Overview
Measurable Data Token (MDT) is a data economy project that creates a decentralized marketplace connecting data providers (users) with data buyers (businesses). The core idea is simple: users generate valuable data through daily activities, and MDT provides a mechanism to monetize that data while maintaining privacy through anonymization and aggregation.
Founded in 2017 and launched on Ethereum, MDT's primary consumer-facing product is RewardMe (formerly MailTime), a rewards app where users earn MDT tokens by sharing anonymized data such as purchase receipts, app usage patterns, and location data. The data is aggregated and sold to business intelligence firms, market researchers, and advertisers.
The project addresses a real problem — users create enormous value through their data but capture none of it. However, MDT has struggled to differentiate from competitors, achieve meaningful scale, or demonstrate that blockchain-based data marketplaces offer clear advantages over traditional data broker models.
Technology
Data Marketplace Architecture
MDT uses a smart contract layer to manage data exchange between providers and buyers. Data is anonymized before aggregation, with the blockchain providing transparency on transactions and reward distribution. The actual data processing and storage occurs off-chain, with on-chain settlement for token rewards.
Privacy Approach
Data anonymization is handled through aggregation — individual user data is combined into cohort-level insights before sale. This provides basic privacy but is not as robust as differential privacy or zero-knowledge approaches. The anonymization claims are difficult to independently verify.
Technical Limitations
The technology stack is straightforward — a mobile app collecting data, centralized servers processing it, and an ERC-20 token for payments. There is no novel cryptographic innovation, no decentralized data storage, and no on-chain data processing. The blockchain component is primarily used for token distribution rather than enabling trustless data exchange.
Security
Data Privacy
User data is processed through centralized servers before anonymization. While the project claims robust privacy protections, the centralized processing creates a trust dependency. Users must trust that MDT's servers properly anonymize data before sharing with buyers. No independent privacy audits have been published.
Smart Contract
The MDT token contract is a standard ERC-20 implementation without complex functionality, limiting smart contract risk. The marketplace logic operates off-chain.
Decentralization
MDT operates as a centralized data marketplace with a token. Data collection, processing, anonymization, and sale are managed by the MDT team. There is no decentralized governance, no on-chain data verification, and no community control over marketplace parameters. The blockchain adds tokenized payments but doesn't decentralize the core data exchange process.
Adoption
RewardMe App
RewardMe has attracted users in select Asian markets, particularly in regions where the concept of earning tokens for data sharing resonates. Daily active user counts are modest — tens of thousands rather than millions. The app provides a functional user experience for receipt scanning and reward collection.
Data Buyer Side
The demand side of the marketplace is less transparent. MDT claims partnerships with data analytics firms, but the volume and value of data transactions are not publicly reported. The fundamental challenge is that aggregated anonymous data from a small user base has limited value compared to what Google, Meta, or traditional data brokers can offer.
Tokenomics
Token Model
MDT is an ERC-20 token used as the medium of exchange in the data marketplace. Users earn MDT for sharing data, and businesses spend MDT to purchase aggregated insights. The token has a fixed supply with no inflationary mechanism.
Value Capture
The token's value depends on marketplace volume — more data buyers purchasing insights means more demand for MDT. However, the small scale of the marketplace creates a chicken-and-egg problem: limited data supply reduces buyer interest, and limited buyer demand reduces user incentive to share data.
Risk Factors
- Scale limitations: Small user base reduces the value of aggregated data
- Privacy concerns: Centralized data processing requires trust in the MDT team
- Competition: Competing with established data brokers and tech giants with vastly more data
- Regulatory risk: Data collection and monetization face increasing regulatory scrutiny globally
- Token dependency: Low marketplace volume creates minimal organic token demand
- Differentiation: Unclear advantage over non-blockchain data monetization approaches
Conclusion
Measurable Data Token addresses a genuine problem — the asymmetry between user data value and user compensation. The RewardMe app provides a functional product that pays users for their data. However, the project hasn't solved the fundamental challenges of decentralized data marketplaces: achieving sufficient scale, competing with established data incumbents, and proving that blockchain adds meaningful value to the data exchange process. The score reflects a legitimate concept with working products but insufficient differentiation and scale.