The media narrative and the social conversation about blockchain and digital assets digital assets have evolved in a substantial way over the course of a period of time relatively short. Which was for years a single narrative halfway between the hype, scepticism and simplification by the media, it has been a while being told with greater accuracy, context and journalistic rigour.

The stories have become more sophisticated. And with them, also the space that occupies the sector in newsrooms. It is increasingly more common to find explanations about models of business, architectural technology, regulatory frameworks or risks associated. Projects are beginning to be characterised by a greater level of depth, which means that there are more and better interactions between founders, coaches and journalists, establishing a channel for conversation that is fluid and constant.

This has led to a shift in the media’s approach to stories about blockchain technology and digital assets, with outlets gradually moving away from marginal coverage focused on sensational headlines and price volatility – or, in some cases, directly linking the technology to illegality or fraud. Instead, a different way of reporting on the sector has emerged: more analytical, more demanding, more connected to the reality of what is being built.Crypto is no longer a marginal issue or one relegated to obscure sections, but is increasingly finding its way onto the pages of business, finance and technology sections. At times, it even makes the front page when the impact is systemic or institutional.

That shift is no small matter and says a great deal about the current situation in which the sector finds itself. But it wasn’t always like that and we should not forget where where we come from.

The transformation of sectoral narratives

For years, the conversation was characterised by an unhealthy mix of overblown promises and speculative narratives from within the ecosystem itself, coupled with constant – and at times self-serving – scepticism from certain traditional quarters. Added to this was a further problem: the genuine difficulty of explaining a complex technology in terms that are easy to understand.

The result was a narrative that was fragmented, polarised and, in many cases, superficial. We saw this clearly in the analysis that we carried out at comma in 2023 on the media coverage of the sector. The discussion was organised into blocks that were practically separate. On one hand, a more technical and sophisticated and constructive, but limited to niche media and audiences specialised. On the other hand, a pillar dominated by the price, trading and speculation, which accounted for a large proportion of the attention.

At the same time, in the mainstream media and also in some financial publications, a significant proportion of the articles linked cryptocurrency with fraud, scams or a crisis of confidence. The technological aspect, meanwhile, was relegated to far more specialised outlets.

Between those worlds there was barely any connection. And when there are no bridges, the story becomes simplified. Or worse: it becomes something else.

That context explains why for, for so a long time, the sector struggled to build a narrative of its own, solid and comprehensible. There was a lack of translators capable of navigate between the technical complexity and the language of the general public. And, without that exercise in mediation, what prevailed was not dialogue, but noise.

In just three years, however, the change has been striking. And, to a large extent, this is down to the fact that both the sector and those covering it have matured at the same time.

There is undeniable credit due to the editorial teams and journalists who have chosen to treat this field for what it is: an intersection of economics, regulation and technology. This has had a direct impact on the quality of the debate. And when the way an issue is covered in the media changes, the questions asked change too.

It is no longer enough simply to know whether an asset is rising or falling. The debate now centres on which parts of this ecosystem constitute infrastructure and which are financial products; what can be integrated into the regulated framework and what cannot; and which risks are technical, which are market-related, and which stem from governance issues.

This transformation of interactions and this greater degree of interest and knowledge on the part of the media is, without any doubt, a clear sign of maturity.

The narratives that are shaping the sector

If one looks at the conversation taking place today in forums, the media and professional circles, several narrative threads that are reshaping the story become quite clear:

• The first is the institutionalisation. The entry of traditional players, whether banks, asset managers or custodians, does not only contribute volume, but also standards, processes and a way different from explaining what is happening.
• The second is regulation and compliance. The sector can no longer operate within the boundaries of the regulatory framework. And this, far from being a limitation, introduces order, rigour and a language that is more precise.
• Keep a close eye on tokenisation and market finance. Here, the focus is shifting towards real-world assets, issuance infrastructure and operational efficiency. Less abstract promise, more concrete application.
• Added to this is a fourth narrative focused on cybersecurity and resilience, which is no longer limited to the headline about ‘hacking’, but now encompasses risk architecture, audits, traceability and accountability.
• The fifth relates to identity, privacy and data: who verifies, how it protect the rights of the user and how are designed systems that are compatible with regulatory frameworks that are becoming increasingly more stringent.
• And, perhaps most significantly in the medium term, is the narrative of real utility: use cases that stand on their own without relying on price, where the value lies in the process, not in the token as a promise.

They all point in the same direction: a growing desire to distinguish between infrastructure and financial products. And that distinction, which for years was blurred, is key to ensuring that the sector is no longer perceived as a homogeneous bloc.

The problem wasn’t the technology

If there’s one thing we’ve learnt on this journey, it’s that the main problem wasn’t technical. It was narrative. For too long, communication was confused with marketing. The promise was prioritised over explanation, the roadmap over risk, and the vision over context. That might have worked during periods of euphoria, but it failed spectacularly when it came to building a reputation.

Because communication in this sector, and in any other sector that aspires to become infrastructure, is a structural component, since without understanding on the part of the general public, adoption is not possible. And without adoption, there is no ecosystem.

Blockchain was created with the aim of reducing the need for intermediaries, but that does not eliminate the need for trust; it simply shifts it. Trust no longer rests solely with a central authority, but lies in the code, in governance, in custody, in regulation… and also in how it communicates.

When that transfer of knowledge is opaque, ambiguous or overly technical, the result is the same as in the traditional system: mistrust.

Professionalisation or noise: the role of intermediaries

In this context, another tension emerges: the one that exists between media and creators of content. It is not a new debate, but in the financial sphere it takes on a dimension different dimension, because here information takes on the dimension of a raw material that directly influences financial decisions.

A reputable specialist media outlet operates according to certain principles: cross-checking sources, providing context, and exercising editorial responsibility. A channel that amplifies trends, on the other hand, is driven by different incentives: clicks, virality, and alignment with a community. And in finance, failing to highlight risk is a form of misinformation.

There is, moreover, a paradox that is hard to ignore: many of those most susceptible to FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), with few tools to understand the complexity of financial markets, tend to mistrust traditional media and rely on voices with no editorial accountability. For this reason, the debate should not be framed in terms of traditional media versus new channels. The underlying issue is quite another: professionalism versus unfiltered amplification. If the sector hopes to mature, it will need more of the former.

The unfinished business: pedagogy

Despite the progress made, there remains a structural shortcoming: a lack of pedagogy. The quality of the debate has certainly improved. But there is still a significant gap between what is constructed and what is understood.

And here it is worth emphasising a point which, although it may seem obvious, remains unresolved: you cannot hope for widespread adoption with language that only a minority understands. The technical discussion will remain technical at its core, but the public narrative must start elsewhere: with the ‘why’ and the ‘who benefits’. When users understand the value in terms of cost, efficiency, access and security, the technology ceases to be exotic. It is that balance that builds trust.

If we project this trend over the medium term, the fundamental shift is quite clear: blockchain will cease to be regarded as a ‘sector’ once it no longer needs to be defined as such. Once it becomes an integral part of the infrastructure that underpins the systems in use. Just as happened with the internet, and as is the case with any layer that supports more complex systems.

This requires better segmentation, moving away from the catch-all category where everything is labelled as crypto, and starting to distinguish precisely what each thing is. It requires prioritising value over technicalities. And, above all, it requires embracing standards: transparency, audits, controls, accountability and clear, understandable language.

But this transition is not automatic. It is a process that requires the sector to maintain a narrative that lives up to its aspirations. For it is in this coherence between what is built, what is explained and how it is perceived that its consolidation truly hinges. And it is precisely there that the role of the media proves decisive: not only in how that reality is projected, but in how it ultimately comes to be understood and accepted by the public.

La entrada Blockchain and digital assets: the evolution of media narratives that are reaching their maturity se publicó primero en Agencia comma.

The cryptoasset industry and theblockchain industry is at the center of a social debate that is increasing or decreasing in volume depending on the current state of the industry. The conversation around their technological innovations and the potential economic and social revolution they entail has always taken place in dialectical termswith a high degree of opposition between the perspectives covered and the representation of the sector itself, which has ended up leaving a series of clichés to which society in general has assumed to approach a tremendously complex phenomenon with few options to be understood by the majority and in its entirety.

The media, blogs and social networks have been no exception; moreover, they have contributed to the polarised messages about this industry grow exponentially. They have amplified some positions against others and have magnified certain Manichean clichés inherent to the division between good and bad, which in this case have ended up installing a dichotomous climate around blockchain and cryptos.. It can be summarised in two main aspects: technological revolution (favourable public opinion) versus speculative bubble (unfavourable public opinion);

Industry reputation is holding back the adoption curve

All of the above has had an impact on the adoption curve (or Rogers curve) of these new technologies, and has had an overwhelming influence on the socio-cultural factors that influence the successful implementation of a given innovation. The sector has not succeeded in consolidating the Early Majority, which has prevented the leap into the Late Majority. Moreover, there has been a phenomenon in which skeptics have actively opposed this adoption,backed by institutional voices, monetary authorities and investment gurus such as Warren Buffet, Charlie Munger or Jamie Dimon, etc. who have set the rules of the narrative around cryptos and have established a set of beliefs that the rest have followed: they are a scam, they are worthless, it is the Wild West, etc.

Industry developments in 2022: the ecosystem decline Terra and the crisis in the crypto-lenders – and the bankruptcy of the crypto-asset platform FTX, have served as a justification for these positions and narratives, and have caused a reputational crisis, amplified by the treatment of non-specialist media; The result is a communication gap between one and the other that the sector has perceived and regretted that, with notable exceptions, the kind of media coverage it receives is carried out without knowledge of how it really works. And that the media have not had the tools to reduce;

The report ‘The cryptoasset sector and blockchain. An analysis of media coverage and the digital conversation’

For its mission as a strategic financial communications consultant to many of the firms that have participated in this industry, comma has observed these trends, has perceived the polarisation, increasingly palpableand the sector’s difficulties in addressing a public opinion that has distanced itself from the phenomenon;

For this reason, it has carried out an extensive and comprehensive analysis of the digital conversation generated in 2022 around the news spread about the blockchain industry and digital assets; comma has studied, through an ‘Analysis of news and media content’ and an ‘Analysis of digital narratives and media territories’ what the media say, how they say it, what narratives emerge from media coverage and how these themes of the digital asset industry are related. If that wasn’t enough, it has gone a step further to identify what climate of opinion each of these narratives generates and their impact on the reputation of the sector.

The result is set out in the report ‘The crypto-assets sector and the blockchain; An analysis of media coverage and digital conversation‘ which analyses the above-mentioned gap, its nature and where in the social dialogue it is larger or smaller and therefore has the potential to be closed. More importantly, how this gap with the media establishes a stigma towards the sector and a climate of mistrust in society; In addition, it has a mission to equip the industry with tools to cultivate your relationships with the media, in the interest of driving those narratives about blockchain developments that will generate positive impact and shore up the industry’s reputation.

A two-phase analysis

The first of the analyses (news and media content) examines in a qualitative and expository way the digital conversation that took place throughout 2022 around the cryptoasset and blockchain industry, according to the links that had the most diffusion and impact on social media networks and divided into five categories: crypto ecosystem, generalists, financials, business and technology and on the basis of identified thematic axes. A discursive analysis is also carried out in order to identify the potential impact on the population of the media content disseminated on social networks.

The second analysis (digital narratives and media territories)delves into the narratives or debates that emerge from the dissemination of the news previously analysed; Using graph analysis (SNA), it detects social media posts that include URLs to previously detected crypto sector news; To identify which type of conversation – narrative trends – is associated with which type of content;

News and publications on Social Media in 2022 in figures

Seven keys to media coverage in 2022

On the basis of the two analyses described above, we have found that seven trends in news reporting on crypto-assets and blockchain:

1. Distinguimos three main narrative blocks: ‘BTC’, ‘Investment’ and ‘Industry’.which evolve throughout the year;
2. The news with a negative impact tends to become more viral,but when it comes to the conversation on RRSS about industry news, there tends to be a more positive sentiment.
3. Some issues appear to be oversized in terms of impact – the more generalist ones- They generate greater reach and dissemination, which in turn leads to a feedback loop; Although they fail to establish themselves as trends within the sectoral debate, they do make an impression on the general public: they are a constant trickle of information that contribute to a negative climate..
4. In contrast, the more specialised narratives, from sectoral media, generate more debate and yet, are less viralised and have less impact on the general public.
5. There is a segmentation of media coverage -where each media outlet talks exclusively about certain topics- with little permeability between them. What causes the emergence of opinion bubbles.
6. As a result, there is a polarisation throughout the year in the selection of the news and its treatment. It leads to an over-dimensioning of potentially critical issues for the sector’s reputation and an under-representation of diverse issues around the industry;
7. Also, a number of bridging narratives are identified in 2022with the potential to grow by 2023. Those associated with more cross-cutting coverage, which appear throughout the year in debates of various kinds, and therefore have a lower rate of isolation within the conversation;

Recommendations;

As discussed above, this has led to a polarised situation, which usually has two reactions from the subject group; On the one hand, radicalisation, activism and evangelism; on the other, to distance ourselves from the polarised debate and continue to construct parallel narrativesso as not to be relegated to this dichotomy, albeit at the risk of remaining isolated.

Thus, comma makes a series of recommendations, always taking into account our analysis.

For the sector:

• Transcending the combative and victimising stanceto strengthen the constructive and unified voice of the sector;
• Moving away from generalist and polarised narratives without losing sight of the goal of expanding the audience to connect with the wider public;
• Intensifying industry outreach work, with narratives capable of entering the minds and debates of the general public, using planned and professional communication strategies;
• Fostering bridging narratives, giving more weight to those that present less potential reputational risk to the sector, encouraging moderate and objective voices;
• Diminish the gap between the media and the sector, incorporating expert, academic, professional and independent voices that are able to find ways to convey the multiple contributions to society.

For the media:

• They are required more hinge or bridge media with sufficient relevance to encourage more transversal media coverage, and which make information more accessible to wider audiences, with a language that breaks away from the specialisation of sectoral media.
• A greater effort by the less specialised media to listen to the crypto industry.by expanding its sources;
• Provide journalists with training, professional conferences and meetings with the sector so that they can deepen their information.
• Appreciate the emergence of new worlds around industry and different technological developments, as they present an informative opportunity; The key to this is that journalism must be open to new specialisations, new narratives and new subjects;

From analysis to action

The way to dilute the discursive polarisation of the blockchain and digital asset industry reflected in this in-depth analysis is for all players to become aware of the situation – with objective data and not merely by intuition – and to start acting accordingly;

This exercise will undoubtedly require a change of attitude. It is a matter of abandoning some of the defensive, victimising or arrogant positions detected in the analysis in order to begin to create – under the umbrella of a coherent, planned and unified communication strategy – bridges that facilitate the disappearance of echo chambers and biases; The ecosystem has the challenge and opportunity to find our authentic voiceto, from there, participate in the professional outreach of society, correct misinterpretations and create a unique narrative.

We see a clear opportunity for private and public entities, associations and industry professionals to radically change a proactive, professional and conscious communication model. It is about pooling our knowledge, experience and projects to win because communication is power:

• To be able to share this reality in a clear and non-technical way, with depth and expertise;
• To be able to showcase new developments and applications in the real world;
• Power to put expert, academic and professional voices at the service of the mainstream media;
• Power to collaborate in the development of an active lobbying policy, multi-brand communication and public relations campaigns or the consolidation of an active meeting place for the industry;

In order to start acting and go beyond intentions, we present the NFT ‘comma, blockchain and digital assets’; With this NFT, created in partnership with PriorityGateas a technology partner; we take the first step and materialise our commitment to create a community capable of working in a coordinated and united way to overcome the obstacles that the analysis has shown us and start transforming the narratives of the industry from within; The bearers of this NFT will be members of this community that aims, in the medium and long term, to consolidate this philosophy of co-creation of a new narrative reality around digital assets;

La entrada The communication gap between the blockchain industry and the media: analysis and tools to shore up the crypto sector se publicó primero en Agencia comma.

The event was a showcase for remarkable advances in distributed ledger technology – the blockchain– in education or entertainment, as well as in the field of decentralised finance (DeFi). And, at the same time, it has made it clear that the industry assumes that mass adoption of this entire technological revolution based on decentralization and user sovereignty in matters such as personal identity is far from being just around the corner..

In fact, experts and representatives of the most innovative blockchain companies are clear that a new society, in which all these concepts will play a fundamental role in transforming how we relate to the world around us through technology, is yet to be built;. This is an interesting twist on player expectations. While a few years ago it was believed that the revolution was at our fingertips and that we were going to arrive in 2025 making payments with bitcoins or other currencies, it was not yet clear whether we would be able to make payments with bitcoins or other currencies in 2025; altcoins and wearing smart suits that will monitor and store our biodata in the blockchain, in the post-pandemic world, people are touching the ground while being acutely aware of the fact that they there is still a long way to go. And, most importantly, that we will walk together, “contributing from all sectors, from the most cutting-edge to the most traditional”, in the words of José Luis Núñez Díaz Global Head for Blockchain and web3 at Telefónica Tech.

Degree of maturity

This is another axis of change and demonstrates the degree of maturity that the industry has reached in Spain, even though globally it is still in its adolescence (we must not forget that the blockchain is barely 14 years old). The big players and companies in the telecommunications and traditional banking sectors, such as the telecommunications Telefónica or Banco Santander, present at the conferences, have jumped on the bandwagon, which has changed the rules of the game in a substantial way, driving all of these developments and validating the fact that they are absolutely unstoppable.

The congress, which was attended by almost all the firms that have been driving the sector in recent years -comma has had the opportunity to talk to many of them and explore future synergies-, has been a meeting point for all these actors; In addition to those already mentioned, it is worth mentioning the participation of Tutellus, Bitbase, Bit2Me, Binance, Onyze, NEXXYO LABS, Polygon ID, DEXTOOLS, EOS Network Foundation, Chainalysis, Bitgo, Qredo, Polygonal Mind, Deusens, Rungie, Art.army or the incubator Monzón-e. To assume that the industry faces major challenges, to make a thorough list of all the unfinished business, and to outline courses of action and how to address them was, in my view, the main tone of this meeting;

Numerous challenges lie ahead;

The speakers agreed that, while the blockchain is deploying at a rapid pace, both metaverse as web3 are still very green and more theoretical than practical. Little has transpired about the new generation of the Internet, which is to replace web2.0, other than that it will be decentralised and revolve around the user and the wallet, a piece as fundamental as the browser was to the web1 , according to experts; Less clear is the metaverse, as the debate over virtual worlds and their future mission: whether they will offer the consumer only entertainment or something more, has been intense and remains open.

The main conclusion of the event was that the sector will only move forward on the basis of three pillars: more agreements between traditional and blockchain-based companies; integration of the crypto-asset payments in large banks, so that they can be custodians and the user can access their wallets intuitively and easily; and more regulation. In short, banks will be the spur to mass adoption, as they will bridge the gap for those customers who are new to the crypto world; However, to do so, they need the European Regulation onCrypto Assets (MiCA) to come into force. And that the European Union (EU) will enlighten MiCA II sooner rather than later, as this regulation leaves out DeFi and non fungible tokens (NFTs).

For comma, there is another great challenge: thatthe traditional media also be able to enter this revolution, recognize it and give it the place it deserves. The lack of coverage of the event in the general press or in the business media is surprising, but not in the specialised press or in local newspapers, which have reported on an event that has been promoted by BlockchainAragon and Feria de Zaragoza, with the collaboration of the Government of Aragon, the Zaragoza City Council and the Zaragoza Chamber of Commerce.

La entrada Blockchain, web3, metaverse and cryptoassets, on the way to maturity se publicó primero en Agencia comma.