We had a revelation at one of the weekly Tradestreaming Beer Thursday events earlier this month. Just like the accidental creation of champagne, four parts german beer combined with equal parts fintech and Cheap Thrills by Sia and Take On Me by Aha! led to the synthesis of the Blockchain Hype Meter.
We’re going to be looking at mainstream business publications and evaluating how hyped blockchain is on a month-to-month basis. People love hearing how much blockchain is changing everything, so we wanted to make a metric that clearly evaluates the media's view on blockchain.
Here is the scoring system we came up with that fateful Thursday on a paper towel:
If you can’t read it, here’s it typed out:
[caption id="attachment_9924" align="aligncenter" width="408"]
Blockchain Hype Meter Scoring System[/caption]
Every positive article about blockchain/cryptocurrencies gets 2 points, and every negative article gets -1 points because, you know, people care more about how blockchains are changing everything than how they're not even close to being ready for mainstream use. We also moved the Mr. Robot level hack from negative to positive, since cryptocurrencies will be the currency of choice in a post 5/9 world.
We add up the scores, then subtract the Not HYPE from HYPE, and put the metric on a 1-100 scale, ranging from d3fc0n5 (what's a bitcoin?) to d3fc0n1 (pay me in digital gummy bears).
If you can’t read it, here’s it typed out:
[caption id="attachment_9924" align="aligncenter" width="408"] Blockchain Hype Meter Scoring System[/caption]
Every positive article about blockchain/cryptocurrencies gets 2 points, and every negative article gets -1 points because, you know, people care more about how blockchains are changing everything than how they're not even close to being ready for mainstream use. We also moved the Mr. Robot level hack from negative to positive, since cryptocurrencies will be the currency of choice in a post 5/9 world.
We add up the scores, then subtract the Not HYPE from HYPE, and put the metric on a 1-100 scale, ranging from d3fc0n5 (what's a bitcoin?) to d3fc0n1 (pay me in digital gummy bears).
August 2016 Blockchain Hype Meter
We sampled the WSJ, CNBC, FT, Bloomberg, and NYT for stories about blockchain. It was an up and down month for blockchain. Things started off shaky with the Bitfinex hack, but finished strong with reports of a small confederation of banks considering the implementation of a cryptocurrency to help with settlement. The UN also announced the possibility looking for blockchain members in Africa, making that one organization and one bank thinking/considering/maybe-one-day-using cryptocurrencies, which is great for the Hype Meter. Notable HYPE headlines:- Blockchain as 'Technological Genie' (WSJ)
- Envisioning Bitcoin’s Technology at the Heart of Global Finance (NYT)
- Blockchain has potential to streamline international trade: Expert (CNBC)
- Man who introduced millions to bitcoin says blockchain is a bust (Bloomberg)
- Cyber Threat Grows for Bitcoin Exchanges (NYT/Reuters)
- How I learned to stop blockchain obsessing and love the Barry Manilow (FT)
- Banks plan to coin cryptocurrency
- UN looking for bitcoin volunteers in Africa
- Total HYPE: 71
- Total Not HYPE: 26