Hello again, from the Association of Cryptocurrency Journalists and Researchers! 👋
The applications for ACJR membership are still pouring in! If you haven’t applied yet, fill out a quick application form here to enjoy all the full variety of membership benefits, including a members-only chat group. Full members, professional journalists and researchers, can also join “Off the Record” (virtual) events and in-person meetups this summer.
We're hosting our first offline ACJR event — a Crypto Media Happy Hour with our friends at Decrypt sponsoring! It's in New York on June 15th.
For those crypto journalists interested in socially-distanced drinks with fellow bards, there are limited seats and ACJR members get first dibs. More info here.
Stay tuned for associate member events coming soon as well! Plus, yet another fun thing members get to do is cast votes for the first (but definitely not the last) ACJR awards!
Reporters and researchers in the blockchain space will have the chance to win awards in three categories: Reporter of the Year, Researcher of the Year, and Story of the Year. Members can vote for your favorite articles and reports here.
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In addition to the awesome articles we’ll discuss below, we also wanted to highlight the Galaxy Digital summer education series, which includes high quality research about the bitcoin mining industry. We also loved this voicey column from The Defiant about the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami by the veteran crypto journalist Bailey Reutzel.
Now, without further ado, here are some of the outstanding articles that we enjoyed so far in June:
“There’s a New Vision for Crypto, and It’s Wildly Different From Bitcoin” by Joe Weisenthal, Bloomberg
We loved this clear-eyed perspective on this bull market’s DeFi boom, driven by exuberant day traders, and how it diverges from bitcoin’s cypherpunk roots.
“Union Square Ventures Values Crypto Publishing Tool Mirror at $100 Million” by Kate Clark, The Information
The crypto-centric publishing platform Mirror offers intriguing possibilities for independent writers. This piece digs into why venture capitalists are betting big on collaborative, reader-funded publishing platforms.
“Ethereum DeFi Activity Has Slowed Down to 2020 Levels” by Jeff Benson, Decrypt
Instead of the often hysterical pieces you see about “DeFi is dead! NFTs are dead! Bitcoin is dead!,” this piece lays out the data showing how DeFi activity slowed, which led to lower gas prices.
“Miami Hosts the First Major In-Person Business Conference Since the Pandemic Began” by Erin Griffith, New York Times
This month, more than 12,000 people flocked to Miami for Bitcoin Magazine’s flagship conference, and this piece captures the scene perfectly. It mentions some of the ridiculous aspects without dwelling on distracting spectacles, showing how the industry has evolved during the pandemic-driven bull market.
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Remember, ACJR has a lot more going on than just this (fabulous) newsletter. You can suggest topics for our future meetups and participate in our book club via Telegram. If you want to help us with upcoming programs, please contact us via social media or our website.
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Next, we’d like to introduce you to some of our lovely ACJR co-founders, just in case you don’t know them already. Here’s a little reminder about the first stories that got them to tumble down the bitcoin rabbit hole. 🐰
Camila Russo told the tale for Bloomberg News of Argentine savers (those hoarding dollars) turning to bitcoin as the peso plunged in April 2013 as part of a daily credit market report that was “brutal.”
Michael del Castillo says his first “Bit Coin” story from August 2011 is no longer on the web, since it belonged to a now-defunct publication. But here’s a 2013 New Yorker piece he wrote as consolation.
The pseudonymous Stan Higgins, also known as Michael McSweeney, analyzed the security implications of distributed denial-of-service attacks on Dogepool.pw with deep sourcing within TeamDoge in March 2014 for CoinDesk.
🧠 Pro tip: We love how Michael/Stan started with a pseudonym! That’s a great option for reporters who are worried about their safety if they write about bitcoin. Your employer, co-workers and close sources should be able to verify your identity, but your readers don’t necessarily need to know your real name. We don’t lie to a source about who we are and never intend to trick them, but we also aren’t obligated to disclose identifying information to random readers. 🧠
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That’s it for June! Please keep sending us all the memes, and of course, follow us on Twitter, join our Telegram group and check out our website. We can’t wait to see what the market has in store for us in July!
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