🟪 Raising eyebrows

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I’ve been around crypto media for a while. I got my start writing freelance for CoinDesk, left five-and-a-half years later, put in three-plus years at The Block, and I semi-recently passed the one-year mark here at Blockworks. I’ve seen all manner of eyebrow raising things, but two recent decisions over at CoinDesk sent my brows straight to the roof.

First, there was the not-really-but-it-still-was endorsement of Donald Trump, couched in some tortured language to contend it was Trump’s crypto policies and not the man himself who should be applauded. To be fair, CoinDesk did acknowledge Trump’s racist, authoritarian campaign rhetoric and pledges, as well as the Biden administration’s criticism-worthy approach to crypto oversight. 

But this distinction — man vs platform — isn’t real. The former president’s predilection for personal, transactional governance is proof enough of this disconnect. That’s not to mention the DeFi platform he slapped his name on, another entry in a lifetime of Trumpian product pitches. 

I think CoinDesk erred in publishing this piece, reflecting questionable judgment when the internet’s biggest crypto news platform is more important than ever. CoinDesk publishes a lot of good work by talented journalists, but this piece was a huge misfire. 

There’s the election coverage sponsorship.

If you visit the Trump article link above, you’ll notice it reads “Election 2024 coverage presented by Stand With Crypto,” referring to the crypto advocacy group backed by industry firms like Coinbase, Paradigm, Gemini and others. Stand With Crypto launched a political action committee in May. 

I find this deeply puzzling. Why does CoinDesk need an election coverage sponsorship, especially a brand partner who is actively involved in the election. This isn’t a slight against the industry trying to sway an election — they can and should be active.

It’s a tough time for crypto journalism. Platforms like X and Google make it increasingly difficult to distribute third-party content. While crypto prices might be high, the audience for crypto journalism is undeniably smaller than it was a year or two ago. This means crypto journalism publishers need to try new things — we’re doubling-down on newsletters here at Blockworks — and that includes experimenting with revenue streams. 

But having a political organization sponsor your election coverage isn’t the right approach. No amount of money is worth the reputational risk, unless the bet is that nobody will care. If that’s the case, then what’s the point of publishing journalism at all?

And now, on to the roundup:

— Michael McSweeney

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