62% of Crypto Press Releases Come from Risky or Scam Projects: Chainstory

High-risk and scam-related projects have been found to dominate the volume of press releases.

A majority of press releases published on crypto news sites come from risky or outright fraudulent projects.

In a new report, crypto communications firm Chainstory analyzed 2,893 crypto press releases published between June 16 and November 1, 2025, and found that approximately 62% came from projects classified as high-risk or confirmed scams, based on indicators such as anonymous teams, unrealistic return claims, and cross-referencing with legal and consumer scam databases.

Low impact updates

Crypto-specific press releases operate on a pay-to-play model that allows projects to purchase guaranteed placement on partner media sites, bypassing traditional editorial judgment. Unlike traditional wire services that distribute publications for journalists to evaluate, many crypto transmissions sell direct publication to the public with minimal compliance checks. This effectively turns article placement into a paid product.

Chain story said that any crypto project with sufficient budget can guarantee visibility on recognizable news domains, regardless of credibility.

The analysis found that most thread content consists of low-impact announcements that would normally be ignored by newsroom editors. Nearly half of all releases, or 49%, were focused on routine product or feature updates, while another 24% were related to stock market listings and trade promotions. Token launches and tokenomics changes accounted for 14% of releases.

On the other hand, only 58 publications, about 2% of the data set, covered traditionally newsworthy events such as venture financing rounds, mergers and acquisitions, or major corporate financing activities.

Promotional Hype Dominates Crypto Wire

Chainstory also examined tone and language and found that promotional framing dominates crypto press releases. Only about 10% were written in a neutral, factual style, while about 54% were categorized as ‘exaggerated’ and another 19% as overtly promotional. The report notes that superlative language common in marketing copy goes unchallenged in paid publications, even if similar claims were redacted or questioned in journalism.

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The risk profiling of issuers showed a strong preference for questionable projects. High-risk issuers accounted for 35.6% of all releases, while confirmed scams made up 26.9%. Established, low-risk projects were responsible for only about 27% of press releases, suggesting that more credible companies are less reliant on paid distribution and are more likely to have organic reporting. In industries such as cloud mining, almost 90% of press releases were from projects classified as high risk or scams.