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Tuesday: SEC Chair Gary Gensler will testify during a House Financial Services Hearing, "Oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission"

Wednesday: SEC Chair Gary Gensler will testify during the Senate Banking Committee Hearing, "Oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission"

= A CoinDesk Editorial Profiles =

I was mortified this week as I read this opinion piece that CoinDesk selected to publish on its media platform because it reeked of profiling: 

"Key Opinion Leaders Are Bad for the Crypto Industry. That’s why my new project isn’t paying them. (And who is Professor Crypto, anyway?)"

Let me start by saying that I do not know Andy Boyar or Professor Crypto. But I do know poor editorial judgment when it jumps off the page.  My issue is with CoinDesk's journalistic decision to go live with what appears to be a hit piece with lots of contradictions intended to defame a specific individual. 

What struck me immediately was the picture of a Black male next to the headline, "Bad for the Crypto Industry."

I questioned the motivation because of the obvious focus on identity.  

Would CoinDesk publish an opinion piece authored by me calling out one of the many crypto-bros that are new to the industry, but are being paid to be an influencer. Would the editors greenlight my opinion labeling him as a fraud and flash his picture to support my thesis?

Likely not. So, it begs the question, why did the editors publish this specific piece?

There are no shortage of influencers getting paid across the crypto ecosystem. And the majority of them are not people of color. In fact, influencers are prevalent across all industries. 

Yet, the level of outrage directed at Professor Crypto seems particularly intense. The author does mention BitBoy, but CoinDesk did not publish his mugshot.

Why does this individual irk the author in such a profound manner? 

And what is the relevance of including this: "This town deserves a better class of influencer."

What does "class" have to do with it? Isn't this a contradiction? I was under the impression that the author was denouncing the business practice. 

Perhaps the biggest contradiction, or irony, is the author's motive. 

The author makes the case that it is disingenuous for influencers to use journalism as a way to plug and pump a project. But that is exactly what this author is doing. 

He states, "That’s one reason we’re doing things differently as we prepare to launch Last Network, a sustainable incentives EVM chain."

The author is essentially using the editorial to promote his startup as being somehow superior because they will not engage influencers. 

I ask again, why did CoinDesk publish this commentary targeting a specific influencer, and why did they decide to personalize the publication with a peculiar picture of the Black male to make the author’s point. 

Essentially, the editors published a piece criticizing the very practice that the author himself is employing in writing the narrative.

A majority of lucratively paid influencers in crypto are not Black. So why is this Black male the poster child for Bad influencers? 

I'll be direct. This narrative is full of contradictions and borders on profiling. 

CoinDesk editors must do better journalistically.

For more information, contact Cleve@TheBlockFound.com

This week, Blockchain Foundation Executive Director Cleve Mesidor is participating in the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in NYC. Learn about the Foundation's CGI Commitment to Action: “Educating Americans on the Benefits of Blockchain.”

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butterscotch is a digital news studio broadcasting stories about Black, Latino, Indigenous DeFi retail investors, Web3 consumers, founders, executives, officials. The virtual newsroom - featuring eNews, Podcast, Live Events – seeks to deepen mainstream understanding of diverse segments of the emerging $2 trillion crypto industry.

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