I like Cointelegraph....At least I think I do!
If you ever read crypto related news at all, you have to have seen their work: the colorful, artsy images decorating every single article they spit out.
In general, I use them to get a quick glimpse of what's going on in the cryptocurrency space. But regardless of the level of newsworthiness of their material, their decorations are freaking cool!
Anyway, we had been in discussion with a new privacy coin client for a while and the possibility of issuing a press release on Cointelegraph came up. Since the release would cover an important new direction for the company, I thought, "Why not? Why not use the most prominent player out there to get the word out?"
When I tried to dig up their press release prices, I came across one of their own articles dated May 12, 2016 that quoted a price of 0.2 BTC.
With a close of $454.77 on that day (according to Coinmarketcap.com), 0.2 BTC would have been less than a hundred bucks (a pretty good deal in my book!).
Feeling pretty good about the whole thing, I went ahead and clicked on the "Submit a Press Release" link located in the opening paragraph...then my jaw dropped!
You see the two red question marks on the main image above? That's where today's rates appeared!
If you're thinking higher, you're right. But wait until you see how much higher...
I know that BTC has had quite a ride since 2016, as have most major coins. In fact, as of the date of this post, Bitcoin was hovering around $9,400, a twenty-fold increase since the Cointelegraph article was written.
At today's prices, 0.2 BTC would be equivalent to $1,800+, making the release the most expensive one I've ever seen. That's for sure!
Despite the steep price, I would still have recommended that our client go for it. Yeah, 0.2 BTC would still be a steal, given all the noise that a Cointelegraph press release would make.
But when I saw the 1 to 2 BTC figure, I cringed!
I know that Cointelegraph is popular, but man, that's a ripoff! It's similar to the "rent seeking" that's going on right now with popular industry conferences (the quoted phrase is actually Vitalik's, not mine. He boycotted Coindesk's Consensus 2018 annual blockchain summit in part because of the exorbitant $2-$3k ticket fees they were wrecking attendees with. See image below).
Don't get me wrong here. I understand how supply and demand work and that there's still huge demand for everything crypto, but c'mon! We want to accelerate cryptocurrency adoption for the good of mankind. We want to get everyone and their mother familiar with it. I'm in favor of all that. But then we see companies in the space resort to price-gouging-style tactics like the ones discussed above. It makes me feel like puking, really! Ripping people off doesn't get crypto to the masses. It's just another example of the rich getting richer because of availability!
Is a $10k press release fair?
All frustration aside, I want to know how you guys feel about stuff like this. Also, what other reputable alternative would you use if you had to issue a press release or make an important announcement for your crypto-related project?
Let me know in a comment below!
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Great Article, This is Highway Robbery at it's Best. Love the Facebook Bird image.