Even though mainstream media coverage of cryptocurrencies has become more negative in recent years, a report found that in 2025, traditional media coverage of bitcoin became more balanced, with neutral reporting outweighing negative stories.
According to a set of sentiment data compiled by crypto intelligence platform Perception, the change was due less to enthusiasm for bitcoin and more to exhaustion of previous criticism.
Perception’s analysis, which tracked about 350,000 mentions in 407 outlets, suggests that environmental concerns, which once dominated mainstream coverage, faded by 2025, replaced by episodic reporting on crime, kidnappings and illicit use.
While those stories are negative in isolation, they no longer frame bitcoin as structurally harmful, resulting in a net tone that is more neutral than confrontational.
For the first time, BTC’s biggest media moments weren’t focused on whether Bitcoin is dead, data shows. It was about how permanent Bitcoin has become and whether its infrastructure can scale and adapt to that permanence.
However, this change in narrative did not happen overnight; rather, it unfolded in different phases throughout the year, according to Perception data.
January marked a change in regulatory regime, as the departure of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler ended years of uncertainty based on law enforcement. This led to the agency dismissing many law enforcement cases, such as those against Binance and Coinbase.
In March, policy legitimization continued with the issuance of an executive order establishing a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. While the industry is still awaiting an official outcome of the executive order, this has shifted media coverage from speculative debate to state-level budget implications.
Then came October, which validated prices as bitcoin set a new high before correcting, reinforcing its status as a mature and volatile asset rather than a fragile experiment.
By the end of the year, attention had shifted to the technical issues surrounding long-term cryptographic underpinnings, particularly after advances in quantum computing reignited discussions about how to future-proof the Bitcoin blockchain.
So where is media attention headed after coverage adopts a more neutral and normalized stance in 2025?
Unsurprisingly, its artificial intelligence (AI) emerged as the dominant attention driver across conventional and digital channels. according to Perception data.
AI, as a topic, generated significantly higher discussion volume and more pronounced sentiment swings, with controversy overtaking Bitcoin even as mining-related coverage, which previously garnered mostly negative coverage, shifted toward more positive one, Perception said.
It seems that, in the eyes of the mainstream media, bitcoin looks less like today’s disruptive threat and more like yesterday’s, as AI inherits the volatility of attention that once defined crypto coverage.
Since cryptocurrency prices are largely range-bound, only time will tell what catalyst will cause coverage to return to cryptocurrencies. For now, however, it looks like AI will dominate the media narrative of 2026, whether positive or negative.
Market movement
BTC: Bitcoin holds above $92,000 as ETF inflows resurface and liquidations remain contained, pointing to institutional support beneath the market rather than a momentum-driven breakout.
ETH: Ethereum is rising near $3,160, with modest gains and contained liquidations pointing to steady accumulation rather than speculative momentum.
Gold: Gold is trading at $4,392.93, maintaining its broader bullish trend as Venezuela-driven geopolitical risk and upcoming U.S. jobs data keep safe-haven demand and Fed rate cut expectations in focus despite a recent margin-driven sell-off.
Nikkei 225: Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.26% in its first trading session of 2026, leading gains in Asia-Pacific markets after the United States said it had captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, while oil prices fell amid geopolitical uncertainty.
Elsewhere in Crypto
- Bitfinex Hacker Ilya Lichtenstein Attributes Early Prison Release to Trump’s First Step Act (CoinDesk)
- The SEC’s only Democratic commissioner, Caroline Crenshaw, leaves the agency, leaving an all-Republican panel (The Block)
- All of Trump’s Pardons to Prominent Crypto Figures, So Far (Decrypt)
