Bullish, the owner of leading crypto publication CoinDesk, abruptly dismissed three top editors on Friday, including editor-in-chief Kevin Reynolds, according to sources familiar with the matter. The decision comes after a newsroom controversy in which Bullish leadership forced editors to take down an article about the crypto billionaire Justin Sun after his team complained about its tone.
Long a go-to source for blockchain industry news, CoinDesk was instrumental in exposing the massive fraud at Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX in 2022. More recently, CoinDesk has faced uncertainty since economic troubles at its previous parent company, Digital Currency Group, forced the crypto conglomerate to sell the outlet to Bullish, a crypto exchange, for around $75 million in late 2023.
While Bullish promised to preserve CoinDesk’s editorial independence, the unusual decision to remove the article—which appeared to be accurate—about Sun sparked backlash from the site’s journalists. The incident also led to the resignation of Matt Murray, the former Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief whom Bullish appointed to lead a CoinDesk editorial committee after the acquisition.
Friday’s layoffs, which included deputy editors-in-chief Nick Baker and Marc Hochstein, throw the newsroom into further turmoil, with many staff members considering resignation, according to sources familiar with the matter. Hochstein also oversaw the site’s ethics and standards, according to CoinDesk’s website.
One senior staffer described the three top editors as the “heart of the newsroom” to Fortune and said they were “stunned and disappointed.” They added that Bullish’s decision after the Sun controversy “sends the message that Bullish senior management is not seriously concerned with CoinDesk’s independence as a newsroom.”
Reynolds and Baker declined to comment. Hochstein did not respond to a request for comment. Bullish CEO Tom Farley, CoinDesk CEO Sara Stratoberdha, and a spokesperson for Sun did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The banana controversy
In late November, CoinDesk published an article about one of the crypto industry’s most eccentric—and powerful—figures, Tron founder Justin Sun. The article detailed a stunt by Sun, in which the billionaire purchased a modern art piece of a real banana for $6.2 million from the auction house Sotheby’s and ate it at a staged showing. The author describes the surreal nature of the event, as well as Sun’s personal run-ins with the law. (The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged him with fraud, though Sun and Tron are contesting the charges.)
According to sources familiar with the matter, Sun’s team asked CoinDesk and its owners to take down the article, with Farley forcing editors to remove it in early December without the typical retraction notice. The move drew criticism from editorial staffers, leading to a newsroom meeting and Murray’s resignation. Murray also began as executive editor at the Washington Post in June.
Editorial staffers have speculated that the decision stemmed from Tron’s role as a major sponsor for CoinDesk’s flagship conference, Consensus, which is debuting an event in Hong Kong this year. According to an email sent by Bullish to employees and viewed by Fortune, the company is also preparing for an initial public offering.
On Friday, the three top editors had their Slacks deactivated, and newsroom staff were later informed in an email, viewed by Fortune, from CoinDesk CEO Stratoberdha that Reynolds, Hochstein, and Baker were being let go in a restructuring as a result of cost reduction measures and to boost “productivity.” She added that there were no further layoffs planned and emphasized Bullish’s commitment to CoinDesk’s “journalistic independence.”
