Crypto Publisher Decrypt Launches Token Cryptocurrency for NFTs

Cryptocurrency-focused publisher Decrypt is charting new paths in building loyalty reward programs, but it’s also turning these into lucrative advertising vehicles. This morning, the publisher opened its utility token (DCPT) program and announced Filecoin, the cryptocurrency of Protocol Labs, as the sponsor of its first “season,” which will run between eight and 12 weeks. The sponsorship, which is a “low six-figure deal,” allows readers to accrue the Filecoin-sponsored tokens through their engagement with the site’s content. Each coin will feature Filecoin branding and readers will be able to redeem exclusive non-fungible tokens (NFTs) with the currency. Read More: The ABCs of NFTs So far, more than 81,000 readers have signed up for the program. Starting today, each of them will be airdropped three tokens, taking nearly 250,000 tokens off the table. The rest of the coins will be allotted on a first-come, first-served basis. The three-year-old publisher has benefitted from the recent surge of interest in cryptocurrency, which has ballooned its web traffic from 2.5 million unique visitors in January to between 4 and 5 million in March, the publisher said. This makes its audience the prime market to introduce to this type of cryptocurrency rewards-based system. Decrypt's monthly revenue is made up of 40% sponsored content, 40% advertising and token seasons and 20% from events, said Alanna Roazzi-Laforet, the chief revenue officer and publisher of Decrypt. New-age incentive programs For the last six months, Decrypt has been testing its utility token, rewarding a small group of readers for specific engagements: reading an article for 40 seconds generates one token, with a max of three tokens per article; sharing an article generates two tokens, and reacting to a story generates one. The token system acts as a new-age incentive program, encouraging readers to interact with Decrypt’s content in exchange for their closed-system currency. While the number of tokens available is theoretically infinite, Decrypt has minted 21 million of the Filecoin-sponsored DCPT for the first season. The publisher can create more tokens, but the process costs money, an expense referred to as “gas.” As part of the sponsorship agreement, Protocol Labs has agreed to cover the cost of gas. That’s the beauty of it for advertisers ... The sponsorship goes on forever.Matt Hussey, Decrypt head of sales Angie Maguire, the head of growth and marketing at Protocol Labs, said companies like CoinBase have experimented with token-based incentive programs, but that she was drawn to the idea of working with a media company. "We are at the cutting edge of technology, and we felt that they are at the cutting edge of media, so it was just a perfect marriage," Maguire said. NFT's add longevity to ad campaigns Token-holders will be able to use their Filecoin-sponsored DCPT to redeem exclusive NFTs that Filecoin and Decrypt have commissioned from a series of five artists. These NFTs “speak to Decrypt’s mission and ethos” and will be released in five “drops” of 100 each. NFTs will initially “cost” 400 tokens each, though Decrypt will be running a 75% discount for the first week, reducing the price of an NFT to 100 tokens. When readers have redeemed all 500 NFTs, the season ends. However, the end of a season does not mean the end of its tokens. Readers who have collected the Filecoin-sponsored DCPT and NFTs will be able to exchange them with each other in secondary-market transactions that have no expiration date. “That’s the beauty of it for advertisers,” Matt Hussey, the former editor-in-chief and current head of sales at Decrypt said. “If they sponsor a season, their sponsorship doesn’t end when the season ends, because the NFTs can be traded. The sponsorship goes on forever, as long as those digital assets are still living.” Preventing system manipulation Decrypt is launching a leaderboard for token-holders, which will help the community self-regulate. The publisher has also architected several bumpers to keep the community within certain bounds, such as making it impossible to move coins outside the system. Ideally, Decrypt readers eventually grow to govern themselves, making their own rules and establishing their own best practices. You're either rewarding someone who is genuinely interested in the article, or you're attracting someone who's motivated to get the cryptocurrency.Brian Georgi, chief revenue officer, Boostr “The community will vote people who are cheating off the island, so to speak,” Roazzi-Laforet said. “When the community sees malfeasance taking place, they talk amongst themselves and adjust the policies.” The leaderboard will also help community members track the distribution of tokens, allowing token-holders to monitor the progress of others' collections and inform potential secondary-market transactions, Roazzi-Laforet said. “We’re not encouraging [secondary markets], but if people want to do it, that’s their prerogative,” she said. Preaching to the choir While the average publication might not yet be able to roll out a closed-ecosystem token, the strategy makes sense for companies rooted in the cryptomedia space, said Brian Georgi, the chief revenue officer of Boostr. The incentive-based system, which could lead readers to game the program simply to accrue tokens, also runs a smaller risk than it might seem, Georgi said. "You're either rewarding someone who is genuinely interested in the article, or you're attracting someone who's motivated to get the cryptocurrency, which means they're likely to have some sort of natural affinity for the topic," Georgi said. "Either way, you're preaching to the choir." Christie’s Isn’t Just Adopting NFTs as Part of Its Digital Transformation

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Crypto Publisher Decrypt Launches Token Cryptocurrency for NFTs

The 'six-figure' deal rewards readership with sponsored tokens

Mark Stenberg

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