Research Disclosure: 70% of Cryptocurrency Press Releases Are Advertisements, Revealing a New Technique to Boost Sales for Beginners

Chainstory analyzed 2,893 cryptocurrency press releases, revealing that 62% originate from high-risk and scam projects. Only 2% covered substantive events such as funding rounds, mergers, or research breakthroughs. Nearly half, about 50%, were product updates or feature enhancements, while 24% related to exchange listings. Just 10% were neutral in tone, whereas 54% contained exaggerated language, and 19% were overtly promotional, making a total of approximately 70% filled with marketing buzzwords like “revolutionary,” “game-changing,” and “leading the future of Web3.” These releases often bypass censorship by being displayed across dozens of websites, exerting short-term price impacts similar to pump-and-dump schemes.

62% of Scam Projects Dominate the Press Release Market

The narrative driving the growth of the crypto market increasingly comes not from journalists but from paid press releases. Chainstory’s analysis of 2,893 crypto press releases issued between June and November 2025 shows that these distribution networks operate as a parallel news market, capable of influencing market sentiment and temporarily shifting prices before any verification occurs.

The study found that 62% of the projects issuing these releases are high-risk (35.6%) or outright scams (26.9%). Meanwhile, 27% are low-risk, and 10% are medium-risk. This data is startling—it indicates that over half of the press releases seen by investors in crypto media come from problematic projects. These may include unverified startups, “air coins” lacking real products, or outright Ponzi schemes.

Unlike traditional journalistic reports that undergo editorial review for credibility, crypto press release agencies publish client content with minimal scrutiny. This allows misleading or exaggerated claims to spread rapidly to audiences, influencing asset prices. Conventional media have editorial processes that require source verification, fact-checking, and balanced reporting. In contrast, press release platforms such as PR Newswire, Business Wire, and GlobeNewswire merely serve as distribution channels; as long as clients pay, almost any content can be published.

Only 2% of crypto press releases (58 in total) cover substantive events like funding rounds, mergers, or research breakthroughs. Nearly 50% are product or feature updates, and 24% relate to trading and exchange listings—often repetitive and ignored by reputable news outlets but prevalent in the market. Sentiment analysis shows that only 10% are neutral, while 54% are exaggerated, and 19% are clearly promotional.

Categories of Cryptocurrency Press Release Content

Product/Feature Updates: 48.98% (mostly minor changes presented as major innovations)

Trading, Listings, Exchanges: 23.99% (even small or obscure exchanges are heavily promoted)

Token Issuance/Tokenomics: 14.00% (often disguised as fundraising or promotional announcements)

Events, Conferences, Sponsorships: 6.01% (creating a false impression of industry influence)

Indicators, Research, Reports: 3.01% (self-published research lacking independence)

Funding/Venture Capital: 2.00% (the only category with substantial content)

Vanity, Awards, Community Chatter: 2.00% (pure hype and self-promotion)

Overall, about 70% of these press releases contain overt marketing language, employing phrases like “revolutionary,” “game-changing,” and “leading the future of Web3.” This flood of hype drowns out genuine innovation, making it difficult for investors to discern real progress from mere hype.

Manipulation Mechanisms in the Parallel News Market

The distribution model amplifies these effects. Many platforms guarantee that content will be displayed across dozens of websites, including crypto media outlets and mainstream media sidebar feeds. This setup allows projects to simulate media coverage. Short or small-font disclaimers that are easy to overlook can cause retail investors to mistake promotional content for independent news reports.

The typical process involves project teams paying thousands to tens of thousands of dollars to press release distribution services, which then automatically disseminate the content to dozens or hundreds of sites, including major outlets like Yahoo Finance, MarketWatch, Benzinga, and others. Ordinary investors, seeing these on seemingly authoritative sites, may mistakenly believe they are credible, verified news, leading to misplaced trust and potential token purchases.

Hype-laden content can trigger retail investor activity and even activate algorithmic trading bots, causing short-term price swings based on perception rather than fundamentals. Many trading bots scrape headlines and keywords to execute buy or sell orders automatically. When a press release uses phrases like “major breakthrough” or “strategic partnership,” it can trigger bots to buy, even if the content is meaningless or exaggerated.

This is akin to traditional low-priced stock pump-and-dump schemes: historically, press releases are used to artificially inflate demand, after which insiders sell their holdings at the peak. In crypto markets, this strategy is even easier to implement due to looser regulation, younger and less experienced investors, 24/7 trading allowing longer manipulation windows, and cross-border jurisdictional challenges that hinder enforcement.

How Investors Can Recognize Manipulative Press Releases

This research offers a vital lesson: exposure does not equal verification. Crypto press releases, especially from high-risk or suspected scam projects, should be viewed primarily as promotional tools rather than reliable market signals. Every investor should approach them skeptically.

Five Key Features of Manipulative Press Releases

Extreme language: Words like “revolutionary,” “game-changing,” “unprecedented” are often used to hype the project.

Lack of substantive content: The entire release may focus on visions and concepts without concrete data, user metrics, or revenue figures.

Frequent releases: The same project issuing multiple press releases in a short period indicates deliberate hype creation.

Listing on minor exchanges as major news: Launching on obscure or unverified exchanges is heavily promoted to create false momentum.

Hidden disclaimers: Paid promotions often contain tiny or concealed disclaimers that are easy to miss.

Investors should develop habits such as: upon seeing a crypto press release, do not buy immediately. Instead, verify the project’s actual status by checking GitHub code update frequency, the authenticity and activity of social media communities (not fake bot followers), team backgrounds, and whether there are independent audits or security reports. If a project only has hype from press releases but lacks these tangible proofs, exercise extreme caution.

Furthermore, investors can use this information inversely: when an unknown project suddenly releases many press releases and the price surges, it may be a pump-and-dump signal, and one should avoid chasing or consider shorting. Conversely, projects that rarely issue press releases and quietly develop their products might be more reliable for long-term investment.

From an industry perspective, the proliferation of low-quality, hype-driven press releases damages the reputation of the entire crypto sector. When mainstream media and regulators observe large amounts of misleading or exaggerated news, it deepens negative perceptions, reinforcing the idea that the industry is riddled with scams and hype. This reputational damage ultimately harms all projects, including those genuinely working on real innovation and development.