The law is catching up with Sam Bankman-Fried, colloquially “SBF,” co-founder and former CEO of collapsed crypto exchange FTX. The whole situation has led to a loss of trust in the cryptocurrency industry, which needs to be addressed by financial advisors.
Now FTX’s bankruptcy is rippling through the crypto industry and impacting other major exchanges like Binance and Coinbase. Can any of these exchanges be trusted as a place to store crypto?
Well, that concern about trust applies equally to crypto journalism, as we have lately been thrown into doubt over whose advice to take.
The FTX Meltdown Calls for Higher Standards in Crypto Journalism
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A recent turn of events has revealed that journalism in crypto can contribute to increasing distrust. It was revealed over the past week that Bankman-Fried was secretly the financial backer of The Block, another cryptocurrency news publication.
Those of us journalists covering crypto know that finding and delivering trustworthy information in the industry has been hard enough to begin with.
Crypto journalists have already had to contend with the most aggressive financial marketing blitz of the last 20 years as startups tried to capture some of the benefits of the crypto gold rush. So while many of us searched in earnest for good sources to share information on a very new and sometimes arcane phenomenon, we have had to sort through the people talking about their own book and looking for free advertising space to pitch their product.
We’ve also had to deal with conflicts of interest. Crypto publications are supported by advertisements of crypto companies, naturally, whereas in the traditional news industry there is typically a strict separation between the editorial content and what is advertised.
But Bankman-Fried has had tendrils that wrapped around so many entities within and outside of the digital assets industry – it’s hard to tell what’s legitimate anymore.
The revelation of Bankman-Fried’s funding of The Block comes at a time when trust in the media is at an all-time low, especially online where the depths of social media censorship and cooperation with public and political officials are only now being seriously plunged.
As we come to the end of a tumultuous year, it’s very important for financial advisors to help their clients determine who is really a truth-teller in the crypto industry right now, especially as they consider investment, which is largely driven by human sentiment that is flawed and easily misunderstood.
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Decrypting Crypto
What Is DESK? CoinDesk’s Social Token, Explained
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In December 2022, CoinDesk expanded the functionality of DESK, CoinDesk’s social token, to integrate the token into the broader user experience. Now, readers can earn DESK by reading articles, watching videos and more on the CoinDesk site.
Here are a few of the things you need to know about DESK and how to use it.
👉 What is DESK’s mission?
DESK is designed to build a community around the CoinDesk brand and to reward our audience for engaging with our content.
DESK’s ethos is modeled on the founding principles of blockchain technology: openness, community, empowerment and innovation. We hope to use DESK to create a feedback loop with our users to help us build out an ecosystem together.
👉 How can I get DESK?
You can start earning DESK by creating an account on the CoinDesk website and engaging with our content, such as reading Consensus Magazine articles. Other ways to earn DESK include:
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Coinbase highlights questions about Tether reserves in campaign to get users over to USDC
Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter, and any information linked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency or digital assets.
