What specific pain point or problem does the project aim to address in the long term?

They are definitely running contrary to many of their peers. Many exchanges will list any coin for a listing fee, it’s quite common actually, and why you will see some exchanges list a massive amount of coins and tokens. Very easy in some cases to pay a toll so to speak and have your currency listed almost instantaneously.

Circle does not have to go this route, but they are doing it anyway: they are underscoring their intention to only pick those coins/tokens that add value for their customers, that they will not accept a listing fee. If you want your coin listed, it must meet the standards detailed in their Framework.

Well done, Circle!