A revamped version of Bubblemaps, a blockchain analytics and visualization app, aims to help cryptocurrency's plebs identify the whales, using AI and other new features.

Bubblemaps launched in 2021 to provide a simplified way for blockchain users to understand the supply distributions of various digital assets. The platform’s latest update seeks to boost transparency in the crypto market by exposing token ownership patterns that may indicate centralization or manipulation.

“On-chain data deserves more attention,” said Bubblemaps CEO Nicolas Vaiman in an interview with CoinDesk. “It is the lifeblood of the system. However, it is widely overlooked by the majority of crypto users because traditional tools are complex and overwhelming.”

Bubblemaps occasionally publishes its research online. In one widely circulated study, the platform revealed how venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) holds disproportionate control over the supply of UNI—the governance token for Uniswap, a popular decentralized exchange—positioning it to significantly influence the project’s development.

When influencers Andrew Tate and Iggy Azalea launched speculative tokens, Bubblemaps published reports revealing how the tokens were more centrally controlled than claimed. In many cases, the platform demonstrated how creators of popular meme coins spread their ownership across multiple wallets to evade allegations of insider control.

What's new

Bubblemaps displays the top holders of crypto tokens as nodes in a graph—“bubbles” whose size corresponded to ownership stakes. The platform analyzes transaction histories to find links between wallets, forming “clusters” that approximate individual entities.