As a subject, cryptocurrencies can be kind of hard to follow. They’re like those Marvel superhero films: every time you think you’re up to speed, people start talking about the new Asbestos Man movie or whatever. For example: Dogecoin – a cryptocurrency with a dog on it that hasn’t had a software update in two years, in the words of its creator – rose above $2bn in value earlier this year.
Anything can happen, and anything frequently does: surges, crashes, radical new ICOs that surge right before they crash. If you want to stay ahead of the market, you need to pay close attention.
So who do you pay attention to?
It’s a dynamic and evolving field, and as it continues to change, so too will the way it’s analysed, reported, and understood. If you’re interested in the subject, or simply looking for someone to pitch, we’ve found these ten journalists are some of the most followed, most shared, and most influential figures writing on cryptocurrencies.
Joon Ian Wong
Late of CoinDesk and currently serving as technology reporter for Quartz, much of Joon Ian Wong’s work focuses on digital currencies. His knowledge and coverage of the subject is both broad and deep – meaning you get stories about general market movements AND slightly more niche material about cartoon kitties ruining the blockchain. If you want to know what’s going on in the charted and uncharted parts of the crypto-map, he’s your guy.
Anthony Cuthbertson
As a staff writer for NewsWeek, Anthony Cuthbertson covers a range of topics within technology – from Nintendo to AI to whatever the hell’s going on with Elon Musk on a given weekday.
His work on cryptocurrency leans towards the apocalyptic: recent highlights include stories focused on North Korea illegally funnelling Monero, Russia launching its own cryptoruble, and how Bitcoin will deplete all of the world’s energy by 2020.
Emily Spaven
Her work on LinkedIn’s news platform may have taken her off the full-time crypto beat, but ignore Emily Spaven’s work at your peril. With experience as the inaugural managing editor of CoinDesk, she has expertise to burn – and has been (and remains) a lively, active voice in the cryptocurrency community for years.
Oscar Williams-Grut
With a wide remit covering fintech and retail, Oscar Williams-Grut often dips into the unstill waters of the cryptocurrency market. His recent work for Business Insider has encompassed features on blockchain’s potential in emerging economies, interviews with Chinese bitcoin CEOs, and an in-depth Tether explainer – among other things.
Izabella Kaminska
If you have even the most perfunctory interest in market movements, you should probably be aware of the FT’s Izabella Kaminska and Alphaville. The same applies to her work on cryptocurrency.
With a discerning, sceptical eye, Kaminska’s work for the paper has taken on everything from the viability of crypto as a payment mechanism to its potential environmental costs. As painful as it is necessary, her reporting and commentary is nonetheless essential reading for cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
Lee Boyce
Throughout 2017, This is Money’s Lee Boyce served as a prolific voice in cryptocurrency media. As the site’s Consumer Affairs editor, he has covered Bitcoin’s general market movements, highlighted little-known altcoins, and made efforts to get the man-on-the-street perspective on a phenomenon that has – for a long time – been the exclusive domain of speculators and tech nerds.
Arjun Kharpal
A technology correspondent with experience in video, Arjun Kharpal is a vital, versatile, and energetic voice in crypto media. Though his appearances on Tech Transformers and Squawk Box Europe emphasise the accessible side of digital currencies, they’re belied by serious expertise.
David Dawkins
Writing for the Daily Express, David Dawkins provides up-to-the-minute crypto coverage across a number of platforms and markets. Come for the loud headlines and excitable action verbs – stay for the serious reporting, the quality interviews, and the detailed deep dives.
Alex Hern
Another generalist technology reporter thrust into the confusing and ever-fluctuating world of cryptocurrency, Alex Hern’s recent work includes an explainer on the five most baffling coinsand an in-depth feature on digital money’s relationship to humanity’s financial future. Knowledgeable and broadly crypto-sceptic, his writing can be relied on to cut through the hype.
Rory Cellan-Jones
As a general rule, BBC correspondents own their subject area. If you’re interested in football, you should follow Phil McNulty; if you’re interested in film, you should follow Mark Kermode; and if you’re interested in technology, you should follow Rory Cellan-Jones. When it comes to digital money, his coverage is long-standing and wide-ranging – with stories following the ongoing search for Satoshi Nakamoto, his own self-professed ‘Bitcoin bunglings’, and the 2017 crypto ‘gold rush’.
Struggling to get the media to care about your cryptocurrency? Want journalists champing at the Bit…coin? Discuss your fintech marketing needs with our directors.