2019-1-11 07:33 |
The Surprising Ways The Crypto News World Changed In 2018
Today, there are more crypto news media outlets than ever before. The industry continues to grow, and some of the world’s largest cryptocurrencies have become household names. Bitcoin’s price movements are reported on mainstream media outlets. There has never been more media attention – both good and bad attention – directed toward the crypto industry.
Our friends at CryptoGlobe recently decided to analyze how the crypto news world changed in 2018. They discovered some surprising trends, including notable changes in the way we consume, analyze, and report crypto news stories.
How The Study WorkedThe CryptoGlobe study relied on the CryptoCompare API. Using that tool, CryptoGlobe collected metadata from 64,605 articles published in 2018 across 25 news sites.
The result was, according to CryptoGlobe, “an interesting portrait of the evolving landscape of the cryptocurrency space, as market narratives change rapidly from month to month.”
Crypto News Topics Changed Focus Throughout The YearThe topics covered at the beginning of 2018 were different from the topics covered at the end of 2018. Certain topics grew in prominence throughout the year. Other topics rose and fell. Some topics gradually dwindled throughout the year.
In their analysis of crypto news articles, CryptoGlobe created a graph showing the news coverage of leading crypto categories in 2018. News articles were categorized based on topics like Trading, Technology, Sponsored, Regulatory, Mining, Market, ICOs, Fiat Currencies, Exchanges, Business, BTC, and Blockchain.
Some notable results from this study included:
Sponsored Posts And ICO Reviews DeclinedThis one isn’t surprising. 2017 was the year of the ICO. Companies worldwide were scrambling to launch initial coin offerings to raise public funds for various projects. Crypto news outlets were swarmed with requests for sponsored posts. Companies were willing to pay money to have their ICO featured on a news website. Paying $1,000 for a post on a major crypto news website could lead to $1 million of investment in an ICO. As 2018 went on, however, this activity decreased. Sponsored posts and ICO overviews declined gradually over the course of 2018.
Trading and Market Commentary RoseAs ICO reviews and sponsored posts declined, real market analysis rose. News websites posted a growing number of articles providing professional analysis of the market. In 2017, markets were fueled by hype. Many price surges were backed by limited technical fundamentals. A single news story would send bitcoin skyrocketing. In 2018, things changed, and trading/market commentary continues to grow across major crypto news websites.
Bitcoin Maintained Its DominanceThe price of BTC peaked in December 2017. In January 2018, the price of BTC slumped and altcoin prices peaked. Some saw it as the beginning of the end for bitcoin, and bitcoin’s dominance shrunk. Over 2018, however, this trend reversed. Bitcoin’s dominance rose. Bitcoin continued to dominate online crypto news websites. Bitcoin continued to be seen as a flagship for the crypto industry.
Declining Articles About Blockchain TechnologyIn recent years, many crypto news websites have focused on discussions of blockchain technology. They have examined the technology underlying bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, for example, and explained that technology in a way that could be understood by a larger audience. In 2018, that trend broadly declined. Instead, news websites focused more on financial topics – like the prospect of a bitcoin ETF – instead of the underlying technology.
The Average Number Of Crypto Articles Declined Over 2018The average number of crypto articles published each month in 2018 peaked from February to May before declining broadly throughout the year.
There was a brief surge in the number of crypto articles in October 2018, just when bitcoin was beginning its dramatic slump at the bottom of the bear market. At its peak, media outlets were publishing approximately 360 crypto articles per month in March. In December, that number slumped to a yearly low of just 250 articles.
Media Outlets Are Covering More AltcoinsAltcoin coverage has become more prominent over the last year. While mainstream media outlets originally just focused on bitcoin, today’s media outlets are discussing altcoins in a similar way.
Ethereum, Tron, Tether, Monero, Ethereum Classic, XRP, DASH, Tezos, Cardano, Litecoin, ZCash, and other major altcoins all appeared on major mainstream media outlets in 2018.
No single altcoin came close to capturing the attention devoted to the king – bitcoin. However, XRP and ETH largely dominated the altcoin discussion – which makes sense considering they’re the number two and three largest cryptocurrencies by market cap.
“In general, the news coverage spread on altcoins isn’t too shocking,” reports CryptoGlobe, “With the proportion of news stories about top altcoins corresponding pretty neatly to their respective market caps.”
There were two exceptions, however: Litecoin (LTC) and Tether (USDT) both received media attention that was not reflected by their respective market caps. Tether has been a major story for much of the last year, while Litecoin is one of the oldest cryptocurrencies in the community.
You can read the full story from CryptoGlobe here discussing how crypto media outlet trends have changed throughout the year.
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