In 2017, the words “cryptocurrency” and “blockchain” occupied the computer monitors of nearly every breathing human in the Western world.
Mainstream media outlets, like CNBC, Bloomberg, and CNN, were covering the topic incessantly, while crypto’s very own content creators saw their subscriber counts soar to the moon. But by late-2018, gone were the days that “Bitcoin” was a popular word at the dinner table.
The aforementioned clamor had died down to nothing more than a mere murmur.
But over the past few months, the amount of mainstream coverage the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency space has seen has skyrocketed tremendously. Most likely, this is a result of the sudden growth in the value of digital assets, which comes after a 12-month downturn, during which BTC lost 85% of its all-time value.
On Monday, Bitcoin’s journey back to the mainstream limelight took a massive leap forward, with Jeopardy featuring the cryptocurrency for the second, maybe third time.
What is Blockchain?
I don’t know about you but it’s tough for me to follow the questions, or answers rather, on “Jeopardy”. Most of the mental challenges that Alex Trebek, the beloved host of the seminal American game show, give to the contestants stump me. There was one clue I recently understood though: Bitcoin uses this technology as its transaction record. The answer to this, a simple “What is Blockchain?”
???? ???? or sign of the top? https://t.co/tPF5tEETJe
— Melissa Lee (@MelissaLeeCNBC) July 2, 2019
This mention may seem small, but the show often pulls in 10 million weekly viewers — not bad. This isn’t the first time that Jeporady has centered its sights on cryptocurrency. Late last year — yes, the bottom of the recent crypto crash — the show had an entire section dedicated to crypto. Crazy, right? Some answers included references to Venezuela’s Petro, social media app’s Kin token, and the infamous Kanye West-branded “Coinye” coin, which has notably been slammed with a lawsuit from Yeezy.
Jeopardy’s latest nod to Bitcoin comes as mainstream media outlets have begun to actually give the cryptocurrency space some air time. As reported by Blockonomi previously, “60 Minutes”, a world-renowned television program known for tackling tough issues and covering key trends, covered Bitcoin.
In that segment, hosted by legendary television personality Anderson Cooper, CBS met with Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard; MIT Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative’s Neha Narula; cryptocurrency entrepreneur Marco Streng, who heads Genesis Mining; the ‘Bitcoin pizza guy’; and BitInstant founder and Winklevoss Twins collaborator Charlie Shrem to gain a fleshed out understanding of the nuances of the industry.
More recently, the Winklevoss Twins — the Mark Zuckerberg frenemies(?) turned crypto exchange founders and Bitcoin billionaires — were featured in an episode of “Sunday Morning” on CBS. The eight-minute segment saw the host dub Bitcoin “money that works like e-mail”, and pointed out that the Twins have been at the forefront of two trends — cryptocurrency and social media.
Mainstream Media Bullish on Bitcoin?
This comes as a number of prominent figures in mainstream media have started to flip bullish on Bitcoin. Just two or three weeks back, CNBC’s Joe Kernen, a host of “Squawk Box”, revealed that he understands the difference between something like Libra and Bitcoin. Kernen went on to question the value of fiat monies, noting that he doesn’t like how central banks are inflating away their currencies, sounding exactly like a Satoshi Nakamoto excerpt.
Then, economist Tyler Cowen published a Bloomberg op-ed article. In that piece, he gave four viable reasons why Bitcoin is likely here to stay, taking a full 180 from his 2013 stance on the asset, which was one of pure skepticism.
And most recently, Jim Iuorio, a CNBC contributor and trader on the floor of the CME, acknowledged that Bitcoin may actually be a viable hedge/safe-haven asset against macroeconomy uncertainty.
