In a recent report by the market intelligence firm Perception, it was revealed that mainstream media’s coverage of Bitcoin in the second quarter was highly polarized. Despite the cryptocurrency achieving significant milestones, the volume of coverage remained limited.
Perception’s research noted that 1,116 articles were published across 18 mass media outlets during this period, highlighting a ‘deeply polarized narrative landscape’ surrounding digital assets.
While some outlets expressed positive sentiments toward Bitcoin—31% of articles were positive—others delivered neutral (41%) or negative (28%) coverage.
Remarkably, top financial publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and The New York Times had minimal coverage, contributing only 2% of the overall Bitcoin-related media output in Q2.
The report identifies three narrative streams within the media’s portrayal of Bitcoin: ‘enthusiastic adoption’ by outlets like Forbes and CNBC, ‘willful blindness’ from the Financial Times, and ‘persistent skepticism’ from mainstream outlets.
Significant differences were found in the focus of these publications; for instance, Forbes emphasized retail adoption and Bitcoin mining, whereas CNBC focused heavily on market analysis and investment vehicles.
This varied topic distribution underscores the disparity in information, leaving readers potentially ‘underinformed’ about the cryptocurrency’s full spectrum of developments.
The analysis concludes with a warning about potential ‘information asymmetry’ affecting investors who rely predominantly on elite financial media for insights into this transformative asset class.
