CoinDesk’s big award is a big moment for us and the crypto media in general

The news that Ian Allison and Tracy Wang are joint recipients of a Polk Award, one of the most prestigious in journalism, for three November scoops that led to the dissolution of FTX’s empire is a source of immense pride for all of us at CoinDesk.

This is a milestone not only for CoinDesk, but for crypto media in general. It underscores the role that solid, professional journalism can play in bringing transparency to the all-too-often opaque and, unfortunately, fraud-ridden crypto industry.

As Associate Editor-in-Chief Nick Baker and Managing Editor Marc Hochstein put it in their recap of the three award-winning stories (Ian’s first scoop on Alameda’s balance sheet, his follow-up on Binance likely to pull back bailout, and Tracy’s bombshell against CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s “caval of roommates” who ran FTX): “There is little precedent in journalism history for a story that made such an impact and did so quickly.”

It is painful to see so many FTX victims as a result of what Ian and Tracy uncovered. But the reality is that it would eventually be revealed. That it wasn’t earlier is actually the problem. That is why a professional, independent media is essential for an industry with trust issues.

But it requires a technical grounding to properly cover this complex subject. Just as bankers exploited the misunderstanding of collateralized debt obligations before 2008, crypto fraudsters hide behind techno-fog. It can be challenging for journalists who are not familiar with the technology. That’s why some mainstream coverage of Bankman-Fried left a lot to be desired.

This is where CoinDesk is unique. Sure, there are quality crypto reporters in the mainstream media as well as the crypto press, but no outlet has nearly as deep a bench as we do. We combine the best of mainstream and crypto journalism.

We are led by editor-in-chief Kevin Reynolds, who had a 23-year career at Bloomberg, and Joanne Po, executive producer and head of multimedia, who led television and digital multimedia teams at CNBC, The Wall Street Journal and Fox Digital. We have other senior editors with decades of newsroom experience. Equally important, we employ many scoop-hungry, crypto-native reporters – some straight out of school, others older – with deep, personal understanding of the technology and its opportunities and challenges.

This two-way approach is more important than ever. Contrary to its critics, crypto is not going anywhere. But it is clear that it must be improved, both on the technical side and in the regulations. If it is to live up to its transformative potential, it is crucial that the crypto problems are uncovered, so that solutions can be iteratively developed and so that promising projects are given the attention they deserve.

It has become popular in some crypto circles to argue that this should be left to solo “citizen journalists” on Twitter. But while there is definitely a place for crowdsourcing information happening on social media, Ian and Tracy’s work is exhibit A in the case for why independent, structured press organizations like CoinDesk are still important.

Until someone comes up with something better—perhaps one day, a workable, reliable decentralized system for uncovering facts and holding bad actors accountable—there is no substitute for the training or the built-in principles of professional journalism that journalists develop trust in sources, reporting. accurately and work with integrity.

Do we sometimes make mistakes? Secure. But it is a commitment, day in and day out, to try to get it right, to quickly correct and expose our mistakes and to strive for objectivity and transparency. The best way to address conspiracy theorists who blindly claim that we serve the interests of some puppet master is to point to the proof in our pudding.

Today is therefore not just a day to celebrate Ian and Tracy and their editor, Nick Baker, but every single person at CoinDesk. They have all contributed to a workplace that allows and encourages our journalists to adhere to these high standards – one result of which is this much-deserved award. It’s also a day to recognize why it’s so important that the broader crypto industry supports media institutions like CoinDesk that live by these principles.