Cryptocurrencies continue to take center stage in 2018 following a highly successful year in which the space rapidly grew into the mainstream. In light of the strong growth and increased demand for these instruments, NewsBTC has seen its own coverage swell, placing itself in the midst of the industry.
The group has been rapidly expanding its own coverage team and personnel in recent months, while also recently rolling out a newly retooled website. This includes the addition of Martin Young, the group’s newest Chief Editor, who joined NewsBTC a couple months ago.
Mr. Young joined forces with NewsBTC at a key juncture for the group, as it looks to navigate its way forward in the rapidly shifting crypto industry. Finance Magnates spoke with Mr. Young for his industry perspective and insight into the group’s future agenda.
Martin Young, Chief Editor, NewsBTC
Tell me about yourself and your position at NewsBTC.
I’ve been working with technology as long as I remember really. One of my earliest recollections is pulling apart an old Olivetti 286 PC to see what made it tick. In later years I got into web development and then into media and publishing.
Previously, I worked for over a decade at Hong Kong based Asia Times as technology columnist and systems administrator. This provided a solid background into Southeast Asian markets and new technological developments at the time. Blockchain and cryptocurrency was the next logical step and once I started researching I couldn’t stop.
Joining the NewsBTC team has been a great opportunity to expand on that research and help to take the publication to the next level. Being based in the Asian region also offers the advantage of being closer to the largest crypto trading markets in the world.
Can you tell me about the recent website relaunch?
Things change fast in the crypto industry and that included the needs of our readers. Realizing this we endeavored to enhance the website, not only for improved mobile penetration, but to provide more than just your standard presentation of articles.
The new website features several news categories, tools such as a crypto heat map, price tickers and calculators, ICO calendar and events, and more interactive features such as our crypto news video channel to engage, retain and expand our audience.
NewsBTC continues to see a strong period of growth, what sorts of tools has the site utilized to attract growing viewership?
We understood that aside from news, readers want to see real time data with prices, heat maps, crypto converters, comparisons and other metrics and tools. NewsBTC now offers one of the best collections of crypto tools in the industry which shows exchanges, tokens, market place positions and search and sorting abilities.
The heat map provides a snap-shot glance at the markets to display where the interest, energy and investment is focused at any given time. These tools, in addition to our expert technical analysis and news coverage, can help traders and investors make more informed decisions.
How has NewsBTC positioned itself to deal with a more mature ICO and crypto market in 2018?
NewsBTC has witnessed the crypto-evolution starting with the rise of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the first ever ICO - DAO. Starting with extensive coverage of the cryptocurrency sector, the publication has worked with both big and small projects providing much needed guidance and coverage.
Over a period of time, we have understood the requirements of different projects to provide tailor-made solutions that can meet their specific needs.
How do you see NewsBTC’s role in the crypto community?
NewsBTC is currently one of the top news and technical analysis providers in the crypto space. We have taken a leap towards being the ‘home place’ for crypto enthusiasts. With editors covering all time zones and writers in over ten countries we can cater for wider audience across the globe and aim to be the number one crypto news and analysis provider within a year.
What does the future hold for NewsBTC as well as the crypto industry; are there any company developments in the pipeline or what are the group’s goals in 2018 and beyond?
The crypto industry is growing on a daily basis. It has proven resilient to regulation, restriction, and mainstream media paranoia on a number of occasions. Regulation is part of acceptance and growth; these are natural processes akin to the teething problems that any new technology will go through, especially one as far reaching as blockchain and crypto.
Industry growth will result in readership growth for NewsBTC and our aim is to stay ahead of the curve to provide the latest industry news, ICO and altcoin updates, and trading analysis for our audience.
More traditional companies are moving into the crypto space and looking towards ICOs as their preferred funding model. NewsBTC will be there to facilitate such ambitions by nurturing a large and wide-reaching readership of crypto enthusiasts that are interested in new blockchain startups.
To engage with our readers more we are developing a number of mobile apps that will be launched in the coming months.
