Earned coverage
Finding the story in your launches, audits, integrations and data, then pitching crypto, fintech and financial desks with it, and putting your people forward as commentators.
Output: editorial coverage, with no placement fee.
SEO MonsterCrypto PR Agency
Crypto PR Agency for Coverage That Users, Funds and AI Answers Actually Read
Earned coverage in crypto and financial media, sponsored placements that are labelled and priced before you buy them, and press releases written to the promotion rules of your markets, aimed at the lists, the brand results and the AI answers where a user decides.
Fixed-fee audit, two weeks, no retainer to start.
- Best for
- Exchanges, wallets, DeFi protocols and infrastructure companies with something worth reporting: a launch, an audit, an integration, data no one else has.
- What you get
- Story finding and pitching, labelled sponsored placements where they earn their cost, press releases, brand-result and reputation work, and mentions tracked in AI answers.
- Price
- Fixed-fee audit, $6,500, delivered in two weeks. Retainers from $6,000 a month. Sponsored placements and distribution are billed separately, each shown with its price before it is bought.
- How we work
- Earned and paid quoted on separate lines and labelled on every report. No “guaranteed tier-1” packages. Releases that could be promotions go to your compliance sign-off first.
- Timeline
- Sponsored placements land in days; earned coverage follows the story, usually within the first month. Mentions in AI answers build over quarters.
- Markets
- Crypto, fintech and financial media read in the US, the UK and the EU, in English first, with every piece written to the promotion rules of the market it reaches.
Where coverage counts: what AI tells your users
A user asks an assistant before they choose. We measured which pages the answer is built from, because those pages, not the press-release wire, are where coverage pays.
On 23 October 2026 we put 36 questions to Perplexity and to ChatGPT with web search, the kind a user asks before choosing: the safest exchange for a beginner in the US, the UK or the EU, the most secure hardware wallet, where to earn yield on stablecoins, which lending protocol is safest, where to stake ETH, how to tell whether a new token is legit, the best crypto debit card, the best crypto tax software. Every question asked for a recommendation, so every answer names products, and we read which pages each answer was built from.
| What we measured | Result | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Cited pages that are a ranked list or a comparison | 69% on Perplexity (246 of 358 citations), 73% on ChatGPT (56 of 77) | Coverage pays when it lands where answers are built: the ranked lists and comparisons. That is where we pitch first, alongside the news desk. |
| Citations on the own site of a project the answer recommends | 6% on Perplexity (22 of 348). In 15 of those 22 the page was the project’s own “best of” list ranking itself among competitors | What other people publish about you makes up most of the answer. That is PR’s ground, not your website’s. |
| Coinbase, the brand named most often | Named in 12 Perplexity and 16 ChatGPT answers. coinbase.com cited in none of them | The most-named brand in the run is named on the strength of other people’s pages. Third-party coverage is the mechanism at every size. |
| Citations on another crypto company’s blog or learn pages | 30% on Perplexity (105 of 348), in 32 of 36 answers. A tax-software company is the fourth most-cited domain, for its pages on the best exchanges | Answers borrow other companies’ explainers. A quotable expert and data of your own are how you get into those pages. |
| Answers citing crypto media | 27 of 36 on Perplexity, but 32 of the 50 media citations are the outlet’s own ranked lists, not news. 2 of 36 on ChatGPT | A media citation is usually the outlet’s own ranked list, not its news. Pitch the list editor as well as the reporter. |
| ChatGPT answers given without searching the web | 11 of 36, including both stablecoin-safety questions and all five questions about whether a new token is legit | Where the model does not search, only what it learned counts. Coverage that stays up in outlets people trust is the slow lever, and the only one. |
| Reddit, YouTube and regulators cited | Reddit 8 citations of 358, YouTube 0, regulators 2, on Perplexity. None of the three on ChatGPT | Threads and regulators barely appear in these answers. They matter elsewhere: a regulator’s register is what a careful user checks, and threads rank in Google. |
The answer is only as current as what the model learned. Asked which stablecoin is the safest to hold, ChatGPT answered without searching and recommended BUSD, which Paxos stopped issuing in February 2023. Coverage that puts the current facts on record is the only fix, and it takes months to reach the model. That is why PR is a programme, not a launch-week spend.
Method: Perplexity (sonar) and ChatGPT (gpt-4.1-mini with web search) through the API, 23 October 2026, one answer per question, 36 questions in eight categories, US unless the question was about the UK or the EU. A source is a distinct page the answer cites; ChatGPT’s logo links above each product it lists are not counted. Domains were classified by hand and five answers checked against the raw responses. A small sample, read as a direction: Perplexity returns at most ten sources an answer, so its ten is a ceiling, not a finding.
Why crypto PR is a different job
General PR rules hold. Five things do not, and they decide whether the money you spend on coverage buys anything.
- 1
Most crypto coverage is bought
Crypto media sell sponsored articles and branded content, and wire services sell packages of pickups. Agencies quote a sponsored post on a second-tier crypto outlet at high three to four figures and top-tier branded content at five. Buying is not the problem. Not knowing, or not labelling, is.
- 2
“Guaranteed” means paid
A placement anyone can guarantee is one the outlet sells. Earned coverage cannot be guaranteed; it can be pitched with a story an editor wants. Wire services sell “guaranteed” pickup while their own terms leave publication to each publisher.
- 3
Google discounts the link
Google’s spam policies name keyword-anchored links in press releases and advertorials as link spam, and want paid links marked sponsored or nofollow. The value of paid coverage is its readers, the brand mention and the lists it feeds, not ranking credit from the link.
- 4
The release is read by the regulator too
In the UK a release that invites people to buy a token is a financial promotion. In the US anyone paid to promote a token that is a security has to disclose it. An influencer amplifying your news without an approved promotion behind it may be committing an offence.
- 5
The brand results are the second front page
When a fund, an exchange’s listing team or a user searches your name, they see coverage, review threads, “is it a scam” pages and sometimes a phishing clone. PR that ignores that page leaves your first impression to whoever ranks there.
What we do
Six parts of one programme. Earned work is the core; paid work is used where it earns its cost, and named as paid.
Sponsored placements, labelled
Where a paid piece reaches readers you need, we choose the outlet for its audience and pickup, price it up front, check how it is labelled and how its links are marked, and show it to you before buying.
Output: paid reach you chose, with its cost and label on record.
Press releases
Announcements written to be read, checked against the promotion rules of the markets they reach, and distributed where your users and the outlets that cover you will see them, not to three hundred sites no one reads.
Output: the announcement on record, in the places that matter.
Lists and roundups
The ranked lists and comparison pages AI answers draw on: briefing their editors, supplying correct product data, and asking for corrections where you are described wrongly.
Output: an accurate place on the lists for your category.
Brand results and reputation
What appears for your name with “review”, “safe”, “scam” or “legit”: official pages that answer it, coverage you can stand behind, complaints answered in public, and phishing clones reported to the search engines and hosts.
Output: a first page for your name that you would show a fund.
AI mentions
A tracked prompt set for your category, the outlets and pages the answers cite, and pitching built around those sources rather than around a generic media list.
Output: mentions and citations on prompts you chose, reported monthly.
Who this is for, and who it is not for
Coverage works when there is something to report and a product behind it. Three briefs we turn down, so we say which before the call.
For
Products with news
Exchanges, wallets and protocols with launches, security audits, integrations, listings or usage data worth reporting.
Infrastructure and B2B crypto
Chains, custody, payments and data providers whose buyers read the trade and financial press before they take a call.
Projects whose name is about to be searched
Before a raise, a listing or a launch, when funds and exchanges will look at your brand results and the coverage behind them.
Not for
“Tier-1 by Friday”
If the brief is a guaranteed headline outlet on a date, it is a purchase, not PR. We will tell you what it costs and that you can buy it without us.
Anonymous or unlicensed offerings
If the team cannot be named, or the product lacks the licence its market requires, coverage only spreads the risk.
Making true reporting disappear
We answer criticism and outrank falsehoods with better sources. We do not take down accurate coverage.
What the promotion rules change for PR
A press release is marketing in every regulator’s eyes. Here is the short version for the markets we are asked about most.
| Where | Rule | What it changes for organic work |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | FCA financial promotions regime for qualifying cryptoassets, in force since 8 October 2023 (COBS 4.12A) | A promotion to UK consumers, from any country, must be made or approved by an FCA-authorised firm or made by an FCA-registered crypto firm, and carry the FCA risk warning. Incentives to invest are banned, refer-a-friend bonuses included. The registered-firm route ends on 25 October 2027, when the new UK regime starts |
| United Kingdom, social media | FCA guidance FG24/1 on financial promotions on social media, March 2024 | Influencers and affiliates who promote crypto without an authorised firm’s approval may be committing a criminal offence. A paid post needs an approved promotion behind it |
| European Union | MiCA, Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, applying in full since 30 December 2024. Every national transitional period had ended by 1 July 2026 | Marketing for a token must be identifiable as marketing, fair, clear and not misleading, and consistent with its white paper, and it cannot start before the white paper is published. A service provider needs MiCA authorisation to serve EU clients |
| United States | Securities Act section 17(b); FTC Endorsement Guides, revised July 2023 | Anyone paid to promote a token that is a security must disclose the payment and its amount: the SEC settled with Kim Kardashian for $1.26 million over one undisclosed post in October 2022. Paid endorsements must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously |
| Google, Meta and X ads | Each platform’s crypto advertising policy, as read on 23 October 2026 | Exchanges and wallets need a local licence and platform certification, country by country. Google Ads does not accept ICOs, DeFi trading protocols or trading-signal sites anywhere |
| Google Search | Search quality rater guidelines, September 2025; spam policies, updated 28 August 2026 | Content about investing money is read at the “Your Money or Your Life” bar: who wrote it, what it is based on, whether fees and risks are stated. Links in paid press releases and sponsored posts must carry nofollow or sponsored; keyword-anchored paid links are link spam |
What this means for the plan
A release that invites investment is a promotion
In the UK that means the FCA risk warning and an approval route. News that reports without inviting is different, and most releases can be written as news.
Sponsored is labelled, for readers and for Google
Every paid piece carries the outlet’s label and sponsored or nofollow links. We ask the outlet how it labels and links before you pay, and put the answer in writing.
Amplification needs approval and disclosure
Paid influencer posts disclose the payment, and UK posts need an approved promotion behind them. We do not seed news through unapproved finfluencers.
In the EU, the white paper comes first
Nothing that markets a token goes out before its white paper is published, and nothing says what the white paper does not.
Checked at the regulators’ and the platforms’ own pages on 23 October 2026. This is how the rules shape our work, not legal advice: whether a promotion is approved is your compliance team’s or your approver’s decision, and we plan the content around it.
How we work
Four stages. You can stop after the first and keep everything we found.
- 1
Audit
Two weeks, fixed fee
Your brand results, the coverage you already have and what it cost, the outlets and lists the AI answers in your category cite, and the stories you have that an editor would take.
You keep: the outlet map and the story list.
- 2
Foundations
Month 1
The brand results put in order, a newsroom page and fact sheet on your site that outlets and models can quote, spokespeople briefed, and the first pitches out.
You keep: a press-ready site and a first page for your name.
- 3
Coverage
Month 1 onwards
Earned pitching every month, sponsored placements only where they earn their cost, releases for the news that warrants one, and list editors briefed.
You keep: the coverage list, with what each piece cost.
- 4
Compounding
Quarter 2 onwards
Coverage turned into the lists, links and citations it can feed, and the outlets that move your category’s answers worked on purpose.
You keep: relationships and coverage that outlast the retainer.
What we report
Monthly: every piece placed, marked earned or sponsored, with its cost; referral visits and sign-ups from coverage, from your analytics; what the first page for your name shows; mentions and citations on the tracked AI prompt set. Summed outlet readership is not a result and is not reported as one.
Proof
We do not publish client results we are not cleared to name, and in a category where most coverage is bought you should ask any agency which of its “hits” were paid. Here is what we show instead.
On a call
The coverage we have placed for a project like yours, each piece marked earned or sponsored, and the analytics behind it, with the client’s permission.
On this page
Our own measurement, with method and date: the 36 user questions above, which show where coverage has to land to count. And the split between earned, sponsored and wire coverage below, with what each costs and does, which the ranking PR pages in this category leave out.
Pricing and what drives it
Our fee and the media money are two different lines, and you see both before anything is bought.
The audit is $6,500, fixed
Delivered in two weeks: your brand results, the outlet and list map for your category, and the stories worth pitching. If PR is not what you need yet, the audit says so.
Retainers start at $6,000 a month
For one product. Thirty days’ notice, no minimum term. Earned pitching, releases, brand-result work and reporting are inside it.
Media money, billed separately
Sponsored articles and paid distribution are billed separately, each shown with its outlet, label, link type and price before it is bought. You can buy none.
What moves the retainer
The number of markets and languages, how much news the product makes, how many spokespeople we prepare, and whether the brand results need repair before anything else.
Earned coverage, sponsored article or wire release
Three things are sold as “crypto PR”. They do different jobs and cost different money, so here they are side by side.
| Earned coverage | Sponsored article | Wire press release | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | An editor chose to write about you | The outlet publishes your piece for a fee | Your announcement syndicated to partner sites |
| Can it be guaranteed | No | Yes, which is how you know it is paid | Sold as guaranteed; publication is still each site’s call |
| Labelled as | Editorial | Sponsored, partner or promoted content | Press release |
| Link value in Google | An editorial link counts | Must be sponsored or nofollow; passes no ranking credit | Keyword links in releases are link spam by Google’s policy |
| Good for | Credibility, the lists, AI answers | Reach into a readership you chose | Putting the news on record fast |
| Typical cost | Retainer time, no placement fee | High three to four figures on a second-tier crypto outlet, five figures for top-tier branded content, as agencies quote it | About $1,400 to $10,800 per release in published wire packages |
All three have a place. A launch can justify a wire release and one sponsored piece in the outlet your users read. A year of nothing but paid placements buys reach and leaves no earned record behind it.
Questions to ask any crypto PR agency
Including us. The answers tell you more than the media list in the deck.
- 1
Which of your placements were earned and which were paid?
- Expect
- A list that marks each one, with the outlet’s own label.
- Us
- Every report marks earned and sponsored, with the cost of each paid piece.
- 2
What does a guaranteed placement cost, and who is guaranteeing it?
- Expect
- An honest answer that guaranteed means paid, and the price.
- Us
- We quote paid placements at their price and do not sell “guaranteed tier-1” packages.
- 3
Is your fee separate from publication charges?
- Expect
- Yes, on separate lines in the proposal.
- Us
- Yes. Media money is billed separately and shown before it is bought.
- 4
Which outlets do the AI answers in our category cite, and will you pitch them?
- Expect
- Named outlets and lists from a measurement, not a generic media list.
- Us
- That map is part of the audit.
- 5
What happens to our brand results?
- Expect
- A plan for the first page for your name, not just a list of hits.
- Us
- Brand results are part of the retainer, from the first month.
- 6
Who signs off releases that could be promotions?
- Expect
- Your compliance team or your approver, before anything goes out.
- Us
- Your sign-off, every time a release could invite investment.
- 7
What do you report: hits, or users?
- Expect
- Referral visits and sign-ups from coverage, beside the list of pieces.
- Us
- Both, monthly. Summed readership is not reported as a result.
What we do not promise
Four things you will hear elsewhere and not here.
A named outlet by a date
Earned coverage follows the story. A date-certain headline is a purchase, and we will say so.
Coverage that is not labelled
A paid piece is a paid piece, for readers and for Google.
Accurate reporting removed
We answer criticism and outrank falsehoods. We do not make true coverage disappear.
A price move
PR that promises one is selling something else.
Questions
What is crypto PR?
Getting a crypto company covered by the media its users, partners and investors read, and managing what appears when they search its name. It mixes earned coverage, paid placements and press releases; a good agency tells you which is which and what each costs.
What is the best crypto PR agency?
The one that shows you which of its placements were earned and which were paid, separates its fee from media money, measures referral users rather than summed readership, and knows the promotion rules of your markets. Ask the seven questions above and compare the answers.
How much does a crypto PR agency cost?
Ours starts at $6,000 a month for one product, after a $6,500 fixed-fee audit, with any sponsored placements billed separately and shown first. AI assistants quote buyers $5,000 to $15,000 a month for crypto PR across the category.
Can you get us into Cointelegraph or CoinDesk?
Earned coverage, only with a story their editors want, and nobody can guarantee it. Sponsored or press-release placement in crypto media can be bought, and we will tell you the price, the label it carries and the link type before you decide.
Are sponsored crypto articles worth it?
Sometimes: when the outlet’s readers are your users, when the piece is useful to them, and when you buy it for reach rather than for the link. Its links must be sponsored or nofollow, so it passes no ranking credit. We recommend few and label all of them.
Do press-release links help SEO?
Not directly. Google’s spam policies treat keyword-anchored links in press releases as link spam and want paid links marked sponsored or nofollow. A release helps search by putting your news on record, earning coverage that links editorially, and making your name appear beside your category.
How do we get our project mentioned by ChatGPT and other AI assistants?
By being described correctly on the pages they draw from: the ranked lists, review sites and coverage in your category, and your own comparison and fact pages. In our measurement only 6% of Perplexity’s citations were the recommended projects’ own sites, so most of that work is coverage.
Do you write crypto press releases?
Yes, as part of the retainer: written as news rather than as a promotion where the story allows it, checked against the rules of the markets it reaches, and distributed where your users will read it.
Can you remove negative coverage?
We do not remove accurate reporting. We answer criticism in public, report phishing clones and impersonation, correct factual errors with the outlet, and put better sources on the first page for your name.
Start with the audit.
Tell us the project and the markets. We come back in two weeks with what your brand results show, which outlets and lists your category’s AI answers cite, and the stories worth pitching. If PR is not what you need yet, we will say so.
We reply within one business day, from a person.