By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A group of academics and technology experts will soon launch a blockchain-powered network that will reward quality research with its own cryptocurrency called Mosaic.
Mosaic, the decentralized network, aims to provide research by the first quarter of this year to an industry struggling with misinformation and lack of quality analysis, Garrick Hileman, the project's co-founder and chief executive officer told Reuters on Tuesday.
"I've been involved in the blockchain research community since its genesis and the dearth of quality research available at a time of such explosive industry growth is alarming," said Hileman, who is also a cryptocurrency researcher at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
Bitcoin (BTC=BTSP), ethereum, ripple and other digital currencies have grown in use and popularity but have drawbacks such as volatility and not being backed by a central bank.
The group is selling its own digital currency privately before launching the platform. Hileman said the Mosaic team has not decided on the amount to be raised from the token offering.
"We're basically producers of high-quality research, information, and data and we come together in that marketplace with the consumers of that data," Hileman said.
"And for a variety of reasons, the token will help facilitate the interactions within the community on this network."
The platform will reward researchers with native tokens when they contribute to the network, Mosaic said in a statement. The reward will depend on the quality of work submitted and the sentiment of network members to it. Accessing the research will cost Mosaic tokens.
For researchers or analysts to contribute to the Mosaic platform, they will have to disclose their personal and professional affiliations with cryptoasset holdings so that research is not fueled by personal gain.
Aside from Hileman, Mosaic was co-founded by Alex Bradford, a graduate of Harvard Business School and former analyst for both Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and McKinsey & Co.
(This version of the story removes "said" in paragraph two)