CoinDesk Editorial Staff Dismissed Amid Concerns Over Editorial Independence

CoinDesk’s parent company, Bullish, has fired three senior editorial staffers, including Editor-in-Chief Kevin Reynolds, according to several employees. This decision follows after management at Bullish pressured CoinDesk editors to retract a feature about Tron founder Justin Sun purchasing a $6 million conceptual artwork made of a banana and duct tape at auction.

Deputy Editors-in-Chief Nick Baker, a former Bloomberg employee, and Marc Hochstein, who resigned as editor-in-chief of American Banker in 2017 to join CoinDesk, were also let go. Both declined to comment. Fortune first reported the news.

Concerns Over Editorial Influence

In a letter addressed to Bullish CEO Tom Farley and CoinDesk CEO Sara Stratoberdha, several members of CoinDesk’s editorial team expressed concerns about the growing influence of Bullish over newsroom decisions. The letter reflected on the company's transition from an independent subsidiary to fully absorbed under Bullish, a competitor in the crypto exchange market.

CoinDesk was purchased for $75 million by Bullish in 2023, following its previous owner's, Digital Currency Group, bankruptcy proceedings. This acquisition occurred after CoinDesk launched significant investigative pieces related to the FTX fraud.

To facilitate operations, Bullish appointed former Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Matt Murray to a “one-person” editorial committee to bridge editorial and business interests. However, staff indicated that this arrangement provided merely a facade, as Bullish executives now heavily influence editorial content.

Editorial Integrity and Controversy

A recent article published by CoinDesk reporter Callan Quinn documented Justin Sun’s experiences purchasing the conceptual art piece titled “The Comedian.” Post-publication, representatives for Sun requested the article’s removal, prompting Farley to “order” the article's retraction. CoinDesk staff viewed this as a severe breach of ethical journalistic standards.

The incident raised questions regarding CoinDesk's relationship with its major sponsor, Tron, especially given its sponsorship of CoinDesk’s upcoming Consensus conference in Hong Kong. Staffers felt that retracting the article threatened CoinDesk's integrity, risking reputations within CoinDesk, Bullish, and Block.one.

Employee Sentiments and Future Directions

Bullish has reportedly communicated to employees that it is considering going public and asked to keep this information confidential. CEO Farley expressed a desire for the newsroom to become a revenue generator, leading to concerns among staff about being positioned as marketing advocates for Bullish.

CoinDesk journalists noted that, unlike their previous experience with Digital Currency Group, the current integration with Bullish resulted in a complete blending of operations. Staff found themselves attending weekly ‘Bullish Scrum’ meetings irrelevant to their journalistic work.

Historically, CoinDesk has faced multiple rounds of layoffs since the acquisition, raising further concerns among its staff regarding its future direction.

Editor's note: A statement about a clause in CoinDesk's employee contract, which was never effective, has been removed.