Decrypt: a genuinely diversified newsroom, disclosing individual reporters' token holdings by name.
We're continuing our Crypto News Platforms series with Decrypt, founded in 2018 by Josh Quittner, Ilan Hazan, and Ryan Bubinski inside the ConsenSys Mesh incubator, and fully spun out as an independent company in 2022. Real, disclosed genuine strengths: a 2022 spinout raise from more than 15 separate investors, including VCs, DAOs, and angels, rather than a single controlling parent, and a genuinely granular team-page practice disclosing individual journalists' specific crypto holdings and direct recusals by name. What we don't think should be set aside: Decrypt Studios, a commercial arm producing branded NFT and metaverse content for paying clients, sits alongside the newsroom, and DCPT, Decrypt's reader-rewards program, has run sponsor-branded seasons paid for by specific crypto projects, including Filecoin. We weighted all of it below.
Our take, up front: Decrypt is a crypto and Web3 news and education outlet co-founded by magazine veteran Josh Quittner (Time Inc.) alongside Ilan Hazan and Ryan Bubinski in 2018, launched inside the ConsenSys Mesh incubator program. Real, disclosed genuinely diversified ownership structure: in May 2022, Decrypt raised $10 million on a $50 million post-money valuation from more than 15 investors, including venture capital firms, DAOs, Web3 organizations, and angels, and spun out fully independent from ConsenSys Mesh, a structure explicitly described by Decrypt itself as "progressive decentralization." Real, disclosed credentialed editorial leadership: Dan Roberts (Yahoo Finance, Fortune) joined as editor-in-chief and Jeff John Roberts (Fortune) as executive editor in 2021. Real, disclosed genuinely granular individual-level conflict disclosure: Decrypt's public team page names specific personal crypto holdings for individual journalists and states direct recusals, for example disclosing that one editor "owns 1 BTC and a significant amount of SCRT and SIENNA, and has recused himself from writing or editing stories about SCRT and SIENNA," a real, disclosed practice more specific than the general policies we found elsewhere in this series. Real, disclosed third-party recognition: multiple independent "most trustworthy crypto news" assessments credit Decrypt with "balanced coverage" and specifically note that it "publishes transparency reports detailing advertising relationships and token holdings of editorial staff." What we don't think should be set aside: Decrypt Studios, the company's commercial production arm, creates branded NFT and metaverse activations for paying clients in fashion, entertainment, and real estate, a real, disclosed structural overlap between commercial client work and editorial coverage of the same NFT and Web3 space. Real, disclosed sponsor-branded reader engagement: DCPT, Decrypt's in-app reader-rewards token, explicitly stated in its own FAQ to have "no value outside the Decrypt app" and not to be "an investment opportunity of any kind," has nonetheless run sponsor-branded seasons, with Filecoin paying a reported "low six-figure deal" to sponsor DCPT's first season and receive branding on the tokens readers earned. Real, disclosed ongoing consumer-protection concern: Decrypt has published direct, repeated warnings to its own readers about third-party scammers impersonating the DCPT token via fake websites and phishing emails, a real, disclosed risk stemming from the token program's existence rather than a fault of Decrypt's own security. We weighted all of it below.
Real, disclosed genuinely diversified ownership: the 2022 spinout from ConsenSys Mesh was funded by 15+ investors spanning VCs, DAOs, Web3 organizations, and angels, rather than a single controlling parent. Real, disclosed, genuinely granular individual-journalist conflict disclosure: staff bios name specific personal crypto holdings and disclose direct recusals from covering those exact assets. What tempers this: Decrypt Studios, a commercial production arm producing branded NFT and metaverse content for paying clients, sits alongside the newsroom, and DCPT, Decrypt's reader-rewards mechanism, has been directly sponsored by specific crypto projects (Filecoin) in paid, branded arrangements tied to reader engagement.
Pros
- Ownership is spread across 15+ investors rather than concentrated in a single controlling parent
- Individual journalists publicly disclose specific holdings and name direct recusals by asset
Cons
- Decrypt Studios produces paid, branded content for clients in the same space it covers editorially
- DCPT reader rewards have run sponsor-branded seasons paid for by specific crypto projects
Real, disclosed reputation across multiple independent "most trustworthy crypto news" assessments for "balanced coverage," editorial independence, and specifically publishing "transparency reports detailing advertising relationships and token holdings of editorial staff." We found no confirmed, disclosed instance of an accurate article being suppressed or removed at Decrypt in our research, distinct from what we found at two competing outlets in this series.
Pros
- Multiple independent assessments credit Decrypt's transparency reporting and balanced coverage
- No confirmed instance of an accurate article being suppressed or removed found in our research
Cons
- We found no single scoop of comparable scale to weigh against the industry's biggest stories
Real, disclosed transparent spinout history: the 2022 ConsenSys Mesh exit and subsequent $10 million raise were publicly announced with disclosed investor names and a $50 million post-money valuation. Real, disclosed individual-level editorial disclosure practice, published directly on Decrypt's own public team page.
Pros
- The 2022 spinout and raise were publicly disclosed with named investors and valuation
- Individual editorial disclosures are published directly and specifically on a public team page
Cons
- Specific financial details beyond the 2022 raise are not fully public in our research
Real, disclosed broad topical coverage spanning crypto, AI, gaming, and culture as of 2026, alongside dedicated educational content aimed at newcomers. Real, disclosed continuous operation since 2018, with credentialed editorial leadership hired from established outlets including Yahoo Finance and Fortune.
Pros
- Broad, disclosed coverage spans crypto, AI, gaming, and culture with dedicated educational content
- Editorial leadership was hired from credentialed outlets including Yahoo Finance and Fortune
Cons
- No single investigative scoop of comparable scale to the biggest stories in this category
Real, disclosed genuinely accessible core mission, explicitly built around "simplify, simplify, simplify" and clear writing for readers "of all understanding levels." Real, disclosed dedicated mobile app supporting the DCPT reader-engagement feature.
Pros
- An explicit, stated editorial commitment to clarity and accessibility for beginners
- A dedicated mobile app supports reader engagement beyond the core website
Cons
- The DCPT app introduces real, disclosed complexity (wallets, tokens) for a general news reader
Real, disclosed diversified revenue: advertising, clearly labeled sponsored content, Decrypt Studios' commercial production work, and the DCPT reader-engagement program. What tempers this: DCPT's sponsor-branded structure ties reader rewards directly to specific paying crypto projects, a real, disclosed native-advertising-adjacent mechanism, even though the token itself is explicitly non-monetary and non-tradable per Decrypt's own disclosed FAQ.
Pros
- Revenue is diversified across advertising, labeled sponsored content, and production services
- DCPT is explicitly, disclosedly non-tradable and stated not to be an investment of any kind
Cons
- DCPT's sponsor-branded seasons tie reader rewards directly to specific paying crypto projects
Real, disclosed distinctive reader-engagement product (DCPT) and dedicated educational content vertical, plus real, disclosed active security guidance for readers, including direct, transparent warnings about third-party DCPT phishing scams.
Pros
- A distinctive, real reader-engagement product extends beyond standard news publishing
- Decrypt directly and proactively warns readers about phishing scams targeting its own brand
Cons
- The token program's existence has itself attracted real, disclosed third-party scam activity
Read the news for free, and treat DCPT and Decrypt Studios as separate, disclosed commercial products.
Given the real, disclosed sponsor-branded structure of DCPT and Decrypt Studios' paid client work, evaluate Decrypt's core news reporting on its own merits while keeping in mind that these adjacent products involve real, disclosed commercial relationships with specific crypto projects and brands.
The clearest disclosure practice we've found in this series so far, sitting next to a sponsor-branded rewards program.
We want to be direct about why this score sits meaningfully higher than the first two outlets in this series, because the reasons are specific rather than a general sense that Decrypt is "nicer." Spreading ownership across fifteen-plus investors instead of selling to a single exchange is a structurally different, real, disclosed choice. Naming an editor's exact SCRT and SIENNA holdings and stating he's recused himself from covering them is a level of individual accountability we simply haven't found documented this specifically elsewhere in this project. Those are real, disclosed differences, and they should show up in the score. What keeps this from scoring even higher is that Decrypt has built two things, Decrypt Studios and DCPT, that create their own real, disclosed commercial relationships with the exact projects and brands its newsroom covers. Filecoin paying to brand a reader-rewards season isn't a scandal on the scale of a secret loan or a censored article, but it's a real, disclosed commercial tie worth naming plainly rather than treating an above-average outlet as if it has none. A better disclosure practice is not the same thing as no conflicts at all, and we think this score reflects that distinction honestly.
The scorecard above is deliberately general. Whether Decrypt is right for you depends heavily on which of these you already are.
The newcomer who wants clear, accessible crypto explainers from an outlet with genuinely diversified ownership
This is exactly where Decrypt's real, disclosed editorial mission and unusually granular staff disclosures deliver value.
The reader who checks whether a given piece touches Decrypt Studios' client work or a DCPT sponsor before treating it as neutral
Given the real, disclosed commercial overlaps in both products, this specific check genuinely matters here.
The reader curious about DCPT as a genuinely distinctive, real reader-engagement product, understood as non-monetary
This is a real, disclosed, explicitly non-tradable feature worth trying on its own terms, separate from any investment framing.
Anyone assuming Decrypt's cleaner track record and granular disclosures mean it has no commercial ties to crypto projects
Real, disclosed sponsor-branded and client-services relationships exist alongside the newsroom, even without a scandal attached.
The scorecard covers the headline judgment calls. These four tables cover the specifics we didn't want to bury in prose; the ConsenSys Mesh spinout timelined precisely, how DCPT actually works, the individual-disclosure practice presented precisely, and how Decrypt compares to CoinDesk and The Block.
The ConsenSys Mesh spinout, timelined
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2018 | Josh Quittner, Ilan Hazan, and Ryan Bubinski found Decrypt inside the ConsenSys Mesh incubator |
| 2021 | Dan Roberts (Yahoo Finance, Fortune) joins as editor-in-chief; Jeff John Roberts (Fortune) joins as executive editor |
| May 2022 | Decrypt raises $10M on a $50M post-money valuation from 15+ investors and spins out fully independent from ConsenSys Mesh |
| 2026 | Decrypt covers crypto, AI, gaming, and culture as an independent, diversified-ownership newsroom |
A spinout funded by 15+ distinct investors is a structurally different, real, disclosed ownership model than either a single VC-firm sale or an exchange acquisition, the two patterns we found at the other outlets reviewed so far in this series.
How DCPT actually works
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| What it is | An in-app reader-rewards token, earned by reading, reacting to, and sharing articles |
| What it's not | Per Decrypt's own FAQ: "not an investment opportunity of any kind" and has "no value outside the Decrypt app" |
| Redemption | Exchangeable for items like T-shirts, event access, and premium content, not cash or tradable assets |
| Sponsorship model | Individual "seasons" are sponsored by specific crypto projects; Filecoin sponsored Season 1 in a reported "low six-figure deal" |
DCPT's explicit non-monetary design is a genuinely meaningful, disclosed safeguard against the token itself becoming a speculative product; the sponsor-branding model is a separate, real, disclosed commercial relationship worth evaluating on its own terms regardless.
The individual-disclosure practice, presented precisely
| Example | What's disclosed |
|---|---|
| Sponsored-content editor | "Owns 1 BTC and a significant amount of SCRT and SIENNA, and has recused himself from writing or editing stories about SCRT and SIENNA" |
| Contributing editor | "Holds BTC, ETH, HYPE, HOOD, and owns a Meebit NFT" |
| Managing editor | "No significant crypto holdings" |
Naming specific tickers and specific recusals, rather than a general "our staff may hold crypto" policy, is a real, disclosed, more actionable transparency practice than the general policies we found described elsewhere in this series.
Decrypt vs. CoinDesk vs. The Block
| Decrypt | CoinDesk | The Block | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ownership model | 15+ investors, no controlling parent | Single exchange parent (Bullish) | Single VC-firm parent (Foresight Ventures) |
| Core disclosed conflict | Sponsor-branded reader rewards; client-services production arm | Owner-ordered article removal (2024) | CEO's secret $43M in personal loans (2021-2022) |
| Individual staff disclosure | Specific tickers and recusals named by person | Not found at this level of detail in our research | Not found at this level of detail in our research |
| Our score | 63.0/100 | 50.0/100 | 51.75/100 |
Decrypt's meaningfully higher score reflects real, disclosed structural differences, diversified ownership and granular individual disclosure, not the absence of any commercial ties to the industry it covers.
We don't just want to hand you our number; we want to show you how it sits next to what other media commentators and industry watchdogs have published. We're flagging directly that most general "most trustworthy" round-ups credit Decrypt's transparency and balanced coverage without weighting the DCPT sponsor-branding structure or Decrypt Studios' client work as directly as our methodology does.
Our score lands modestly below the aggregated industry average; most general trustworthiness round-ups we found credit the same diversified ownership and disclosure practices we weighted favorably, while giving less direct weight to DCPT's sponsor-branding model and Decrypt Studios' client-services overlap with editorial coverage.
| Source | Score | Type |
|---|
Scores compiled by our editorial team from publicly available reviews as of August 2026. "Editorial estimate" means the outlet didn't publish a single numeric score, so we converted their published verdict and sentiment into a comparable 100-point figure. Verify current figures directly with each source before citing them elsewhere.
Decrypt is independently owned following a May 2022 spinout from the ConsenSys Mesh incubator, funded by a $10 million raise from more than 15 investors, including venture capital firms, DAOs, Web3 organizations, and angels, rather than a single controlling parent.
DCPT is Decrypt's in-app reader-rewards token, earned by reading and engaging with articles. Per Decrypt's own FAQ, it is explicitly "not an investment opportunity of any kind" and has "no value outside the Decrypt app." Individual seasons have been sponsored by specific crypto projects, including Filecoin.
Yes, in unusually specific detail. Decrypt's public team page names individual journalists' specific crypto holdings by ticker and discloses direct recusals from covering those exact assets, a more granular practice than the general policies we found described at other outlets in this series.
Decrypt Studios is a commercial production arm that creates branded NFT and metaverse activations for paying clients in fashion, entertainment, and real estate. It operates alongside Decrypt's newsroom, a real, disclosed structural overlap between commercial client work and editorial coverage of the same industry.
We found no confirmed, disclosed instance of an accurate article being suppressed or removed at Decrypt in our research, unlike two other outlets reviewed in this series. We also found no scandal of comparable scale or scope to weigh directly.
Josh Quittner (a magazine veteran from Time Inc.), Ilan Hazan, and Ryan Bubinski founded Decrypt in 2018 inside the ConsenSys Mesh blockchain incubator program.
Yes. Core news content is free, with an optional mobile app for readers who want to participate in the DCPT rewards program.
Yes. Third parties have created fraudulent websites and phishing emails impersonating a fake tradable "DCPT" token to steal wallet credentials. Decrypt has published direct, repeated warnings to readers about these scams, which are not connected to Decrypt's own systems.
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