Explore / How We Evaluate
How We Evaluate Providers
Our evaluation methodology is public, consistent, and designed to protect the integrity of every profile. This page explains exactly how profiles are built, what we include, what we exclude, and how commercial relationships are handled.
Evaluation Principles
Factual and sourced
Every claim in a profile must be traceable to a publicly available source — official documentation, regulatory filings, published fee schedules, or audited on-chain data. We do not publish estimates, projections, or claims we cannot verify.
No invented or unsourced claims
If information is unavailable, we say so. We do not fill gaps with assumptions. We do not copy claims from third-party review sites without independent verification.
Alphabetical organic order
Default listings within each category are alphabetical by provider name. Alphabetical order is the only organic ranking. We do not rank providers by quality, safety, or suitability.
Sponsored visibility is clearly labeled
Providers may pay for sponsored placement in clearly marked modules. Sponsored placement is a visibility product only. It never affects a provider's profile content, key considerations, risk disclosures, or position in the organic alphabetical listing.
No ratings or recommendations
Fichtner Digital does not rate, score, rank, or recommend providers. Profiles describe what a provider is. The decision of whether to use any provider is yours alone.
Key considerations are independent
The Key Considerations section of every profile is written independently of any commercial relationship. Sponsors cannot add, remove, or modify Key Considerations. Risks and limitations are included regardless of whether a provider has a commercial relationship with Fichtner Digital.
What Every Profile Includes
Each profile follows a consistent structure. The sections present vary by category.
Exchange profiles
- Provider type
- Centralized exchange, decentralized exchange, or hybrid.
- Headquarters and founding year
- Publicly available corporate information.
- Custody model
- Whether the provider holds keys on behalf of users or users hold their own keys.
- Supported assets
- General description of asset coverage from official sources.
- Fee structure
- Description of the fee model with a link to the official fee schedule.
- Registration requirements
- KYC and verification requirements as published by the provider.
- Regulatory status
- Known registrations and licences from official sources. Not a legal opinion.
- Canadian availability
- Whether the platform is available to Canadian residents.
- Key considerations
- Factual points a user should understand before using the platform. Written independently.
- Official sources
- Links to the provider's own documentation and support resources.
Wallet profiles
- Wallet type
- Hardware, software (browser extension), software (mobile), or multi-signature.
- Developer and headquarters
- Publicly available corporate information.
- Custody model
- Self-custodial or custodial.
- Supported networks
- Networks and asset types supported, from official documentation.
- Backup and recovery model
- How recovery phrases and keys are generated and protected.
- Open-source status
- Whether firmware, software, or hardware designs are publicly auditable.
- Key considerations
- Factual points a user should understand. Written independently.
- Official sources
- Links to the provider's own documentation.
Blockchain ecosystem profiles
- Native asset
- The network's native cryptocurrency ticker.
- Launch year
- Year the mainnet launched.
- Consensus mechanism
- How the network reaches agreement on the state of the ledger.
- Governance model
- How protocol changes are proposed and adopted.
- Transaction throughput
- Published or measured transactions per second under real-world conditions.
- Primary use cases
- The network's intended and actual primary applications.
- Supply model
- Whether supply is fixed, inflationary, or deflationary, and how new units are issued.
- Key considerations
- Factual points a user should understand. Written independently.
- Official sources
- Links to official documentation and whitepapers.
Sponsorship and Commercial Relationships
Fichtner Digital may accept payment from providers for sponsored placement in clearly labeled modules on category pages. The following rules apply without exception:
- Sponsored placement is a visibility product only — it does not affect profile content
- Sponsors cannot add, remove, or modify any section of their profile
- Sponsors cannot remove or soften Key Considerations or risk disclosures
- Sponsored modules are visually distinct and labeled 'Sponsored' in every placement
- Organic alphabetical listings are never reordered based on commercial relationships
- Fichtner Digital does not accept payment for editorial opinions, ratings, or recommendations
Profile Currency and Updates
Each profile displays a Last Reviewed date. Provider information changes — fee schedules, regulatory status, product features, and corporate structure can all change after a profile is published. Always verify current information directly with the provider before making any decision. If you identify an error or outdated information in a profile, contact us through the Contact page.
Educational purposes only. Not financial advice.