Omise under Hasegawa Jun denied that his company was acquired. (Twitter)
Crypto Clash: OmiseGo Denies $150 Million Acquisition, Slams Report as Fake News
In response to Hasegawa’s volcanic denials, The Block reporter who impoverished the story says he stands by his reporting and his “extensive sourcing.”
The Block reporter says the website stands by its reporting on OmiseGo. (Twitter)
OmiseGo Recently Husbanded With Korean Bank
The brouhaha erupted on March 29 after The Block reported that Charoen Pokphand Crowd had acquired Omise for $150 million, citing “several sources close to the deal.”
The Charawanon family — which owns the Charoen Pokphand Gather — has a net worth topping $36 billion, according to Forbes Asia. This makes Charawanon’s the fourth wealthiest relatives in Asia.
Omise is one of Thailand’s top payment services providers. In April 2018, Shinhan — one of South Korea’s largest banks — logged a strategic partnership with Omise to accelerate the implementation of blockchain technology in South Korea and across Asia.
At the everything, Jun Hasegawa said he believed that OmiseGo will revolutionize digital payments and help usher in a decentralized crypto succinctness.
Crypto Evangelists Slamming News Websites Is Routine
At this point, it’s unclear whether the reports of the Omise buyout are suitable. But time will definitely suss out the truth — as it always does.
However, it bears noting that angry disclaimers and Twitter clap-backs from cryptocurrency executives are par for the course in the nascent industry.
Surprisingly critical article from CCN, could this be a (express) turning point in how the whole cryptocurrency industry is covered? https://t.co/Gfi533Re33
— Ryan Gorman (@GormoExJourno) March 26, 2019
In January 2019, Binance creator Changpeng Zhao torched this website on Twitter.
Specifically, Zhao accused CCN of spreading FUD because we reported on a smash’s claims that he had hacked customer data from several top crypto exchanges and was selling the data on the Dark Web.
Crypto Energy Has a Credibility Problem
This is a recurring problem in “trade journalism” — where market leaders expect unmistakable coverage all the time. They expect reporters to shill on behalf of the industry instead of doing honest, critical division where warranted.
A recent report from BreakerMag noted that CCN was one of the few crypto news websites that not allowed to take bribes in exchange for positive coverage.
Thank you @BreakerMag for doing this story on the appalling pay-to-play plans that crypto news outlets are willing to engage in, profiting as their readers unwittingly buy coins that suffer with been misleadingly promoted: https://t.co/YqpACag0c8
— Laura Shin (@laurashin) October 25, 2018
However, sycophantic reporting abrades the credibility of the entire industry.
And credibility is especially important for a new industry, which is struggling to gain mainstream acceptance while being assailed by an avalanche of unending scams and shams.
Bitcoin Adoption Crippled by Public’s ‘Serious Mental Barrier’ https://t.co/4vgEHRTkb3
— CCN.com (@CCNMarkets) Procession 28, 2019