Numeraire (NMR), launched in June 2017, is an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token powering the Numerai ecosystem, a decentralized platform that incentivizes data scientists to build predictive models for hedge fund investments. Developed by Numerai, a San Francisco-based hedge fund, NMR is used within the Erasure Protocol to stake predictions, rewarding accurate models and penalizing inaccurate ones.

Key Features

  • Prediction Staking: Data scientists stake NMR on machine learning models, earning rewards for accurate predictions or losing stakes for inaccurate ones.
  • Erasure Protocol: A decentralized marketplace for data and predictions, enabling applications like Erasure Bay for trading information and Numerai Signals for stock predictions.
  • Global Participation: Over 7,000 data scientists worldwide contribute models, with ~$1.5M in weekly NMR payouts.
  • Ecosystem: NMR trades on 65+ exchanges (e.g., Binance, Kraken) and integrates with wallets like MetaMask.

NMR Token

  • Purpose: Used for staking predictions, rewarding successful models, and incentivizing data integrity.
  • Supply: ~8M NMR in circulation, with a maximum supply of 11M (fully minted, no new issuance).
  • Contract Address: On Ethereum, NMR’s contract is 0x1776e1f26f98b1a5df9cd347953a26dd3cb46671 (addable to MetaMask) CoinGecko CMC.

Who Are the Founders of NMR?

Numeraire was founded by Richard Craib, CEO of Numerai, in 2017. Backed by investors like Paradigm and Dragonfly Capital, Numerai leverages crowdsourced AI to manage hedge fund strategies. The Erasure Protocol, launched in 2019, expanded NMR’s use cases. The Numerai community governs the platform through open-source contributions and staking incentives.

What Makes NMR Unique?

Numeraire stands out in Web3:

  • AI-Driven Finance: Connects data scientists with financial markets, crowdsourcing predictive models for hedge fund strategies.
  • Stake-to-Earn Model: NMR’s staking mechanism ensures data quality, with ~20% of staked tokens burned annually for incorrect predictions.
  • Decentralized Marketplace: Erasure Bay allows users to trade predictions and information, secured by NMR stakes.
  • Fixed Supply: With a capped 11M supply, NMR avoids inflationary pressures, unlike many tokens.

NMR Network Upgrades (2025)

  • Erasure Bay V2 (Q1 2025): Enhanced user interface and added support for cross-chain data feeds, increasing adoption
  • Signals Tournament Expansion (April 2025): Increased Russell 3000 stock predictions, boosting weekly payouts by 15%.
  • Layer-2 Integration (June 2025): Testnet for Optimism-based staking, reducing gas fees by ~70%.

How Is NMR Secured?

NMR and Numeraire are secured through:

  • Ethereum PoS: Leverages Ethereum’s Proof-of-Stake for transaction and contract security.
  • Smart Contract Audits: Regular audits by firms like Quantstamp ensure protocol integrity.
  • Staking Penalties: Incorrect predictions result in NMR burns, incentivizing accurate data.
  • Decentralized Nodes: Thousands of global data scientists run models, reducing centralization risks.

Conclusion

Numeraire (NMR) bridges AI and finance, enabling data scientists to stake predictions on a decentralized platform. With a $ 8M circulating supply, and integration across 65+ exchanges, NMR powers Numerai’s innovative hedge fund model. Its fixed supply, stake-to-earn mechanism, and Layer-2 advancements make it a unique player in Web3, driving crowdsourced financial innovation.