Decrypt and Rug Radio Announce Merger, Will Create Global Web3 Publishing Company

Crypto news site Decrypt and decentralized media project Rug Radio will merge operations next year, with the goal of creating a global Web3 publishing company.

In a joint press release on Monday, the companies announced that the merger would result in the creation of [REDACTED], a “next-gen network” that seeks to reach more than 10 million people a month.

The two companies will combine forces while retaining brand independence and their existing staff, according to the release.

The merger is viewed as a synergistic collaboration, as Decrypt’s text-centric content on its website aligns with Rug Radio’s audio and video podcast material. In the new company, Josh Quittner, the CEO of Decrypt, will become chairman, while Farokh Sarmad, the founder and co-CEO of Rug Radio, will become president.

Loxley Fernandes, Rug Radio’s other CEO, will be the CEO of [REDACTED].

“We are at the cusp of a new era in media,” Fernandes said. “By combining Decrypt’s journalistic credibility with Rug Radio’s innovative platform, we’re set to become a trailblazer for the future of decentralized media.”

The merger between the two companies is anticipated to be completed by the end of January.

[REDACTED] will collaborate with Arbitrum as the Layer 2 blockchain for its recently established media ecosystem. Arbitrum is strategically equipped to “handle the active engagement needs of a media hub, centered around creator recognition, listener rewards, and advertisers,” the companies noted in the release.

“[REDACTED] is set to pioneer a new age in economical web3 advertising and user rewards, and Arbitrum is suited to handle the many needs of new, fast-growing communities,” said Nina Rong, Head of Ecosystem Development at Arbitrum Foundation. “The chain will support the various programs offered by the media group and establish a new precedent for economical community building on blockchain.”

Each company claimed around $3 million in annual revenue from ad sales, with Fernandes describing the move as a “merger of equals.”

“We think what we’re able to accomplish here is one plus one equals three kind of a deal,” Quittner told Axios. “Our companies are incredibly complimentary.”

Decrypt and Rug Radio’s merger is the latest move in a recent string of crypto media transactions. Bullish, a crypto exchange led by former NSE President Tom Farley, recently acquired the crypto news platform CoinDesk in an all-cash transaction, while Singaporean venture capital firm Foresight Ventures secured a majority stake in The Block in mid-November.