⭐ It's almost awards season — our finalists are here! ⭐
The 2026 ACJR crypto journalism and research awards, brought to you by Bitdeer, are almost upon us
Hey journos,
Our judges have finished deliberations, and the results are in — read on to find the finalists in each category for this year’s ACJR crypto and journalism awards.
Remember, our winners will be announced over drinks and apps in Miami next week. It’s not too late to RSVP.
The ceremony will be preceded with drinks, snacks, and a discussion on the future of crypto media.
Decentralize or Die? The Future of Crypto Media
Moderator: Ben Schiller, Miden, ACJR board member
Jeffrey Albus: Former Blockworks, AI news expert
Zack Guzman: Coinage Media
Cami Russo: The Defiant
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ACJR Awards Finalists
Best Crypto News Story
Trump Says He Will 'Look At' Pardon for Samourai Bitcoin App Dev, Sander Lutz, Decrypt
Solana continues to search for its champion on Wall Street, Jack Kubinec, Blockworks
Stablecoin Bills Could Squeeze Out $140 Billion Tether, by Veronica Irwin, Unchained
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Best Crypto Feature
AI ‘vibe coding’ is thriving in DeFi as concerns mount over shoddy security, Tim Craig, DLNews
Trump Fired Her From the FTC. Now Her Husband’s Crypto Bill Could Suffer, Sander Lutz, Decrypt
Inside a crypto heist: Hamilton youth who stole $48-million strikes again, Ethan Lou, The Globe and Mail
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Best Crypto Scoop
Coinbase Aims to Jointly Pass Market Structure and Stablecoin Legislation in Congress, Veronica Irwin, Unchained
Trump Plans to Sign Executive Order Ending Biden-Era Crypto Debanking, Sander Lutz, Decrypt
‘Spy Sheikh’ Bought Secret Stake in Trump Company, Sam Kessler, Rebecca Ballhaus, Eliot Brown, and Angus Berwick, WSJ
Inside BlockDAG’s $442m crypto maze of missing miners, unpaid employees, and breached contracts, Liam Kelly, DLNews
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Best Crypto Op-Ed
Will TheDAO’s $220M Security Fund Actually Make Ethereum Safer?, Andrey Sergeenkov
Why “Buy the Rumor, Sell the News” Feels Broken in Today’s Crypto Market, Mike Ermolaev, BeInCrypto
Why Private Equity Is Betting On Tokenization, Azeem Khan, Forbes
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Best Crypto Research
The Great Bitcoin Dusting: A ‘Salomon Brothers’ Client Tries to Claim Dormant Wallets, Zack Pokorny, Will Owens, Galaxy Research
Cambodian firm accused of crypto crime quietly launches blockchain ‘no government or company can block,’ Callan Quinn, Scamurai
Demystifying DeFi: New National Research from DEF & Ipsos, DeFi Education Foundation (DEF) and Ipsos