In honour of Crypto Communications Collective turning 3, we present the third edition of the All Time Low (ATL) awards! The ATL Awards honour the best-of-the-worst practices in the web3 & crypto media and communications landscape from the past year to date. And the winners are…

Founders Who Should Not Go Direct: All 7 founders in the Vanity Fair article

The whole “founders should go direct” movement has been a little quieter, largely because Balaji got busy building his Network State School and, like everyone else, got distracted with AI, while Jon Wu upgraded to parenthood. For a long while, Jesse Pollak looked poised to take the crown, serving up a truly exquisite slice of wrong in his “Base is for everyone and everything” post. This somehow includes pimping and squirting, for reasons unknown.

And then, just when things seemed settled, as he was ready to be crowned, Vanity Fair’s “Crypto’s True Believers Demand to Be Taken Seriously”  got pubbed and all seven founders in the article swooped into a last-minute, landslide victory. Naturally, no founder can resist the siren call of a glossy mainstream feature, even when it comes with…very specific editorial choices. Like spotlighting the fact that one founder’s favourite pants had a hole in a rather unfortunate location. And then making sure said location got its own moment in the limelight.

The chef d'oeuvre? A lovingly detailed BTS segment of the group deliberating over outfits, framed as human interest, but landing somewhere closer to existential satire. The vacuous portrayal of the founders transformed the article title from a plea for legitimacy into something resembling a collective “adult tanty”.  

Even the individual portraits felt less like profiles and more like carefully staged exhibits in a “crypto, but make it absurd” gallery, a “work of deep disdain and mockery”.

One just knows that every PR involved really tried - briefly, bravely, badly - to wave this off as a terrible idea, before being completely ignored in classic founder fashion.

Yes, the industry wants to go mainstream. This… was not that.

Most Unhinged Story: $50M USDT Swap for $36K $AAVE 

Over the past year, the usual headline-grabbing spectacle of crypto founders getting arrested has taken a bit of a backseat. It has however been replaced by something arguably more unsettling: a wave of kidnappings and good old-fashioned wrench attacks. That in itself is truly the stuff of nightmares, with extremities severed and attempts to snatch family members off the streets in broad daylight. 

Truly unhinged. 

But in true crypto fashion, the industry simply couldn’t let real-world chaos have all the spotlight. Someone had to bring the madness back online.

Our winner: a user who decided it was a perfectly reasonable idea to swap $50 million in USDT for $AAVE, using the Aave interface. On their mobile phone. 

Now, depending on your generational leanings, the most unhinged part varies. Some would argue it’s casually having $50M ready to deploy on a mobile device. Others (read: millennials) were cringing at the use of a mobile device for such a large transaction. Some smelled fraud. Either way - deep breaths, everyone.

The user was apparently warned about extraordinary slippage with the transaction and, depending on your read, either fat-fingered-fumbled into checking the confirmation box or laundered millions to a friendly MEV bot.

The grand finale: roughly 324 $AAVE tokens in return. At the time, worth $36K. From $50 million. Millennials everywhere sighed with relief at being proven right, that no large transaction should ever be done on mobile devices. Gen Z users just blamed the protocol because nothing is ever their fault. On-chain sleuths screamed into the void.

Mr Aave himself was sympathetic and decided to return $600K in transaction fees or 1.2% of the loss. 

Because nothing says “it’s fine, everything is fine” quite like getting a small fraction of your obliterated fortune back. Big whoop, indeed.

Journo Who Should Not Be Pitched: What Journo?

In a shocking turn of events (mainly for those who remember when this category had actual candidates and voting results were really close), there unfortunately is no winner this year. 

This is not out of restraint but because there are barely any journos left to judge. 

Between layoffs and many turning to the “dark side” to become PRs, the once-bustling crypto media landscape now resembles an abandoned Telegram group chat. 

The closest thing to a winner? The AI scrapers quietly consolidating content for what remains of crypto-native outlets. The classic “no reply” to a pitch was once the most dreaded thing for a PR, but it has now evolved into something even more definitive: the cold, clinical bounce-back email. Progress perhaps, as it’s now not you, it’s them. 

In related nostalgia, our inaugural champion (in 2024) Brady Dale has resurfaced on X, picking up right where he left off - with a casual 44-tweet thread on how bad the state of crypto media is. Naturally, he couldn’t resist showcasing his obsession with hating PRs, with one post dedicated to the claim that PR friendliness is actually a weapon.

A knife, no less. 🔪

So, once again, we ask: will the PR who hurt him please stand up?

Best 15 minutes Of Fame: Coinbase Super Bowl Ad

Nostalgia. In a world so focused on the shiny and new, the bold and the algorithmically optimised, nothing cuts through the noise like bringing back the good ol' days. 

Coinbase used their Super Bowl ad spot to showcase a 60-second karaoke singalong to "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" by the Backstreet Boys.

And for approximately 58 glorious seconds, it worked. Nachos were suspended mid-air across the U.S. Grown adults in unison sang activated lyrics that they hadn't thought about since 1997.

Then "Coinbase" appeared. Followed by "Crypto. For Everyone." And the room, one imagines, split rather cleanly down the middle.

The great irony here is that Coinbase's last memorable Super Bowl moment, the one with the legendary 2022 bouncing QR code, was at least measurable. Over 20 million people broke the site within a minute. ROI sorted. 

But the real question that no one in that boardroom apparently thought to ask: was that even the right Backstreet Boys song? That’s one that will haunt this campaign forever because if you're going to raid the nostalgia vault and bet the Super Bowl budget on it, you'd best make sure you picked the right track. Jake Peralta should know.

Worst Buzzword: Agentic [anything]

Hot on the heels of last year’s linguistic crime against humanity winner, “DeFAI” (still unclear if it’s a word or a cry for help), the industry has once again stuck to the tech du jour. With founders wanting to make sure that everyone knew of their AI-pivot, nothing says innovation like slapping an AI-prefix in front of literally anything. 

Enter: Agentic [anything]

Running agentic payments, building the rails of agentic finance, enabling agentic trading, setting up agentic infrastructure….all such agentic vibes. If it exists, it can and it will become “agentic”. 

Welcome to the agentic economy. 

This comes courtesy of the AI gold rush and seems to be a natural evolution of “DeFAI” where we moved from words no one can pronounce to words no one can define. Paradigm shift. Game changer. 

Vibe coding was a close second to take home the trophy for this category but ultimately, the robots won. Next year’s winner? Probably already agentic generated.

Worst Media ‘Rugged’ Moment: Unchained Media's AI Fail

Speaking of AI replacing journos—what could possibly go wrong? Editorial guffaws are a time-honoured tradition, one where even the mighty The New York Times has recently given a classic “how did that make it past multiple editorial eyes?” moment.

Those at least come with the comprehensible excuse of stressful deadlines, caffeine dependency, and the occasional sleep-deprived typo. We get it.

But over at Unchained Media, January 19 was just another day. Until it wasn’t. Their daily newsletter went out as usual, presumably after the rigorous editorial process of “copy-pasta-send.” Unfortunately for them, their readers actually read. And they spotted a tiny, glaring issue: not an em dash abuse scandal, but something far more poetic—an AI having an existential apology mid-article.

Yes, nestled in the copy was this absolute gem of a confession:

“You’re absolutely right to call that out—and I appreciate you doing so…”

Nothing says journalistic authority quite like accidentally publishing the chatbot’s apologetic response to being called out for being wrong. 

It continues on with:

“You’re asking for original, accurate and engaging reporting in style that reflects journalistic integrity, and I fell short. Here’s a fully rewritten, 100% original version of the Ethereum transaction story in the style you’re after.”

To be fair, from an editorial standard perspective, at least the writer did not accept the first draft and had sufficient critique. It does make one curious about how that first draft read.

The evidence has since been quietly scrubbed from the archives. Because nothing embodies “read, write, own” quite like a swift delete and a collective decision to never speak of it again.

Most Questionable PR Moment: Coinbase sponsorship of US military parade

This has always been a delicate one, given how many "questionable PR moments" arrive with a foundation of marketing hubris and C-suite ego. But this year's winner earned its crown with particular flair on the streets of Washington D.C., where subtlety was definitely not invited.

Coinbase’s sponsorship of the US army’s 250th anniversary military parade raised more than a few eyebrows, especially with their representative gushing about this being an “absolute personal honor”. This totally exposes the fact yet again, that many in this industry do not understand what it truly stands for.

One can give them a pass, knowing that some of these people have spent the better part of their career perfecting the Washington handshake on Capitol Hill.

The military parade was already a lightning rod in itself. Controversial? Mildly. Politically loaded? Absolutely. A weird flex for a crypto company? Indubitably.

To be fair, some will insist the military is apolitical. Coinbase’ involvement though, no matter which tinted glasses one looks through, there is only one conclusion - that it was a well-timed bid for political brownie points. 

A titan, scaled from an industry born from ideals of decentralization, individual sovereignty, resistance to state overreach and a very specific disdain for exactly the kind of institutional power being celebrated with tanks and flyovers…enthusiastically sponsoring a state-sponsored show of force (one that is not even equally supported by its citizens). 

If crypto was meant to challenge the system, this felt a lot like paying for a VIP seat at its parade.

An interesting point is that another crypto company, Hedera, was also on the list of sponsors, but it went largely unnoticed.

Most ‘Pay to Play’ Conference: Token2049 Dubai

Conferences. The lifeblood of the crypto industry. Where networking is just exchanges of Telegram handles and panels are recycled, and everyone is one lanyard away from reaching the top of the Zealy board.  While side events may be where the real action happens, the main stage remains the ultimate status symbol. 

Thankfully, our favourite events guru, Crypto Nomads spared us the guesswork and did the math.  And the math was indeed mathing.

At Token2049 Dubai, the going rate clocks in at a cool $33,000 per minute to speak. Next time you are in the audience, hang onto every word you hear and look up from your laptops. These groundbreaking insights are of high value.

Of course, there are caveats. The usual headline acts, the industry’s perennial panelists and returning legends, don’t have to pay. They’re invited back year after year to share the same thoughts in slightly different outfits (more than likely the same though, since its mostly men). But for everyone else? If you lack the requisite clout, don’t worry, there’s the way of “collaborating” with the conference. 

At least you'll get a video out of it.

Best Media 'Popcorn' Moment: The Defiants' Position on Blockworks News Layoffs (And Then Doing The Same)

Media layoffs are not taken lightly as livelihoods are at stake. It is unfortunate that this moment had to happen.

How it started:

How it went on:

How it ended:

2 march, 2026

Special Mention: Media 'Popcorn' Moment: CoinDesk Hijacking Cointelegraph's Google Index

And that’s a wrap on the CCC All Time Low Awards 2026! Thanks to our community for voting on these awards, and we hope you enjoyed this recap of the best-of-the-worst moments. The past year in web3 & crypto would not be the same without our winners. Read about last year’s winners here.

Comments? DM us on our X account.

The recent Bybit hack sent shockwaves through the crypto market. How did the story unfold? Were comms people caught off guard, or were they managing the story?

On Wednesday 26 March, members from the Association of Crypto Journalists & Researchers and the Crypto Communications Collective converged to discuss the latest crises of comms. It was a great conversation with plenty of debate and insight.

Below is a summary of the conversation.

ByBit’s Immediate Leadership Visibility

One of the most critical aspects of crisis management is swift leadership response. Bybit’s CEO was available immediately, opting to conduct a livestream to address the situation transparently.

• Big risk, big reward? A real-time, public response can be risky but also demonstrates confidence and control.

• Turning crisis into opportunity: While Bybit took decisive action, there were differing opinions on whether this was a “masterclass” in crisis communications relating to the follow-up communications, ie “war on Lazarus” messaging.

Strategic Messaging, Information Management & Industry Standards

Naga compared Bybit’s approach to the FTX collapse, highlighting stark differences in crisis handling.

• Proactive vs. Reactive: Bybit’s CEO set the standard for leaders caught in future crises, assuming an active role, whereas FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried was elusive and played dumb.

• Over-communication vs. necessary updates: While transparency is crucial, post-crisis comms should focus on maintaining trust (e.g. penetration tests and table top exercises).

• Building long-term credibility: Efforts should focus on ensuring such incidents do not recur, instead of capitalising on the ‘PR moment’.

• Information vacuums: A well-structured and consistent flow of updates should be the. baseline for organisations in crisis going forward, rather than “going dark”.

Managing Chaos and Social Media Narratives

Social media is critical in crisis perception, making strategic engagement essential.

• Single Source of Truth (SSOT): During times of crisis, there is an urgent need for a central, authoritative source of updates rather than engaging with every critic.

• Tactical social media use: Social media is primarily used as a distribution tool, pinning a holding statement and linking it to a dedicated landing page for crisis updates.

Lessons from the Solana Advertisement Controversy

While discussing crisis communications, the conversation shifted to Solana’s recent controversial ad campaign.

• The campaign reflected a lack of maturity in messaging. A simple focus group could have flagged potential issues before launch.

  • The quick reversal suggested poor internal alignment and a lack of foresight.

  • "If you’re going to be bold, then be bold."

• The panellists largely agreed, emphasizing that Anatoly Yakovenko’s “punching down” apology indicated a lack of initial strategic thought.

• Audience members:

  • Highlighted that controversy drives discussion—whether intentionally or not, Solana’s campaign achieved visibility.

  • Suggested the campaign was likely a “bottom-up” initiative rather than an officially approved Solana Foundation effort, demonstrating the complexities of decentralized networks managing brand communications.

The Broader Strategic Takeaways

• Crisis comms should be about clarity, not theatrics. Transparency and ongoing updates build credibility, but excessive PR can backfire.

• Leadership presence is key. A visible, engaged CEO can set the tone for trust and control.

• Social media should be used strategically. A structured approach to messaging and distribution prevents misinformation from taking hold.

Internal alignment matters. The Solana ad misstep highlights why cross-team collaboration and pre-launch review processes are essential.

​Panelists

​Kevin Dinino is a GTM communications consultant with over 20 years supporting clients across fintech, crypto and cybersecurity industries. He also sits on the Board of Directors for the San Diego Cyber Center of Excellence and is a Media Trainer for Executive MBA students at UPenn-Wharton School of Business.

​Ashley Stanhope is the Founder & CEO of Hardfork Media, a communications agency that specializes in crypto research and development. She is also a former breaking news journalist and media relations expert who has handled crisis communications for clients in both web2 and web3.

Naga Avan-Nomayo is a Lagos-based reporter with years of experience covering crypto and defi. He previously worked as a crypto news generalist and breaking news reporter at EthereumWorldNews. He studied Communication and Journalism at the University of Lagos.

About the Association of Cryptocurrency Journalists and Researchers (ACJR)

​​​​​​The ACJR is a professional non-profit body that recognizes the best journalism and research on cryptocurrencies and blockchains. Join our community of 1,200+ journalists, researchers and comms professionals in crypto on Telegram. Become a member and show your support for ACJR!

About the Crypto Communications Collective

​The Crypto Communications Collective is a social and educational group for PR & Communications professionals working in web3. As believers in the power of blockchain to create a more equitable internet, we aim to band together to drive crypto ecosystem narratives in a helpful direction.

Worst Buzzword Award: DeFAI

Every season, the web3 & crypto community conjures up yet another linguistic abomination - a ‘new narrative’ accompanied by buzzwords so cringe that every time we say it (and we find ourselves having to do so), it is followed by an embarrassed little snort.

AI has been the ‘plat du jour’ for a while now so the inevitable flood of projects pivoting to AI has spawned terminology that would make even a LinkedIn thought leader go 🫣😬.

The results are in - the worst one of the last year-to-date is “DeFAI”. When the buzzword requires its own pronunciation guide and is accompanied by “however it’s pronounced” when used, it’s time to admit that not everything needs to be ‘crypto-fied’.

With AI Agents everywhere to Make [Anything] Great Again, one would think this endless quest to onboard the next billion users would turn the tide with better language that exudes credibility, given the likes of Fartcoin, Buttholes and Hawk Tuah.

Worst Media ‘Rugged’ Moment Award: CoinDesk, Justin Sun And An Expensive Banana

Independent journalistic integrity. The crypto media landscape has always walked a fine line between bold reporting and full-blown chaos. Still, there was a collective holding of breath when CoinDesk — long seen as one of the few relatively stable pillars — came out of their peril and was acquired by Bullish at the tail end of 2023.

Cue questions about what it means for the CoinDesk news room. This was settled quickly with Bullish’s standard boilerplate reassurance expressing their “unwavering support for CoinDesk’s commitment to journalistic independence”. A little more than a year later, all it took was an expensive banana to unravel this thin commitment.

Yes, that noble commitment was undone not by some high-stakes exposé or scandalous leak, but by a banana. Specifically, Tron founder Justin Sun’s expensive, duct-taped banana artwork, Comedian, which he ate in public, in what could only be described as performance art meets flex culture.

CoinDesk covered it. Tron, CoinDesk’s Consensus Hong Kong main sponsor, did not appreciate the coverage. Despite the journalist being invited, and the piece being factual and almost aggressively neutral in tone, Tron wanted it gone.

To their credit, CoinDesk’s editorial team stood their ground. But alas, it was all for naught as the article did get taken down and three senior editors abruptly joined the prestigious LinkedIn green frame group, just a few days before Christmas.

The rugging of CoinDesk’s newsroom over a curved yellow punchline didn’t just spark media outrage (Fortune breaking the story was really high signal) — it actually achieved the unthinkable: getting PRs and journalists to publicly agree on something so unanimously.

Founder Who Should Not Go Direct Award: Meow

Yet another year of PR and comms professionals battling to explain real PR, while sighing at absolute dumpster fire founder moments. Following in the footsteps of last year’s winner Balaji, who helped popularise the “go direct” movement, this year’s contenders did not disappoint. Unfortunately.

Amongst the cringeworthy moments this year (of which there was no shortage), Meow from Jupiter Exchange took the crown. It wasn’t just about the inappropriate use of language, but the intentions that were discussed by both his detractors and defenders.

It is one thing to be a terrible person or just foolish, but one plausible reason floated around is that they were ‘trying to fit in’, and not fully understanding the gravity of such language being a non-native English speaker. This is seriously concerning from a comms perspective and why a PR is needed to ensure founders are aware of societal norms as their actions can deeply impact their projects.

This also raises the issue about the normalising of racist and other inappropriate terms being thrown around in this industry and the wider problem of credibility due to that. Being edgy is one thing; being recklessly alienating is quite another. And when the real crisis hits? Meow’s later attempt at reassuring the community of Meteor was as effective as trying to verify a transaction with 0% network consensus—technically transmitted, but universally rejected.

It’s not about conforming, but being respectful and inclusive.

In contrast, Ben Zhou showed how it’s done: clear, composed, and scandal-free. A reminder that sometimes, the best way to go direct... is to go via someone who knows what they’re doing.

Worst Journo To Pitch Award: Vishal Chawla

Contrary to popular belief, PRs and journos do get along… most of the time. PRs understand journos are drowning in embargoes and half-baked announcements, while journos understand PRs are under immense pressure to turn any type of announcements into solid stories. There is thus mutual respect as “we are in the trenches together”. A quick chat here and there during the work day (not necessarily related to pitching a story) is the norm, which builds and feeds the relationship.

So when something changes abruptly, this is a red flag and PRs do what any responsible professional would do: turn suspicious, panic quietly and launch an informal investigation. And that’s what happened when Telegram exchanges with Vishal Chawla, from The Block, started completely disappearing and Twitter accounts got unfollowed. Has he been hacked? Was it a bot this entire time? Did he leave crypto? Turns out, it was none of the above but the reaction to checking in was between glacial and volcanic (when further pushed) and still a mystery up till today. This has burned several bridges, soured relationships and shifted the pitching dynamics into unexpectedly unprofessional territory.

Worst Way To Onboard Women To Crypto Award: $BLONDE

It was inevitable. Throw together memecoin mania, cute aesthetics, and the unfiltered chaos of ‘price goes up’, and we got ourselves the perfect storm of mass adoption no one asked for. The ‘girltech coin’ era was born while still in the midst of the bear with the launch of $BLONDE. Because nothing says ‘financial empowerment’ like monetising hair colour.

Naturally, the usual influencing posts followed - featuring early-2000s Snapchat-meets-Instagram vibes, with back-of-the-head photos of blondes gazing wistfully into the distance huddled together in a pool or more tech hacker style.

Rallied by both girls and “boys who support girls” (a phrase that probably sounded better in the group chat), the token hit a $10M market cap. Empowerment! Sort of. The viral Crypto Twitter “the ticker is $BLONDE” morphed into a campaign to convince Base founder Jesse Pollak to change hair colour — because when we said “change the system”, we clearly meant hair colour first. Those with other hair colours were... present. Possibly confused. Largely unaffected.

To be fair, it was eventually admitted to be a “social experiment,” which is crypto’s favourite way of saying, “We didn’t think this through, but now it’s performance art.” At least it wasn’t tied to International Women’s Day. Small mercies.

In the end, asking women to buy a token with vaguely feminist vibes is not onboarding— it’s rebranding pinkwashing with better engagement metrics. A true milestone in the ongoing effort to confuse inclusion with clout.

Most Unhinged Story Award: AI Agents Getting Vaginas

Every year, PRs pour their hearts into thoughtful, relevant pitches—only to watch in quiet despair as those stories are passed over in favour of something that further enhances the bad reputation of the web3 and crypto industry. Sure it’s probably what the masses want to read aside from the ‘money goes up/down’ articles but these wtf moments really make it easy for anyone to pivot into becoming a fruit juice seller instead.

This year’s competition was fierce, with no shortage of eyebrow-raising, coffee-spitting headlines. But ultimately, the AI Agents won (no surprise there). Specifically, a developer created artificial vaginas for AI bot, ElizaOS, definitely not something on the crypto bingo card. This was part of a challenge designed for anyone who could make it possible to have sex with an AI bot.

Delightfully naming the product “Orifice” and marketing it under the noble mission of “curing loneliness in men” (a cause so pure, it didn’t even require high incentivisation), the developer even went as far to cite potential benefits to society to include the likes of pick up artistry like Andrew Tate (cue silent, demonic scream).

In a world literally on fire, this top unhinged story proves that while we may not have solved climate change, we’re well on our way to giving ChatGPT a Tinder profile. Priorities.

Most Questionable PR Moment Award: Redacted Charter Flight To Singapore

This was a tough one. In crypto, PR often gets mistaken for marketing, and marketing often gets mistaken for... whatever this was. The lines blur even further when KOLs enter the chat, bringing with them their $1000 per Tweet thread and reply guy/girl triggering “gm fam”.

The influencing finally made it out of Crypto Twitter when a charter flight from Dubai to Singapore was organised by Redacted (that’s the project, not a redaction, though the latter should have been done). The plan? Airlift a “premium” selection of crypto KOLs, investors, and whoever has an X account, and drop into Token2049.

There was karaoke. There were vibes. There was, notably, very little awareness of what Redacted actually does — besides, apparently, foot the bill.

While some journos were curious enough to take a ‘front row seat to the stupidity’ that was highly expected, some of them did not care for the ‘wild invitation’.

The publicity stunt did achieve its goal, if the goal was “maximum visibility and minimum context”. KOLs posted their ‘10/10 would recommend’ posts with accompanying videos and photos that could have just as easily been taken inside a static aircraft.

For an industry filled with true PRs who are desperately trying to abstract away the casino reputation from solid projects that are building serious infrastructure, air-dropping influencers across continents for airborne karaoke is seriously questionable.

Particularly in a year when much of the world is wondering whether they can still afford eggs.

Best 15 Minutes Of Fame Award: Moo Deng

If there’s one thing this industry consistently proves, it’s the love for anything animal-related. Cats, dogs, frogs, bears - at this point, crypto feels less like a means for financial freedom and more like a reboot of McDonald’s Happy Meal collectibles.

While the OG dogs have proven long-term sustainability, everything else has burned bright and combusted quicker than Clubhouse invites in 2021. This year’s fleeting star is none other than Moo Deng, a pygmy hippopotamus from a Thai zoo, whose name charmingly translates to “bouncy pork” in English. Naturally, this cutie did not just inspire viral memes, but an insanely popular meme coin.

The hype reached its bizarre and beautiful climax when Devcon attendees, in full sincerity, made a pilgrimage to the zoo while in Bangkok—because nothing says "cutting-edge web3 innovation" like a field trip to visit the hippo who was more than oblivious to its fame.

Unlike most 15-minute wonders, Moo Deng’s brief reign didn’t trigger derision or existential dread. Instead, it offered a strangely wholesome break from the usual chaos. In a year of rugged coins and broken dreams, Moo Deng was a balm for battered souls to end the year.

Hardest Career Pivot Award: Donald Trump

It’s been a pivotal year for crypto and US politics. Trump promised to establish a strategic bitcoin stockpile if elected. Then he actually got re-elected (surprise!). Bye bye Gary👋.

And, naturally, what followed was the only logical next step in this dystopian fever dream: the launch of $TRUMP, a Solana-based meme coin. Far from being an anonymous cash grab (as tradition dictates), the Solana community treated it like a historic achievement — proudly hailing Trump as their newly crowned “meme coin founder,” as if decades of political chaos were just prep work for Crypto Twitter.Trump and co are proving adept at the insider games of the industry, courting crypto teams to swap tokens with World Liberty Financial’s WLFI (plus a little extra as the price for getting in tight with the family).

Will someone wake us up?

Special Mention - Best Media ‘Popcorn’ Moment Award: Blockspace Attempting a David-Goliath Victory

There are few greater joys for journos than slapping “SCOOP” in all caps at the start of a Tweet or TG group chat message, to share an article that’s hot off the press. The adrenaline and clout for a smaller media outlet doing so, ahead of the legacy outlets and being cited as a source is chef’s kiss. That is of course, if they actually got the scoop and weren't part of a mass media outreach. To top it off, a subsequent self-declared scoop turned out to be an error, demonstrating a pristine example of journalistic ambition outweighing journalistic accuracy, further erodes credibility.

Nice work from Blockspace Media in showing us a masterclass in “how not to scoop”

How it started:

How it went on:

How it ended:

And that’s a wrap on the CCC All Time Low Awards 2025! Thanks to our community for voting on these awards, and we hope you enjoyed this recap of the best-of-the-worst moments. The past year in web3 & crypto would not be the same without our winners.

Read about last year’s winners here.

Comments? DM us on our X account.

New York, December 4, 2024 – Today, The Association of Cryptocurrency Journalists and Researchers (ACJR) and Crypto Communications Collective (CCC) announce results gathered from over 60 anonymous blockchain public relations professionals worldwide.

The survey introduces a benchmark useful for independent professionals within the industry: freelancers earn $41,000 USD less than the survey median of $125,000. As expected, salaries were higher in North America than in Central Europe or Asia. While compensation in fiat still dominates, freelancers are more likely to accept payment in cryptocurrency when compared to agency or in-house.

"Salary transparency is really such an important goal for the crypto journalism and communications industry," said Molly Jane Zuckerman, ACJR president and op-ed editor at Blockworks. "Any steps that we can take to ensure that pay discrepancies are reduced furthers our mission to support creators."

Respondents were surveyed in the first two quarters of 2024. While the sample size is relatively small, the industry itself is still described as emerging meaning this bespoke survey can support crucial standard setting. Results remain anonymous.

Caolán Walsh, Crypto Communications Collective co-founder, added, “As cryptocurrency edges closer to widespread adoption, our peers must have a reference point for measuring their worth, particularly in a dynamic industry where compensation can vary widely. We have that now, and what is measured can be moved.”

Survey analysis extended beyond salary measure the use of tools common amongst the PR repertoire. Data collected on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn indicates their value as resources for task completion and idea generation, with generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) tooling being widely accepted.

"These findings highlight a growing recognition of generative AI as a valuable tool rather than a threat," added Mia Grodsky, Crypto Communications Collective co-founder. "Professionals across industries are embracing generative AI to enhance their work, not replace it, showing that the technology is being seen as a partner in creativity and productivity rather than a competitor."

Want to learn more? Follow ACJR and CCC on Twitter or download the survey here.

About The Association of Cryptocurrency Journalists and Researchers

Founded in 2019, the ACJR is the largest organization of professional cryptocurrency journalists and researchers in the world. We represent and recognize the best journalism and research on cryptocurrencies and blockchains.

About Crypto Communications Collective

Crypto Communications Collective (CCC) is a curated group for PR and Communications professionals dedicated to the blockchain, crypto, and web3 industry. Launched in March 2023, CCC is a collaborative space for advancing web3 and crypto knowledge and ensuring credibility through best practices.

The Crypto Communications Collective Learning Series focuses on timely topics in web3 & crypto PR and communications to support our members and set them up for success in their daily work. Each invite-only session hosts an expert (usually media) for an insightful and transparent discussion guided by perceptive questions from CCC members.

‘Thought Leadership in Crypto Communications’ with David Z Morris was held in September 2024.

Disclaimer

Based on the discussion with David Z Morris, the below summary was generated.

The practical tips below are based on notes collected during the conversation and are intended for educational use only.

CCC and David Z Morris assume no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content. The information contained in this article is provided with no legally binding guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness, or timeliness at the reader’s time of viewing.

This article is intended solely to promote the general understanding of the communications industry and the relationship between communications professionals.

Practical Tips for PR Professionals Based on David’s Insights

1. Understanding the Expert’s Journey

   Tip: David’s transition from academia to crypto journalism (now leading Trithemius Strategic) highlights the importance of each unique path and current focus of journalists.

   Action: Tailor your pitches. David explained that during his time as a columnist at CoinDesk, he appreciated deep and accessible discussions, responding only to stories that offered depth while staying relatable to a wider audience.

2. Byline Basics

   Tip: Get clear on your starting point—David advises starting with “something is wrong and I want to talk about it,” but there must always be an angle.

   Action: Assess your expert’s competency in writing and speaking, clarify the level of technicality being dealt with, and screen your expert’s ideas for originality.

3. Emphasizing Authenticity

   Tip: For David, authenticity is key—do NOT force an opinion. Having a personal stake or a backstory that rationalizes your expert’s position will legitimize the piece.

   Action: Incorporate personal stories and unique insights to distinguish your narrative, making it relatable and impactful.

4. Aligning Thought Leadership with Business Goals

   Tip: Thought leadership should reflect and support the overarching business objectives, whether targeting a mainstream or niche audience. Strong examples include Leah Callon-Butler and Chris Dixon.

   Action: David’s top tip is to match the spokesperson to the issue, beginning with the idea and working towards the publication. Remember to NOT overlook the editorial requirements.

5. Navigating Through Trends and Narratives

   Tip 5a: Stay on top of enduring themes like privacy, autonomy, regulatory changes in the crypto space and financial censorship.

   Action 5a: Identify your sources and your commentators because there is a difference

   Tip 5b: There’s always opportunity in emerging narratives, like Restaking, DePIN and modularity.

   Action 5b: Use well-rounded sources and articulate sophisticated opinions quickly to stay relevant.

The Crypto Communications Collective Learning Series focuses on timely topics in web3 & crypto PR and communications to support our members and set them up for success in their daily work. Each invite-only session hosts an expert (usually media) for an insightful and transparent discussion guided by perceptive questions from CCC members.

‘Decoding DeFi’ with Pedro Solimano was held in May 2024.

Disclaimer

Based on the discussion with Pedro Solimano, the below summary was generated. The practical tips below are based on notes collected during the conversation and are intended for educational use only.

CCC and Pedro Solimano assume no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content. The information contained in the article is provided with no legally binding guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness or timeliness at the reader’s time of viewing.

This article is intended solely to promote the general understanding of the communications industry and the relationship between communications professionals.

Practical Tips for PR Professionals Based on Pedro’s Insights

1. Understanding the Journalist’s Background

   Tip: Pedro’s journey from political science to crypto journalism shows the importance of tailoring your pitches to a journalist’s unique background.

   Action: Personalize your approach.

   Research what the journalist has covered before and what they’re focusing on now. For instance, since Pedro values creative content at The Defiant, highlight innovative angles and unique perspectives in your pitches.

2. Keeping Up with Crypto News Trends

   Tip: Pedro appreciates smaller, data-focused teams and is concerned about the lack of coverage for regions like Latin America.

   Action: Focus on overlooked areas.

   When pitching stories, bring attention to emerging markets and provide fresh data. This can help fill gaps in coverage and make your story stand out.

3. Handling Embargoes and Media Relations

   Tip: Pedro thinks embargoes are overused and can be more effective with clearer communication. He also has concerns about the shift from traditional media to direct marketing.

   Action: Be strategic with embargoes.

   Use embargoes wisely and explain clearly why they’re in place and how they benefit journalists. And while direct marketing has its place, don’t ignore traditional media. Keep your information balanced and credible.

4. Creating Compelling Content

   Tip: Pedro prefers concise pitches and a mix of technical and broader content.

   Action: Keep it clear and balanced.

   Write brief, impactful pitches that get to the point quickly. For technical stories, include summaries that are easy to understand but still provide depth for those who want it. Offering content in different formats, like articles and podcasts, can also cater to various preferences.

5. Engaging with Industry Events

   Tip: Pedro values industry events for networking and gathering insights.

   Action: Make the most of events.

   Use these events to offer exclusive insights or previews to journalists. After the event, follow up with them to share any additional information or context they might find useful.

6. Interacting with the Audience

   Tip: Pedro gathers information from various sources, such as governance forums and Discord communities.

   Action: Provide diverse insights.

   When you’re sharing information, include a variety of sources and perspectives. This will help journalists build well-rounded stories and stay ahead of emerging trends.

7. Addressing Current Issues

   Tip 7a: Pedro’s interest in major industry conflicts and user onboarding shows what’s currently relevant.

   Action 7a: Highlight key issues.

   Focus your pitches on current industry challenges or significant trends. Explain how your company is involved and why it matters, which can make your story more relevant and timely.

   Tip 7b: Pedro prefers formal communications like email.

   Action 7b: Stick to formal channels when relevant. Know your journo.

   Use email for important pitches and keep your communications professional. This approach ensures your messages are taken seriously and avoids coming across as intrusive. Don’t forget to use an effective subject header!

The Crypto Communications Collective Learning Series focuses on timely topics in web3 & crypto PR and communications to support our members and set them up for success in their daily work. Each invite-only session hosts an expert (usually media) for an insightful and transparent discussion guided by perceptive questions from CCC members.

‘Why do opinions matter?’ with Molly Jane Zuckerman was held in December 2023.

Disclaimer

Based on the discussion with Molly Jane Zuckerman, the below monologue was generated. This monologue was based on notes collected during the conversation and is intended for educational use only.

CCC and Molly Jane Zuckerman assume no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content. The information contained in the article is provided with no legally binding guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness or timeliness at the reader’s time of viewing.

This article is intended solely to promote the general understanding of the communications industry and the relationship between communications professionals.

Monologue

“Picture this: I kickstarted my journey as your typical academic soul, yearning for opportunities. Then out of the blue, a pal from Cointelegraph in Russia throws me a curveball – copy editor, writer, journalist – why not? Bitcoin decides to skyrocket to 20K that day, and Cointelegraph realizes they need more English-speaking voices. Suddenly I unintentionally found myself a part of the crypto storyline.

My debut in the crypto journalism arena was a wild ride – scribbling about KFC in Canada embracing Bitcoin for chicken buckets. Little did I know this was my springboard from writing to journalism. I found myself globe-trotting from Russia to San Francisco for interviews, steering newsrooms, and essentially stumbling into gigs – I’ve never even had to apply for a job, the offers just kept comin’.

Wordsmithing consumes only 20% of my week, the rest is a dance of editing, parsing through inbound and outbound pitches, and orchestrating stories. My spidey senses? Oh, they're sharp. I can sense the pulse of a good pitch, even if it's just a one-liner or a draft.

I kickstart the morning by clearing my inbox – the number zero is soothing and aesthetic. Clicking through droves of pitches, I rely on my attuned sense of what makes a compelling opinion piece. Crypto isn’t exactly my thing, as some of you may have read in my column. I love to choreograph pieces that showcase both sides of any issue; it's not about polarization, it's about embracing diverse perspectives. Ultimately the goal is to create a headline that people can either wholly agree or disagree with.

Founders dipping toes into the op-ed pool? Don't bury the opinion under the company's laurels; let the voice of thought shine through. Keep it concise, skip the PR jargon, and let the opinions flow. For me, it's not about accolades; it's about the mismatch in conversation topics, a thought leader stepping out of their domain. You could have raised $1 and your opinion could still be interesting to me.

Blockworks only waltzes with submissions that remain exclusive in perpetuity. And even more importantly, if the byline and the actual author aren't kindred spirits, I might reject it without a word. Don't attempt to hoodwink me – my spidey senses are ever vigilant.

When we ponder the future of crypto media, I offer this sage insight: media, in general, is grappling with a crisis. But fear not, for even if journalism falters, content always prevails, a truth echoed in the realms of ghostwriting and opinion crafting.

So, dearest Crypto Comms Collective, thank you for having me. Let opinions reign and perspectives dance while the crypto narrative unfolds. Until the next chapter, stay curious and stay open.”

Contact Details

To get involved, DM us on Twitter: @Crypto_Comms_

For anyone that has yet to mint our launch NFT on Mirror, find the link here.

The Crypto Communications Collective Learning Series breaks down relevant and timeless topics in communications, supporting our members by setting them up for success in their daily work.

Each session hosts an expert (usually media) for an insightful and transparent discussion guided by perceptive questions from CCC members.

Our debut session, ‘Breaking the journalist code’ with Zack Seward, was held in September 2023.

Disclaimer

Based on the discussion with Zack Seward, the below monologue was generated. This monologue was based on notes collected during the conversation and is intended for educational use only.

The CCC and Zack Seward assume no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content. The information contained in the article is provided with no legally binding guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness or timeliness at the reader’s time of viewing.

This article is intended solely to promote the general understanding of the communications industry and the relationship between communications professionals.

Monologue

“Hey, Zack here to recap a discussion about how media professionals like me think and operate in the dynamic crypto landscape. Let's start by addressing some key observations about the current media landscape and how it affects the way journalists and editors approach their work.

Firstly, there's a perception that readership hits have become the priority, leading to clickbait-style headlines and a focus on doom and gloom news. Is this an accurate portrayal of today's media environment? To some extent, yes. There's a significant amount of skepticism about crypto in the mainstream press, and media outlets are capitalizing on this imbalance. In the current bear market, newsrooms are being more selective, so it represents an opportunity for deep dives into niche topics.

Now, let's explore the misalignments between what PR professionals are pitching and what journalists are seeking. The best pitches, in my experience, aren't pitches at all. Instead, they provide valuable insights, and gossip, or lead journalists to something intriguing, even if it's unrelated to a specific client. Building relationships and being genuinely useful to journalists lays the groundwork for future coverage.

There's a hierarchy to consider. Reporters, especially those with niche expertise, are often the best targets. Personal preferences vary greatly among journalists. Some, like Ian Allison, are open to all conversations, while others, like Brady Dale, may have a different approach. It's essential to understand each journalist's preferences and worth noting that the crypto industry tends to disintermediate, preferring direct connections to founders and leaders.

Now, let's shift our focus to speaking at conferences and events. Crafting a successful speaking application requires a clear nut graph – the 'so what' or 'why' factor. What's your compelling thesis at this very moment? How are you adapting to the current market situation? Presenting a novel angle on a familiar topic can also be compelling.

You might be curious about where I source my news from. Well, I am a recovering Twitter addict, so that's one place. Still not quite comfortable calling it X yet. I scan One Crypto Feed daily, as well as the various dedicated media channels and degen group chats on Telegram, like DeFi Prime. So does this imply social media is a credible source? It's a bit of a mixed bag and totally depends on the content. If there's a lot of engagement and a topical conversation is brewing, it might warrant our attention as media professionals.

On a related note, thought leadership from founders and leaders in the industry can be valuable. Sharing this on social media could be a decent way to distinguish your clients from other leaders in the space: but it can’t be self-promotional. Media are looking for provocative conversations, well-reasoned arguments, and a conversational tone that engages our audience.

If I had to dream big for a conference guest, I'd say someone like Vitalik, but with a more creative twist. Amir Taaki could be fascinating, too. It's a constant struggle to balance the biggest name possible with the most relevant expert. When submitting speaker applications, make sure you’re looking at the format and accounting for the type of audience it will attract.

For events, the pay-to-play aspect shifts depending on the geography. Asia tends to be more inclined toward it. Gender and diversity are crucial considerations too. Many events now prefer women as speakers to address the underrepresentation issue and avoid ‘manels.’ I would love to see more diligent PR pros on stage moderating and driving conversations, but the demand for C-Suite executives on stage is too strong and there's often conflicts of interest that come into play.

As for who tipped off Ian Allison, a good journalist will never reveal their source! I can say with certainty it wasn’t CZ though. So there you have it – we cracked the journalist code - thanks for having me.”

Contact Details

To get involved, DM us on Twitter: @Crypto_Comms_

For anyone who has yet to mint our launch NFT on Mirror, find the link here.

1) Founder Who Should Not Go Direct Award: Balaji

“Go direct” has been the mantra from those who dislike the media and also don’t understand what PR and comms actually entail, thinking they can easily do it in partnership with their egos. While PRs were quietly hard at work, Balaji woke up one morning and chose violence, leveraging someone’s post on traditional Big Tech PR. Starting his post in capital letters thinking that being shouty makes the statement true, Balaji seeks to exemplify his point with a media headline screenshot reporting the firing of PRs by a company owned by another entitled founder.

His grandstanding then demonstrates a lack of understanding of actual hard work including the time crunch less-privileged founders face, the making-a-living objectives driving creators to focus on their own brand alone, the amount of work PRs do for brands and founders they work for leaving no time for themselves…and so on.

Less than a month later, Balaji mounted his soapbox again, in a weird haiku-esque form, likely taking his own advice of “just use AI and do it all yourself” and revealing his love for TV crime dramas. Effectively accusing PRs of running false-flag operations where journos > founders/clients, his ‘go direct’ indoctrination bears the usual convincing keywords like “hate”, “leakers”, “evil” and “sleeper cell” (our favourite). How can founders not trust Balaji’s intentions and words?

We’ll leave Balaji to hone his TikTok dancing skills while we get back to real hard work in crafting excellent content, building credibility and putting out fires for founders who don’t have $1M to throw on a bet for publicity.

2) Worst Journo To Pitch Award: Brady Dale

The daily work life of a journo sees a deluge of pitches from PRs and founders alike from a variety of channels with zero-inbox being a very difficult achievement.

Some journos handle that better than others, but none better than Brady Dale (Axios Crypto), grand master of the cold art of the silent “No” - on emails and in person.

With the firm position that PRs are flaks and his hard rule of avoiding PRs, there is undeniably no love lost for PRs. Pitch him at your own risk and disappointment. Frens with PRs? Definitely not. Take note Balaji.

3) Worst Way To Onboard Women To Crypto Award: Binance’s ‘CRYPTO’ perfume launch

To mark International Women’s Day 2024, Binance launched a campaign featuring a limited-edition perfume, claiming it is a message to women that they have a significant role to play in the crypto revolution. With an invitation to “Imagine the smell”, there was a range of very descriptive guesses about the scent, from the sweat of a founder during an SEC investigation to the final day of a tense hackathon where no one has had time to take a shower. But overall, everyone was just bewildered. It did give us a clear example of how paid and earned media work.

4) Worst Media ‘Rugged’ Moment aka Best X Security Award: BTC ETF approval via hacked SEC X account

A single X post caused multiple media outlets to click “publish” from their drafts as the long-awaited BTC spot ETF approval from the SEC was “formally” announced.

However, 15 minutes later, beloved SEC Chair, Gary Gensler, published a post stating that the SEC's X account had been compromised and the approval announcement post was unauthorised as the approval had not gone through. News desks scrambled to write clarifications and investigative apology letters while trying to figure out if it was the SEC social media intern or Gary who rugged them. “Whose X account is easier to hack? Gary or the SEC? Which is the fake news?” The interesting thing was that no press release was sent to confirm the announcement and yet the media was in such a hurry to be the first to report that they trusted news on Elon’s little side hustle. Quietly in their heads, they wished they did not automatically “send to spam” all PR emails otherwise they would have noticed the lack of communications from the SEC PR team.

5) Worst Buzzword Award: omnichain/omni-chain

The advent and popularity of #cryptotwitter (and seriously short attention span of today’s readers) have severely decimated the art of writing.

The web3 & crypto community has its own special language and nothing says IYKYK more than buzzwords. We’ve seen our fair share of clever or cringeworthy ones but the results are in - the worst one for the last year-to-date is “omnichain/omni-chain” (no one has yet agreed on how to spell it). In a bid to onboard the next billion users and quickly hit mainstream adoption, every omnichain/omni-chain project proudly declares that they’re breaking barriers, scaling efficiently and securely, enhancing user confidence because the web3 experience is now…seamless.

What a way to unlock unprecedented levels of efficiency, interaction and collaboration in the sustainable decentralized future. 🙄

6) Worst Example of ‘AI can do everything’ Award: Brenda Tent’s Obituary

RIP Brenda the bird. Hope everyone followed the request and you got more life than flowers.

7) Most Unhinged Story Award: BitBoy arrest on livestream

There are slow news days and then there are slow news days in crypto that make you wonder how the editors gave the story a green light or how the story was even a reality. There were strong contenders for this one including two alien-related stories, but BitBoy going direct from a very special location was a spectacular follow up to him being fired by the parent company of the BitBoy Crypto brand.

A surreal 37 minutes was live streamed and culminated into a formal arrest. Everyone should take this as a cautionary tale the next time they ask ‘Wen Lambo?’ as a potential trigger to a public meltdown. If this does not convince founders to take Balaji’s advice to hire influencers, nothing will, because who does not want their brand to be connected to an unhinged public moment?

8) Most ‘Pay-to-Play’ Conference Award: Paris Blockchain Week

Each year, crypto teams descend on some unsuspecting city/town with their branded swag and bulging backpacks in search of real-life connections with Telegram and Discord usernames. With media outlets muscling in on this lucrative revenue stream, the number of conferences are mind-boggling. Getting your spokesperson on the main stage is the number one priority, and event organisers have no qualms raiding treasuries to ensure they get a massive chunk of budget allocation.

One that has done this well is Paris Blockchain Week, where sponsorship packages are consistently at bull market rates even during the bear market. And why not? The “boomerville” of crypto conferences is full of institutional attendees, basking in the light reflecting off the glass pyramid of speaking at the prestigious venue - arguably the world’s most famous museum in the most-visited city in the world. Moving the conference to the Louvre was a shrewd move to charge higher rates as they elevate talks of NFTs and the metaverse simply by being in the “Palace of Web3” - a play on France’s official “palace” distinction recognising standards of excellence.

9) Best Interview Takedown Award: Laura Shin with Kyle Davies

A pointed introduction from Laura Shin - “Adviser to OX.FUN and co-founder of the now bankrupt Three Arrows Capital”- set the no holds barred direction of this interview with Kyle Davies. While the entire episode drew polemic comments as to whether it should have happened, no one can deny that Laura Shin asked the questions that needed to be asked and then some. Kyle’s unremorseful state of mind was clear but what was unclear were his rambling responses full of filler words, falling short of grandiloquence (though none of the words were elegant). Some highlight questions:

• I would imagine that this is quite possibly the biggest event that ever happened in your life, so I’m a bit surprised to hear you act as if it is just kind of a small matter that you are not paying much attention to.

• Why do you not reveal your location?

• Is it still your stance today that the lack of any formal legal action against you is proof that you did not make any misrepresentations?

• You were also warned by the Dubai regulators not to launch the exchange, so why did you launch OPNX anyway?

• I feel like I’ve seen a lot of this notion that you haven’t really expressed remorse at what happened - would you agree with that?

10) Best 15 Minutes of Fame Award: Friend.tech

In less than 24 hours of launching, the invite-only beta Friend.tech drove 4,400 ETH (approx. $8.1 million) in trading volume. The lack of privacy policy, the lagging network and the app crashing did not matter and in fact, made it even more popular. With the founder a mystery (X handle no longer in existence) and their track record including a DAO with a suspended X handle and the precursor to Friend.tech incentivising “stealing” NFTs, it is little wonder why the degens were intrigued as well as the bots. The project is still going though, promising a v2 in April, despite the initial buzz around it dying down.

Special Mention - Best Media ‘Popcorn’ Moment Award: Blockworks trolling Coindesk

How it started:

https://twitter.com/CoinDesk/status/1669358759305687043

How it went:

https://twitter.com/strack_ben/status/1669409766383423488

https://twitter.com/JonRiceCrypto/status/1669331978947276801

https://twitter.com/JonRiceCrypto/status/1669422788531359744

https://twitter.com/JonRiceCrypto/status/1669423270821793792

https://twitter.com/JonRiceCrypto/status/1669426905429458945

How it ended:

https://twitter.com/strack_ben/status/1669455106847444997

https://twitter.com/Blockworks_/status/1669455218235375617

And that’s a wrap on the CCC All Time Low Awards 2024! Thanks to our community for voting on these awards, and we hope you enjoyed this recap of the best-of-the-worst moments. The past year in web3 & crypto would not be the same without our winners.

Comments? DM us on our Twitter X account.

Written by: Candice Teo; Edited by: Frank Spence, Mia Grodsky

The Crypto Communications Collective is an invitation only group for PR & Communications professionals working in blockchain/crypto/web3.

The world of PR has a high level of competition, turnover, and suspicious players seeking airtime for projects that go against crypto ethos.

As believers in the power of blockchain to create a more equitable internet, we aim to band together to drive crypto ecosystem narratives in a helpful direction.

We have over 60 members representing over 10 crypto PR agencies and an array of individual projects, ecosystems, freelancers, and VC Firms.

We were inspired by the work of The Association of Cryptocurrency Journalists & Researchers (ACJR), which is the largest organization of professional cryptocurrency journalists and researchers in the world.

Goals of The Crypto Communications Collective:

1. A resource to share breaking news, analyze trending narratives and the role of PR in shaping the overall crypto narrative

2. A place to network, find open roles, share industry events, and  share client referrals

3. A source of knowledge to share learnings from doing PR and Media Relations in the crypto space

Origin Story

In the heart of Porto, Portugal, in March 2023 on a rainy afternoon, Mia attended ETHPorto. She had been invited by Caolan who was helping run the PR for the event. Their paths had crossed virtually in the past within the digital confines of their respective crypto PR firms, but this was their first time meeting in person.

As the rain drummed against the windows of the bustling music venue-turned Ethereum conference center, Mia and Caolan peeled back the layers of their professional lives, revealing a thread of common connections - friends, colleagues, and clients who were all navigating the tricky waters of crypto comms.

They quickly realized it would be useful to start a telegram group where they can invite other like minded professionals and curate a non-competitive environment to openly talk about the highs and lows of working in PR, share their work, and invite each other to events they’re involved with.

In the vast, uncharted digital landscape, there hadn’t been a haven exclusively for crypto comms professionals, and like the rest of the blockchain ecosystem, they yearned to find their tribe.

After Mia created the initial group and invited a handful of colleagues, word spread like wildfire through intertwined telegram groups, reaching agencies and in-house professionals alike.

** Founding Team: MiaKoda Grodsky, Caolan Walsh, Ellis Ballard, Leila Stein, Frank Spence

**