Have you ever used a typewriter?
No, I belong to the digital generation — I grew up writing on a
keyboard, not on a typewriter. But I have a soft spot for them:
there's something romantic about the idea of journalists hammering
out stories on a Lettera 22, the way Indro Montanelli used to.
Maybe one day I'll buy one just to keep on my desk as a reminder
of where journalism comes from.
How is social media changing news?
Social media has dramatically accelerated the speed of news, but it
has also blurred the line between information and entertainment.
Today anyone with a smartphone can break a story — which is great
for plurality, but dangerous when there's no fact-checking behind it.
In financial journalism this is especially risky: a single viral
TikTok or X post can move retail investors into bad trades or
outright scams. My view is that traditional editorial standards —
sources, verification, accountability — matter more than ever, not
less. Social media should be a distribution channel for serious
journalism, not a replacement for it.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Mikael Blomkvist from Stieg Larsson's "Millennium" series. He's an
investigative financial journalist who runs an independent magazine
and isn't afraid to take on fraud, corruption and powerful people
to protect ordinary readers. That combination — independence,
financial expertise and a stubborn commitment to the truth — is
exactly the spirit I try to bring to my own work every day.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
For me, being a journalist means being accountable to the reader
above anyone else — not to advertisers, not to sources, not to the
algorithm. It means doing the hard work of verifying facts before
publishing, having the courage to say "no" to easy money when a
story doesn't add up, and using your platform to protect people
rather than exploit their attention. In a field like financial
journalism, where a single misleading article can cost someone
their savings, this responsibility becomes even more concrete.
Being a journalist isn't a job title — it's a daily commitment to
honesty, independence and service.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
— half meme, half investment philosophy. It started years ago
as a typo for "hold" in a Bitcoin forum thread written by someone
who'd had a few drinks too many, and somehow it turned into the
unofficial battle cry of an entire generation of crypto investors.
Only in this industry could a misspelling become a financial strategy.
What's your favorite social network?
Linkedin.
Who do you wish followed you?
Honestly, the readers I care most about are the ones I'll never meet
on social media — the everyday savers and small investors who turn
to my work to avoid making expensive mistakes with their money.
Beyond that, I'd love to see more financial regulators, consumer
protection agencies and traditional finance reporters following along,
because the conversation about crypto and online trading still needs
many more bridges between independent journalism, institutions and
the general public.
Why did you become a journalist?
I'm ceo and founder of Criptovaluta.it, crypto news media outlet leader in Italy since 2017.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
High school newspapers aren't really a tradition in Italy, but my
"first newsroom" was actually a small economics blog I built from
scratch in 2007/2008 while studying Economics and Finance at Sapienza
University of Rome. I used to turn my lecture notes on micro and
macroeconomics into articles — it was my way of studying out loud
and, at the same time, my very first taste of writing for the web.
That blog later became my entry point into financial journalism.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
My very first job as a writer was on my own blogs back in 2008 — not
a traditional newsroom, but an independent web publication where I
covered economics topics from my university notes. My first proper
role as a journalist, in the formal sense, came with the founding of
Criptovaluta.it in 2017: I built the editorial line of what would
become Italy's leading cryptocurrency news outlet, and a few years
later, in February 2022, I officially registered with the Order of
Journalists of Lazio. So in a way, I became a journalist by building
my own newsroom from scratch.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Pick a beat you genuinely care about and become an expert in it
before worrying about audience size. Read everything, talk to real
people in the field, and never publish something you don't fully
understand yourself. Don't be afraid to start small — my own career
began with a tiny university blog written between exams. What matters
is consistency and intellectual honesty. Two more things: learn the
basics of SEO and digital publishing (today they're as essential as
writing skills), and never trade your independence for a paycheck.
Your reputation is the only asset you really own as a journalist.
When's the best time to pitch you?
The best time to reach me is on weekday mornings, between 9:00 and
12:00 CET, by email at info@alessioippolito.com. Keep your pitch
short, specific and on-topic — crypto, online trading, fintech,
financial education or scam-related stories. Please include any
data, sources or background documents upfront. I don't reply to
generic outreach, affiliate offers, sponsored content disguised as
news, or anything involving guaranteed returns or unregulated
trading platforms.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
The worst pitches I receive almost daily are from anonymous "marketing
agencies" promoting unregulated trading platforms or presale tokens
with promises of guaranteed returns. They usually offer aggressive
affiliate deals to publish sponsored content disguised as editorial
news, without disclosure. My answer is always the same: no.
At Criptovaluta.it we've built our reputation on independence and
fact-checking — and protecting our readers from financial scams is
exactly the opposite of what those pitches ask us to do.
What's your favorite drink?
Coca cola
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Probably walking around Milan with a coffee in hand, or back home
in Frascati near Rome enjoying a quiet afternoon in the Castelli
Romani hills. When I really need to disconnect, I follow my AS Roma —
football is my favorite way to switch off from markets and editorial
deadlines.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
On the international side, I read The Block, Decrypt and Bloomberg
daily — they're essential to stay updated on global crypto and
financial markets. For traditional finance I follow the Financial
Times and Reuters. In Italy, I keep an eye on Il Sole 24 Ore and
Milano Finanza for the macro and policy angle. I also enjoy long-form
pieces from The Economist and Entrepreneur whenever I need to step
back and look at the bigger picture.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
The biggest misconception is that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are
synonymous with scams. They aren't. Bitcoin is just a tool — like
the euro or the dollar — that bad actors sometimes use to commit
fraud, exactly as criminals have always used cash, bank transfers
or gift cards. The real problem isn't crypto itself, it's the
fake trading platforms, romance scams and deepfake ads built around
it. Most mainstream coverage still confuses the two, and that's
exactly why honest, technical and educational journalism in this
space matters more than ever.
