Eight years of CryptoSlate: What we have learned, what we are building next

CryptoSlate turns eight today, and as Editor-in-Chief, I could not be prouder of what we have achieved and where we’re going next.

Our first story in 2017 asked which countries were most open to crypto, and since then, millions of readers have come to us for clear reporting, valuable data, and context that supports decisions instead of dopamine.

We are marking the anniversary with an editorial refocus, a faster and cleaner reading experience, and a long-form reviews initiative that ranks products with reproducible methods and transparent scoring. Crypto never sleeps, and neither does our commitment to clarity, accuracy, and independence.

A timeline illustration highlighting CryptoSlate’s evolution from its 2017 launch in Seattle to its global reach today

In 2017, we launched a lean desk paired with a first pass at market data, and the country openness piece set the model of reporting tied to practical takeaways.

From 2018 through 2023, we broadened coverage and built directories for people, products, and companies while refining speed, taxonomy, and design.

In 2024, we concentrated on original reporting that connects crypto with finance and technology and formalized verification and methods.

In 2025, we are biasing toward deeper market analysis and product reviews so readers can compare options with confidence and trace claims back to primary documents.

I joined the team as a writer and analyst at the end of the 2022 bull market after 15 years in tech and running my own business. I was instantly blown away by the team’s quality, forward-thinking, and professionalism, and knew I’d found my new home.

I took over editorial duties in 2023, and under the leadership of Matthew Blancarte and Nate Whitehill, we’ve continued to look to the future and how we can best add value in a world increasingly focused on AI.

The editorial refocus centers on three operating lines.

1. We will interrogate macro drivers and tie them to on-chain and market structure data so readers can map how rates, liquidity, and cross-asset flows shape price and volume.
2. We will lead with data by prioritizing charts, reproducible methods, and primary materials. When a claim cannot be verified, we will say so or not publish.
3. We will prioritize reader demand by testing formats and measuring engagement to favor usefulness over raw clicks.

The aim is coverage that answers what a development means, not only what it is, and to show our work so that conclusions can be reproduced.

Several changes are live today, and they are designed to be actionable.

Feature Status Link

Our first CryptoSlate review for iTrustCapital	Live	iTrustCapital review
Top Bitcoin IRAs Rankings	Live	Top Bitcoin IRAs
NEW About Page: methods, masthead, trust indicators and more	Live	About
Dark Mode: auto actives on device settings, manual toggle lower left	Live	Sitewide

CryptoSlate Dark Mode is now live. It automatically adapts to your device settings for a seamless reading experience, and you can also switch it manually: on desktop from the bottom left, or on mobile from the top right of the screen.

What’s next: CryptoSlate Reviews

The reviews program will cover high-interest categories such as Bitcoin IRAs, exchanges and brokers, and hardware wallets, with a scope that expands over the coming months.

Reviews are independent and methodical, with fee audits, custody and security checks, and a clear statement of trade-offs and user fit.

Rankings rely on a scoring model that is documented for readers who want to see how each factor contributes to the final result.

Review pillar What we check

Scope and fit	Who a product serves and key trade offs
Fees and spreads	Disclosed and undisclosed costs across transactions and holding
Custody and security	Third party arrangements, incident history, controls
Onboarding and support	Account flow, UX, response quality and pathways
Independent reputation	External ratings, complaints, regulatory actions

What comes next is a set of projects that extend our data and methods into recurring coverage.

We are revisiting our 2017 country analysis with a 2025 lens to compare regulatory posture, capital markets access, and institutional custody across regions that now include Europe under MiCA, ETF flows in the United States, and stablecoin policy under active review.

We will expand reviews to spot exchanges and brokers, hardware wallets and security tools, on and off ramps and payment rails, and yield and staking with a risk framework that surfaces custody models, counterparty exposure, and fee structures.

We are also launching a cadence of analysis on Bitcoin and macro that tracks dollar liquidity and real yields alongside ETF flow data, work on market structure that examines microstructure, spreads, funding, basis, and order book forces across major venues, and on-chain in context that connects transparent network data to price and volume without hopium.

Trust, transparency, and independence are operational choices that show up in process.

We disclose conflicts, separate opinions, and sponsored content with clear labels, and correct mistakes with dated notes.

We prefer primary documents and on-the-record sources and publish our methods so others can reproduce our work.

Readers can review that framework on our new About page, which also documents our masthead and trust indicators. CryptoSlate CEO Nate Whitehill remarked:

“Eight years in, our mission is unchanged, help readers make sense of crypto with clear reporting and useful data.

We are doubling down on analysis that connects Bitcoin to macro and on company and product reviews that will help save you time.”

The new CryptoSlate About page highlights the platform’s mission to deliver clear, contextual crypto reporting paired with reliable data. It emphasizes independence, verification, and accuracy as core editorial promises, ensuring readers can trust unbiased coverage without hype.

How crypto and Bitcoin have changed in the last 8 years

Eight years have taught us a few plain lessons:

1. Bitcoin has moved into the macro asset set that institutions track and model.
2. Liquidity and rates drive more of the market than narratives admit. Watch the flows.
3. Adoption happens where compliance, custody, and user experience meet.
4. Security still fails at the edges, and operational rigor matters.
5. Alt cycles compress and fragment, selection and timing matter more; data quality is alpha, messy inputs create bad decisions.

6. Decentralization has matured from ideology into infrastructure, with scaling layers, stablecoins, and tokenized assets bridging into traditional finance.

7. Incentives explain most behaviors, such as who gets paid and how.
8. Independent media still matters; readers reward accuracy and humility.

We want to thank long-term advertising partners, particularly TRON DAO and Chainwire, whose support has helped us stay focused on reader value.

Advertising never buys influence. Our commercial and editorial work remains separate, sponsored content is labeled, and the newsroom follows the standards published on our About page.

Readers can subscribe to our best analysis and market intel, send primary documents and data for review, and request that we evaluate a product through our contact page.

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