The FT launches cryptofinance section and newsletter following reader demand

Credit: Photo by Art Rachen on Unsplash

The Financial Times (FT) has launched a new cryptofinance digital hub and weekly premium newsletter in response to reader interest in the digital asset industry.

The new section on the website will be a home for all FT crypto coverage, including a handy crypto glossary, profiles of crypto's biggest players and opinion pieces from chief economics commentators, including Martin Wolf.

The cryptofinance newsletter, written by digital assets correspondent Scott Chipolina, will be sent out to paying FT premium subscribers every Friday. Newsletters are a focal point of the publisher's strategy to form deeper relationships with readers, leverage star writers and encourage their audience to take up paid digital subscriptions.

The initial open rate of the cryptofinance newsletter is 45 per cent, higher than the FT average of around 30 per cent, which the business news publisher says demonstrates the high demand for the topic.

"FT readers are deeply interested in cryptofinance as a topic," says Adam Samson, market news editor of FT in an email to Journalism.co.uk.

"Their interest tends to go beyond 'which coins are going up, and which coins are going down.' Instead, FT readers tend to be really interested in what's happening under the hood of the crypto market, intelligence on the main movers and shakers in the sector, and how innovations in crypto are affecting traditional finance."

Its best performing crypto story to date reported how the price of Bitcoin fell after crypto lender Celsius halted withdrawals.

"There is a tremendous amount of crypto news every day, and we work hard to pick out the stories that will really resonate with our readers," adds Samson.

"Our focus is also very much on original news, analysis and commentary that gives FT readers a depth of understanding of what’s happening under the surface of the market, which is something that’s difficult to find elsewhere. 

"I also think we provide a lot of value helping readers understand how the crypto industry intersects [or] interacts with the broader world of traditional finance - it's not only about what happens under the surface, but what impact these developments have on other industries."

The FT have also focused on crypto products and information beyond the newsroom. Earlier this year the FT launched the FT Digital Assets Dashboard, providing a compelling health-of-the-industry view for investors and market commentators.

In April, FT Live hosted the inaugural Crypto and Digital Assets Summit in London. The event brought together industry professionals in banking, investment, fintech and asset management to address topics such as regulatory overhaul, the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), the rise of cybercrime, stablecoins, innovation in cross-border retail and wholesale payments infrastructure.

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