President Ronald Reagan is widely believed to be the purveyor of the quote “Trust, but verify,” but oddly enough, it’s actually an old Russian proverb. Age and politics aside, the saying remains relevant today, particularly when it comes to financial media.

Yes, there are plenty of reliable, venerable sources in both the old and new schools of financial media. And there are credible investing accounts on social media platforms, including YouTube and X. Still, with the menu of financial advice, data and media options expanding at a rapid pace, investors need to ultra-selective in how they allocate trust.

That’s especially true in the world of cryptocurrency – an asset class prone to mania and get-rich-quick schools of thinking. Simple math confirms the need to be persnickety regarding crypto sources. There are more than 8,400 digital assets trading right now. Being generous, it’s likely less than 5% that have credibility and any shot at long-term utility. Count that among the reasons market participants need to take many crypto press releases with hefty helpings of salt.

Crypto Press Releases Merit Scrutiny

To be sure, there’s a plethora of legitimate cryptocurrency media out there. Where things get murky is on the press release side. Chainstory researchers scoured nearly 2,900 crypto press releases that hit the wires between June and November 2025 and the findings are staggering.

“Roughly 62% of the 2,893 press releases in our dataset (collected over a 4-month span) come from projects flagged as High risk or Scam. In cloud mining, about 90% of issuers fall into those buckets,” according to the Chainstory research.

The study also points out that the bulk of crypto-related press releases that are issued are likely to be passed over by most financial journalists. Take it from someone that’s been in financial media for over two decades, experienced financial journalists aren’t going to write about something we perceive as added PR for a company. Conversely, the percentage of crypto press releases that are legitimately actionable for legitimate media is paltry.

“More than half of all releases cover routine product tweaks, exchange listings, or token sales that a normal newsroom would ignore. Only 58 out of 2,893 releases (about 2%) relate to substantive events such as funding, M&A, or deep research,” adds Chainstory.

The issue is the cryptocurrency space is loaded with inexperienced retail investors looking for quick home runs. That makes them vulnerable to the often seductive language used in many crypto statements.

Speaking of Seduction…

In many regards, fly-by-night crypto public relations is essentially the playbook deployed for years by penny stock companies and their “pumpers.” The strategy is hype over substance.

“Around 54% of releases are tagged ‘Overstated’ and another ~19% ‘Promotional,’” observes Chainstory. “Neutral language sits at only 10%.”

The problem for many novice investors is that many established sites post questionable crypto press releases in exchange for payment. More often than not, these outlets have easily located disclaimers that disclose those relationships, but not all investors spot the differences between hyped up press statements and legitimate news stories.

“When paid releases that would never pass an editor’s sniff test appear on news sites, the line between journalism and advertising blurs. That may boost short-term PR reach, but it raises real ethical and legal risk for media organizations that help promote high-risk or scam-adjacent offers,” concludes Chainstory.

Bottom line: Investors should know going in that most digital currencies are invitations to lose money. Spending a couple of extra minutes to spot the fluff and the real, solid news articles is worth it because the time spent can result in preventing losses.

Related: Leverage Analyst Sentiment With a New Developed Markets ETF