A media startup that focuses on the cryptocurrency sector, BlockTV, has shut down operations, with two former employees citing the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

COVID-19 Forces BlockTV to Shut Down

The COVID-19 global pandemic continues to affect several businesses and companies around the world. The cryptocurrency sector has also not been left out, with several crypto firms shutting down operations or making changes to cope with the economic effects of the virus. The latest casualty of the pandemic is BlockTV, a cryptocurrency-focused media startup.

Before the shutting down this month, the Tel Aviv-based firm initially laid off some of its employees in March. The remaining 45 members of the company have now been laid off, with some employees citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for the total closure.

The COO of BlockTV, Noa Tamir, told CoinDesk via a LinkedIn message that the COVID-19 economic crisis affected the company strongly and they had no option than to close it down. He added that the BlockTV is immensely proud of the brand they built and the fresh content they brought to the cryptocurrency and blockchain community. He concluded that he hopes that they will be able to revive BlockTV in the future.

The Rise and Fall of BlockTV

BlockTV was launched in 2019, with the company receiving financial backing from controversial crypto entrepreneur Moshe Hogeg. In November last year, the company tried to raise $2 million via the token sale of its native cryptocurrency, the BLTV. The token sale took place on a cryptocurrency exchange, Bittrex, according to the company. The BLTV token works similarly to the Brave’s Basic Attention Token (BAT), as the token incentivizes publishers, journalists, and readers to partner in revenue sharing. However, the funds raised did not help the company during the coronavirus crisis.

A former BlockTV senior analyst and anchor, Asher Westropp-Evans, stated that the media outlet was forced to stop operations following the coronavirus lockdowns. As with several other companies, it was almost impossible to keep operating smoothly under the intense lockdown conditions. Westropp-Evans added that having just a few staff left following the March layoffs did not help BlockTV to stay afloat.

During the token sale of BLTV, BlockTV listed the token for a pre-sell price of $0.01. However, data obtained from CoinGecko shows that BLTV is now trading at $0.03, which is 70% down from its trading position in November.

Several cryptocurrency companies launching their tokens now are finding it hard to find investors. In March 2020, another cryptocurrency media startup, Decrypt, announced the launch of its EthCC token in Paris. However, they have been facing similar challenges as BlockTV with their token.

Civil, a blockchain-based publishing platform backed by ConsenSys, also announced earlier this month that it has officially stopped operations.

Westropp-Evans explained that due to the economic impact of the coronavirus, people are not eager to take on additional investments into tokens. Thus, crypto startups are struggling to raise funds via the token sale process at the moment.

Before the pandemic, BlockTV was working on opening a studio in New York City in the first quarter of 2020. The studio was to help compliment their lineup of broadcast-news-style reports. Despite the lockdown, BlockTV continued to release content at regular intervals, especially on their Twitter feed.