Why does the mainstream media ignore altcoins?

[Lorenzo]

If the altcoin industry is now a multi-billion dollar industry then why doesn't the media treat it like one?

2016 and 2017 marked an enormous change in the cryptocurrency industry with alternative cryptocurrencies in particular gaining multi-million dollar or even billion-dollar market caps. The altcoin industry became a major industry in its own right and has gained the attention of banks, tech giants like Microsoft, and venture capital firms.

And yet, why is it that we never hear about altcoins in the mainstream media? By mainstream, I am referring to news websites like BBC.com, newspapers like the New York Times and the Washington Post, and TV news stations like CNN, Fox News, and NBC.

I can understand why the media did not report on say Darkcoin back when it had a $10 million market cap or NEM and Monero when they had a $2 million market cap because back then, altcoins were amateurish projects with only a small community of crypto geeks interested in them (I should know, I was one of them ).

Some altcoins do have mentions but they tend to be one-sentence examples. Only a very small few (e.g. Litecoin, Ethereum) have multiple articles dedicated to them.

Searching Fox News for the terms "Lisk", "Ardor", "Stratis", or "Monero" reveals nothing. Even "DASH" yields no results.

When PIVX gained a $100 million market cap, no news outlets mentioned it (Searching the term "PIVX" on BBC, Fox News, or NBC shows zero results). There is also no mention of PIVX in Reuters, Bloomberg, or the Wall Street Journal even though these are precisely the kind of places where you'd expect to find such information.

[Lorenzo]

i think you also still think that all media we got is free from control.. hence the Fake news and Hate speech push by governments. Think about it.

Hmm... Those who own powerful media companies are probably heavily vested in fiat currencies and shares in large corporations. I wonder if they see alternative cryptocurrencies and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) as a threat to their holdings.

[glerant]

If the altcoin industry is now a multi-billion dollar industry then why doesn't the media treat it like one?

I can pretty much explain to people not knowledgeable about Bitcoin what it is and in layman terms how it works so they 'get it'.

When you try and talk about Alts and explain that some are like Bitcoin but are not Bitcoin or even terms like contracts on the blockchain, tokens, POS, platforms etc I never fail to see their eyes glaze over and look bewildered and/or bored. I sometimes manage to get over the concept of coins like XMR or ZCASH - they can understand the difference between public and private blockchain info.

I think this is the issue with 'mainstream media'.

However, there are platforms out there on the cusp of providing genuine, disruptive offerings with mass reach and mass appeal - as with biometric scanning, VR headsets and AI the 'mainstream media' will scream and shout about it then. Don't plan on the media shouting about the platform you researched to be the best out there - it's not rational or coherent.

[Febo]

2016 and 2017 marked an enormous change in the cryptocurrency industry with alternative cryptocurrencies in particular gaining multi-million dollar or even billion-dollar market caps. The altcoin industry became a major industry in its own right and has gained the attention of banks, tech giants like Microsoft, and venture capital firms.

And yet, why is it that we never hear about altcoins in the mainstream media? By mainstream, I am referring to news websites like BBC.com, newspapers like the New York Times and the Washington Post, and TV news stations like CNN, Fox News, and NBC.

All crypto is "worth"  Market Cap: $35.740.655.054 That is really little. In few years time it will totally different and media will be full of it.  But you know what they like. Criminal and scams so that will be covered of crypto.

[Zadicar]

2016 and 2017 marked an enormous change in the cryptocurrency industry with alternative cryptocurrencies in particular gaining multi-million dollar or even billion-dollar market caps. The altcoin industry became a major industry in its own right and has gained the attention of banks, tech giants like Microsoft, and venture capital firms.

And yet, why is it that we never hear about altcoins in the mainstream media? By mainstream, I am referring to news websites like BBC.com, newspapers like the New York Times and the Washington Post, and TV news stations like CNN, Fox News, and NBC.

All crypto is "worth"  Market Cap: $35.740.655.054 That is really little. In few years time it will totally different and media will be full of it.  But you know what they like. Criminal and scams so that will be covered of crypto.

its not surprising anymore even now on the current state of crypto specially on bitcoin media does already give bad impressions to the public which would really ruin on its adoption how much more on altcoins for sure it would go the same way too.Marketcap is still small which cant really caught attention but as you said there would be a time on which they will seek out informations or news on crypto once it would boom out.

[Eebertay]

To OP

I think the main reason why mainstream media ignores alt coins is because to the average person, crypto currency is way too hard to understand. I think the day your grand mom can understand it, is the day alt coins will be mainstream.

We will get there but are not there yet.for now, BTC is our poster child

[kryptqnick]

If the altcoin industry is now a multi-billion dollar industry then why doesn't the media treat it like one?

I can pretty much explain to people not knowledgeable about Bitcoin what it is and in layman terms how it works so they 'get it'.

When you try and talk about Alts and explain that some are like Bitcoin but are not Bitcoin or even terms like contracts on the blockchain, tokens, POS, platforms etc I never fail to see their eyes glaze over and look bewildered and/or bored. I sometimes manage to get over the concept of coins like XMR or ZCASH - they can understand the difference between public and private blockchain info.

I think this is the issue with 'mainstream media'.

However, there are platforms out there on the cusp of providing genuine, disruptive offerings with mass reach and mass appeal - as with biometric scanning, VR headsets and AI the 'mainstream media' will scream and shout about it then. Don't plan on the media shouting about the platform you researched to be the best out there - it's not rational or coherent.

I agree with this. People aren't even used to hearing about bitcoin, so time shall pass, they have to learn some basics and then they can try finding out about other coins.
I think there's another reason for that, though. That is, perhaps the journalists are afraid to make news on alts since it's hard to know about which alt to talk. You may say that it's not a problem, one can simply choose top 5 on coinmarketcap. But don't forget that eth is #2 but still there are many people who say it's a scam overvalued coin. Perhaps, the media doesn't want to risk its reputation.

[g___]

...because to the average person, crypto currency is way too hard to understand.

exactly.

ask the average person how a traditional bank works, and they couldn't tell you either. most people are oblivious to these things, let alone ever question them.

[dwgscale11]

Searching Fox News for the terms "Lisk", "Ardor", "Stratis", or "Monero" reveals nothing. Even "DASH" yields no results.

You really expect those to be even mentioned in mainstream media?  They are just shit coins.

BTC and LTC are the only ones that will make main stream.

[FlamingFingers]

Searching Fox News for the terms "Lisk", "Ardor", "Stratis", or "Monero" reveals nothing. Even "DASH" yields no results.

You really expect those to be even mentioned in mainstream media?  They are just shit coins.

BTC and LTC are the only ones that will make main stream.

And why did you pick LTC among all the others? What kind of advantages/features does Litecoin have to surpass Monero or Dash?
Please don't tell me Litecoin is the oldest/first altcoin to come to existence – that doesn't prove why it should be mentioned.

[mummybtc]

I think the simple answer is that majority of the Altcoin, I will say 99% of them are scam coins.

[ttookk]

Well, Ethereum gets some media attention. But all Alts together, getting media attention? That's way too diverse a field to cover.

On that note, "Blockchain" as technology would need coverage. But it's a very complex matter on its own.

Apart from that, what do you expect mainstream media to say? "Looks like a bubble", "A big number of scams, avoid"? Both wouldn't be that wrong, would it?
I'm kinda glad that mainstream media stays out of this. Otherwise, millions of people would stream into a market they don't understand and lose their shirts in it. Granted, we, as (relatively) early adopters would make a killing in indirectly ripping off average joes putting their life savings into it, but would you feel ok with it?

[BitcoinGirl.Club]

1. the do not want to be labeled as a fake media house or a shill when an altcoin project fails

2. Most likely the altcoin is not unique enough in their books and does not pass their criteria to be mentioned

3. They are simply playing it safe with cryptocurrency news to avoid any legal contingencies

[shyliar]

Likely when the current bubble collapses it will be on the news for one day.

[bearex]

I think that it is not that big actually. You think altcoins are huge, because you live in the "altcoin" world, and you check them, and browse on forums, but in reallity, there are 7 billion people on earth, and i dont know how many people are in altcoin markets, but the good ICOs get like 2000 people backing them up?

To sum it up; they are not so big yet.

[f0rmdeep]

If the altcoin industry is now a multi-billion dollar industry then why doesn't the media treat it like one?

2016 and 2017 marked an enormous change in the cryptocurrency industry with alternative cryptocurrencies in particular gaining multi-million dollar or even billion-dollar market caps. The altcoin industry became a major industry in its own right and has gained the attention of banks, tech giants like Microsoft, and venture capital firms.

And yet, why is it that we never hear about altcoins in the mainstream media? By mainstream, I am referring to news websites like BBC.com, newspapers like the New York Times and the Washington Post, and TV news stations like CNN, Fox News, and NBC.

I can understand why the media did not report on say Darkcoin back when it had a $10 million market cap or NEM and Monero when they had a $2 million market cap because back then, altcoins were amateurish projects with only a small community of crypto geeks interested in them (I should know, I was one of them ).

Some altcoins do have mentions but they tend to be one-sentence examples. Only a very small few (e.g. Litecoin, Ethereum) have multiple articles dedicated to them.

Searching Fox News for the terms "Lisk", "Ardor", "Stratis", or "Monero" reveals nothing. Even "DASH" yields no results.

When PIVX gained a $100 million market cap, no news outlets mentioned it (Searching the term "PIVX" on BBC, Fox News, or NBC shows zero results). There is also no mention of PIVX in Reuters, Bloomberg, or the Wall Street Journal even though these are precisely the kind of places where you'd expect to find such information.

well for a start you can check regulated and licensed coins, backed by registered and liable companies , or thigns like ETH that have some backing by such companies ? ( which don't have the risk of running overnight on a onion network) ( Hint Hint : BTC, ETH, HMQ , XRP etc )

Examples :
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-03/bitcoin-is-now-worth-more-than-gold
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2017-01-27/will-tech-titans-enter-payment-industry
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/blockchain-app-humaniqs-hmq-token-to-be-traded-on-six-exchanges-2017-04-25-10203468
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-gains-mainstream-exposure-on-popular-tv-show-silicon-valley


as for the rest, all it takes is one single govt order saying something like "All Unregulated and Unlicensed altcoins are illegal" - No more - i promise. :-) and this hammer is coming sooner or later to wipe out a mass of this seemingly nice billion dollar industry- That is why main stream media do not want to be assosiated with these . the truth is they are either shady or have not taken the effort to regulate and license themselves.

dont believe a single word from me, go and research yourself. google will do.

[capitomil]

I see you have not heard the matter yet. The banks have shares in the massmedia, tv, newspaper etc .. do you think that they promote the crypto universe so that you cancel your contracts with them, and thus you win more money in crypto coins?

They are coming in like an elephant, they are the whales they are buying. And when they promote it in the TV and newspapers they will already have in their hands the cake of the cake.

That is why they have constantly tried to criminalize the crypto market. They do not want you to cancel your contracts. If you trade with coins, you earn more money.

[simadr]

They are slowly but they are... If you read The Economist (from de UK). Their mentioned bitcoin, ethereum,... by some small articles. As Forbes does, The wall street Journal does as well. And I am sure much more. You just won't see at the news on the television.

[tuvok007]

Excellent discussion, kudos to OP! Yeah, in my country I could find only once the news about the alts in mainstream media and it was about ethereum few months ago...

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Most people still don't know jack shit about bitcoin, what it is, how to use it, what it's worth...how are the ignorant, unwashed masses supposed to comprehend that there are thousands of other shitcoins on the market?  Most people on this very forum don't understand why Yobit is stuffed with all the garbage that it is--because these shitcoins are scams.  What's the mainstream media supposed to report about that?  That the world is populated with morons?  That's old news.

Frankly, I'm happy if bitcoin gets press.  All the other ones can teabag me.