How CoinDesk’s FTX coverage has affected its owner

Elizabeth Lopatto of The Verge writes about how CoinDesk’s coverage — and breaking the news — of the FTX scandal has affected its owner.

Lopatto writes, “CoinDesk is riding high right now — its page views nearly doubled from October to November. Its FTX coverage drove 5.4 million page views, or almost a third of its 17 million total that month. Allison’s scoop about the FTX balance sheet outperformed any other business articles published by a factor of 20. (Kids, this is why editors pound their desks and demand scoops.)

“Even as CoinDesk thrives, it’s clear that its parent company needs money one way or another. Genesis was a big deal in the crypto boom, notes Nathaniel Whittemore on his CoinDesk podcast. ‘At the height of the market, Genesis was moving size,’ Whittemore says. In the fourth quarter of 2021, it originated $50 billion in loans and had $12.5 billion in active loans.

“As of the third quarter of this year, Genesis originated only $8.4 billion and had just $2.8 billion in active loans. Of course, that was before the FTX debacle. Genesis has since hired a restructuring firm, with the goal of avoiding bankruptcy. Bankruptcy might not be so bad, though — DCG’s founder, Silbert, has a background in distressed assets.

“Still, you can see why people might opportunistically bid on CoinDesk when its parent is vulnerable. CoinDesk received an unsolicited offer for a $300 million buyout, but there is no formal sales process in place.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.