What was your first job as a journalist?
Reporter for Crypto-News.Net in 2016.
I wrote there for four years. In 2020, the owners tried to sell the site but couldn't find a buyer. I took it over.
I've always been my own editor. I learned editorial standards from the Reuters and AP News handbooks. You read them, you apply them, you get better.
Still running it today.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
No, but I've been meaning to buy one.
It seems like the perfect balance between digital and physical. It's all physical, but qwerty.
I like the idea of writing without a screen. Just the keys and the paper. No notifications. No tabs to check.
Maybe I'll finally get one.
How is social media changing news?
It's easier than ever for journalists to get in touch with sources. You can reach people directly. You see what they actually think in real time.
Social media also exposes you to genuine reactions. Not filtered through press releases or official statements. People say what they mean.
That is, if the internet isn't dead yet.
Bot accounts, AI-generated content, and coordinated campaigns make it harder to know what's real. Is that viral tweet genuine sentiment or manufactured outrage?
In crypto especially, you have to question everything. Communities brigade. Bots amplify. Projects pay for engagement.
Social media gives access. But it also requires more skepticism than ever.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
I don't read fiction.
I spend enough time reading about real crypto projects that claim to revolutionize finance. I don't need fictional stories.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It means serving readers with verified information they can trust.
In crypto journalism, this matters more than in most beats. False information can cause financial harm. Readers rely on accurate reporting to make decisions about their money.
Being a journalist means maintaining independence from the projects and companies you cover. It means verifying claims before publishing them. It means correcting errors immediately when you make them.
It also means separating news from promotion. Crypto blurs these lines constantly. My job is to keep them clear.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
I haven't.
Crypto people don't really use hashtags. Most discussion happens in Telegram and Discord.
The funny stuff is in what projects promise versus what they deliver. Every launch claims to revolutionize finance. Most just create another token that crashes.
That gap is funnier than any hashtag.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Directly. Straight to the point.
State the news in one sentence. Provide the source link. Disclose who you work for and any financial interests.
That's it.
No marketing decks. No background slides. No calls to "align on messaging."
If the story is newsworthy, I'll report it. If it's promotional, I won't. Long pitches don't change that.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
I built custom tools to organize my workflow. I also use Google Docs for writing and WordPress for publishing.
For research, I use NotebookLM to process heavy documents. It helps when I'm working on analytical or opinion pieces. My opinions come from research, not gut feeling.
I use Canva and Pixlr for image editing when I handle featured images.
For communication and news discovery, I rely on email, X, and Telegram. That's where crypto news breaks and where sources reach me.
I use AI tools for research and drafting. Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Qwen, and Grok. I don't use ChatGPT. Claude works best for my process.
I built custom API integrations with data providers. CoinGecko gave me complimentary API access in exchange for attribution. That doesn't influence my coverage of them. I needed reliable price data.
The tools matter less than how you use them. They help me work faster. They don't replace verification or editorial judgment.
What's your favorite social network?
X.
That's where news breaks in crypto. That's where sources post. That's where I track what's happening in real time.
Who do you wish followed you?
I don't care about that.
Followers don't matter. What matters is whether readers trust the work.
Why did you become a journalist?
I didn't choose it at first. The local economy had limited opportunities after college.
I spent four years searching for online work during university. I tried different things. Nothing stuck until I found a writing opportunity at Crypto-News.Net in 2016.
I was good at it. People were willing to pay for it. That mattered when other options weren't available.
I learned to report on a complex industry. I developed editorial standards over time. I built skills that created more opportunities.
Nine years later, I own that same website. I also write for other publications.
Sometimes careers choose you. You just have to recognize when you've found something worth getting better at.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No. My high school didn't have a newspaper.
I might have worked on it if it existed. But I didn't know I'd become a journalist back then.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
The Czech National Bank Bitcoin purchase story I covered recently.
Central banks experimenting with digital assets is significant. It signals institutional acceptance beyond just private companies. The CNB's approach was methodical. They created a test portfolio with clear evaluation criteria.
I had to verify the claims against official sources. I needed to understand their regulatory framework. I had to explain why this mattered without hyping it.
That's the type of story I'm proud of. Institutional adoption stories that actually matter. Not token launches or marketing announcements disguised as news.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Just go for it.
There's value in reporting, investigating, and showing people the truth as you see it. You don't need permission to start. You need to do the work.
Find something worth covering. Learn the standards. Verify everything. Publish.
The rest comes with time.
When's the best time to pitch you?
With a good story, anytime I'm online.
Good means newsworthy. Not promotional. Not a token launch disguised as a partnership announcement.
If the story is legitimate and you can provide sources, I'll respond. Time of day doesn't matter.
Bad pitches waste time no matter when you send them.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Three sentences. No marketing deck.
A PR person emailed about a regulatory development. They included the official government link and stated which agency issued it. They disclosed who they worked for.
That was it.
I could verify everything in minutes. The information was newsworthy. They didn't add spin or try to frame it. They just provided the facts.
The worst pitches are the opposite. Ten-slide decks about revolutionary technology. Vague claims with no verification. No disclosure of financial interests.
Good pitches respect my time. They provide sources and let me report.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
An extremely pushy guy at a conference trying to convince me his startup was the next butter-equivalent invention.
In person. Cornered me. Wouldn't take no for an answer. Kept saying his product would change everything.
It was a wallet. Like hundreds of other wallets.
Email pitches are annoying. In-person ambush pitches are worse.
What's your favorite drink?
Water
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
At the gym or jiu jitsu practice.
I also walk a lot. Sometimes in nature. Sometimes just around the city. Often with my wife. We go to dinner or just walk and talk.
I visit friends and family when I can.
And sleeping. Crypto markets run 24/7. Sleep matters more than people think.
Working from a computer all day means you need to move. Otherwise you go crazy.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Block and Decrypt for crypto coverage. Reuters and WSJ for traditional finance.
I follow whoever breaks news first. I don't care about the publication name as much as the accuracy and speed.
I scan constantly. I read fully when stories matter. You can't read everything in crypto. The volume is too high.
I built a curated X feed of individuals I track. The list keeps growing. Individual journalists and analysts often break news before publications do.
Following people instead of just publications gives better signal. You learn who consistently gets things right.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That everybody here wants to get rich quick.
Some people do. But most developers and builders in crypto are working on infrastructure problems. They're solving cross-border payment challenges. They're building financial systems for people without bank accounts.
The get-rich-quick crowd gets all the attention. They're loud. They create scams and pump schemes. They make headlines.
But the real work happens quietly. Teams building stablecoin rails. Developers working on scaling solutions. Engineers fixing custody and security problems.
I cover both sides. But only one matters long-term.
