More than three out of five news releases about cryptocurrency offerings are buying distribution on popular media outlets and bypassing editorial judgment, according to a study released Tuesday.
According to the study from Chainstory, roughly 62% of the 2,893 press releases in its dataset — collected over a four-month span — come from projects flagged as “high risk” or “scam.” In cloud mining, about 90% of issuers fall into those buckets.
More than half of all releases cover routine product tweaks, exchange listings, or token sales that a normal newsroom would ignore.
Only 58 out of 2,893 releases (about 2%) relate to substantive events such as funding, mergers and acquisitions, or deep research.
Around 54% of releases are tagged “overstated” and another 19% are considered “promotional.” Neutral language sits at only 10%.
“When paid releases that would never pass an editor’s sniff test appear on news sites, the line between journalism and advertising blurs,” the report states. “That may boost short-term PR reach, but it raises real ethical and legal risk for media organizations that help promote high-risk or scam-adjacent offers.”
