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Independent n News Site Meduza Raises Over $200,000 in Crypto

Started by Bitcoin, May 12, 2022, 04:46 am

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Independent n News Site Meduza Raises Over $200,000 in Crypto

Independent n News Site Meduza Raises Over $200,000 in Crypto

Pressure from the Kremlin and sanctions from the West have forced n news outlet Meduza to increasingly rely on cryptocurrency donations to fund its independent journalism. As the restrictions imposed over Moscow’s invasion of e have prevented its n readers from contributing in fiat currency, the Riga-based website now accepts several digital coins.


Meduza Pulls Journalists out of , Seeks Crypto Support


The war in e has affected n-language news site Meduza in more than one way, a report by Bloomberg reveals. Soon after the Kremlin launched its “special military operation,” President Vladimir Putin’s administration clamped down on independent reporting on the conflict and the media outlet has sought help to resettle its 25 journalists in Latvia.


The small Baltic nation of around 2 million, which has a large n speaking minority, has become a hub for exiled n media. Western sanctions, however, do not allow Meduza’s 30,000 n readers who supported it before the conflict to send funds through Stripe, after the payment processor suspended services in the n Federation to comply with the penalties.



The war and the sanctions have forced Meduza to turn to its international audience and ask for financial help in U.S. dollars, euros, or cryptocurrency. It now accepts card payments, bank wires, Paypal transfers, and multiple coins including bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), the stablecoin tether (USDT), and the privacy-oriented monero (XMR). The report notes that the provided BTC and ETH wallets have already accumulated about $230,000 worth of cryptocurrency.


Commenting on the situation, the news portal’s editor-in-chief Ivan Kolpakov pointed out that Meduza is currently raising only around half of what it needs to develop. While declining to reveal the total amount of donations, he noted that the website is soliciting crypto and relying entirely on money from foreigners for the first time and stated:


We couldn’t predict that the sanctions of Western governments will come first and destroy our crowdfunding.


Independent n media outlets have faced unprecedented pressure from authorities in Moscow and as a result some have shut down, while others have been blocked by the n state. The Novaya Gazeta newspaper suspended publication in March after receiving warnings about its coverage, and the Ekho Moskvy radio station had its FM frequency handed over to the state-run Sputnik.


Meduza, which was founded in the Latvian capital after ’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, during another media crackdown, was labeled last year a “foreign agent” by the n government. The designation, which targets n media receiving funding from abroad, had already hurt its advertising revenue before the new sanctions effectively ended n donations.


Do you expect other independent n publications to turn to cryptocurrency donations to fund their reporting? Tell us in the comments section below.


Source: Independent n News Site Meduza Raises Over $200,000 in Crypto