CoinDesk: 95/288 returned four-engine answers (33.0%; 95% interval 27.8–38.6%). The two leading intervals overlap; no sole leader is established.
RESEARCH
The Podcast Citation Effect: Crypto
288
AI answers analyzed across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity
33%
of answers named CoinDesk, the most-named (95 of 288)
13
tracked sources named at least once (of 18)
100%
of Google searches showed an AI Overview (72 of 72)
Version 2. This version replaces the first version of this study, first published June 23, 2026. It uses measured counts, so the two versions are not comparable. Version 2 asks 24 questions three times each on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity (288 answers) and adds Google AI Overviews. Every rate comes with its count and a 95% interval.
What the data shows
01
CoinDesk
CoinDesk: 95/288 returned four-engine answers (33.0%; 95% interval 27.8–38.6%). The two leading intervals overlap; no sole leader is established.
02
55/288 (19.1%)
CoinDesk was the first source named in 55 of 288 answers, more than any other tracked source. Its average first position was 2.4.
03
28/288 (9.7%)
The Block's own domains were cited in 28 of 288 grounded answers, more than any other tracked source. CoinDesk followed at 20 of 288. 7 of 18 tracked sources had 0 of 288, and 2 had no tracked own site.
04
72/72 (100%)
Google AI Overviews appeared on 72 of 72 searches (CI 94.9–100%).
05
17/72 (23.6%)
Bankless was the source named most often in AI Overviews, at 17 of 72, followed by CoinDesk at 15 of 72 (20.8%). In the four-engine set, Bankless was named in 72 of 288 answers (25%).
06
34/288 (11.8%)
podcasts.apple.com received the most citation links, 95 of 2,345 (4.1%), across 34 of 288 grounded answers (11.8%). coinledger.io appeared in the most answers, 64 of 288 (22.2%).
07
0/12 (0.0%)
For 'What are the best DeFi protocols?', none of the tracked sources was named in any of 12 four-engine answers.
Appearance rate across 288 four-engine answers. The bar is the 95% confidence interval; overlapping bars cannot be told apart at this sample size.
Which sources AI engines name
CoinDesk
33.0%
Bankless
25.0%
Unchained
22.6%
Blockworks
19.1%
The Block
16.7%
The Pomp Podcast
14.6%
Messari
14.2%
The Defiant
13.5%
What Bitcoin Did
12.8%
Empire
9.7%
Decrypt
7.6%
The Wolf Of All Streets
3.8%
The Daily Gwei
3.5%
| # | Name | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CoinDesk | 95/288 | 33.0% | 27.8–38.6% |
| 2 | Bankless | 72/288 | 25.0% | 20.4–30.3% |
| 3 | Unchained | 65/288 | 22.6% | 18.1–27.7% |
| 4 | Blockworks | 55/288 | 19.1% | 15.0–24.0% |
| 5 | The Block | 48/288 | 16.7% | 12.8–21.4% |
| 6 | The Pomp Podcast | 42/288 | 14.6% | 11.0–19.1% |
| 7 | Messari | 41/288 | 14.2% | 10.7–18.7% |
| 8 | The Defiant | 39/288 | 13.5% | 10.1–18.0% |
| 9 | What Bitcoin Did | 37/288 | 12.8% | 9.5–17.2% |
| 10 | Empire | 28/288 | 9.7% | 6.8–13.7% |
| 11 | Decrypt | 22/288 | 7.6% | 5.1–11.3% |
| 12 | The Wolf Of All Streets | 11/288 | 3.8% | 2.1–6.7% |
| 13 | The Daily Gwei | 10/288 | 3.5% | 1.9–6.3% |
The full list
Own-domain citation is the share of 288 grounded answers that cited the tracked name's own domains (subdomains included). Citation share is of all 2,345 citations.
| # | Brand | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval | First mention | Own-domain citation | Citation share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CoinDesk | 95/288 | 33% | 27.8–38.6% | 2.4 | 6.9% (20/288) | 0.9% |
| 2 | Bankless | 72/288 | 25% | 20.4–30.3% | 2.5 | 4.2% (12/288) | 0.5% |
| 3 | Unchained | 65/288 | 22.6% | 18.1–27.7% | 2.7 | 1.4% (4/288) | 0.2% |
| 4 | Blockworks | 55/288 | 19.1% | 15–24% | 3.3 | 2.8% (8/288) | 0.3% |
| 5 | The Block | 48/288 | 16.7% | 12.8–21.4% | 2.4 | 9.7% (28/288) | 1.2% |
| 6 | The Pomp Podcast | 42/288 | 14.6% | 11–19.1% | 3.5 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 7 | Messari | 41/288 | 14.2% | 10.7–18.7% | 1.8 | 2.4% (7/288) | 0.3% |
| 8 | The Defiant | 39/288 | 13.5% | 10.1–18% | 4.4 | 2.8% (8/288) | 0.3% |
| 9 | What Bitcoin Did | 37/288 | 12.8% | 9.5–17.2% | 3.4 | 0.3% (1/288) | 0% |
| 10 | Empire | 28/288 | 9.7% | 6.8–13.7% | 2.8 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 11 | Decrypt | 22/288 | 7.6% | 5.1–11.3% | 2.9 | 1.7% (5/288) | 0.2% |
| 12 | The Wolf Of All Streets | 11/288 | 3.8% | 2.1–6.7% | 4.5 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 13 | The Daily Gwei | 10/288 | 3.5% | 1.9–6.3% | 4.2 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 14 | Lex Fridman Podcast | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 15 | On The Brink | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | not available | not available |
| 16 | The Bell Curve | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 17 | The Chopping Block | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 18 | UpOnly | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | not available | not available |
Question group: Podcasts and news
132 returned four-engine answers to this group's 11 questions. No pooled group leader is asserted.
| # | Name | Named answers | Rate | 95% interval | Named first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CoinDesk | 80/132 | 60.6% | 52.1–68.5% | 41 |
| 2 | Bankless | 71/132 | 53.8% | 45.3–62.1% | 26 |
| 3 | Unchained | 65/132 | 49.2% | 40.9–57.7% | 17 |
| 4 | Blockworks | 50/132 | 37.9% | 30.1–46.4% | 1 |
| 5 | The Block | 43/132 | 32.6% | 25.2–41.0% | 1 |
| 6 | The Pomp Podcast | 42/132 | 31.8% | 24.5–40.2% | 5 |
| 7 | The Defiant | 39/132 | 29.5% | 22.4–37.8% | 0 |
| 8 | What Bitcoin Did | 37/132 | 28.0% | 21.1–36.2% | 11 |
| 9 | Empire | 28/132 | 21.2% | 15.1–28.9% | 7 |
| 10 | Messari | 27/132 | 20.5% | 14.5–28.1% | 19 |
| 11 | Decrypt | 22/132 | 16.7% | 11.3–23.9% | 0 |
| 12 | The Wolf Of All Streets | 11/132 | 8.3% | 4.7–14.3% | 3 |
| 13 | The Daily Gwei | 10/132 | 7.6% | 4.2–13.4% | 0 |
| 14 | Lex Fridman Podcast | 0/132 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.8% | 0 |
| 15 | On The Brink | 0/132 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.8% | 0 |
| 16 | The Bell Curve | 0/132 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.8% | 0 |
| 17 | The Chopping Block | 0/132 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.8% | 0 |
| 18 | UpOnly | 0/132 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.8% | 0 |
Question group: Market questions
156 returned four-engine answers to this group's 13 questions. No pooled group leader is asserted.
| # | Name | Named answers | Rate | 95% interval | Named first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CoinDesk | 15/156 | 9.6% | 5.9–15.3% | 14 |
| 2 | Messari | 14/156 | 9.0% | 5.4–14.5% | 13 |
| 3 | Blockworks | 5/156 | 3.2% | 1.4–7.3% | 2 |
| 4 | The Block | 5/156 | 3.2% | 1.4–7.3% | 5 |
| 5 | Bankless | 1/156 | 0.6% | 0.1–3.5% | 0 |
| 6 | Decrypt | 0/156 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.4% | 0 |
| 7 | Empire | 0/156 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.4% | 0 |
| 8 | Lex Fridman Podcast | 0/156 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.4% | 0 |
| 9 | On The Brink | 0/156 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.4% | 0 |
| 10 | The Bell Curve | 0/156 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.4% | 0 |
| 11 | The Chopping Block | 0/156 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.4% | 0 |
| 12 | The Daily Gwei | 0/156 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.4% | 0 |
| 13 | The Defiant | 0/156 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.4% | 0 |
| 14 | The Pomp Podcast | 0/156 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.4% | 0 |
| 15 | The Wolf Of All Streets | 0/156 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.4% | 0 |
| 16 | Unchained | 0/156 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.4% | 0 |
| 17 | UpOnly | 0/156 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.4% | 0 |
| 18 | What Bitcoin Did | 0/156 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.4% | 0 |
The top eight, side by side
| # | Name | Appearance rate | Answers and interval | Other measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CoinDesk | 33.0% | 95/288 answers · 95% CI 27.8–38.6% | first-mention position: 2.4; owned-domain citation (20/288): 6.9%; citation share: 0.9% |
| 2 | Bankless | 25.0% | 72/288 answers · 95% CI 20.4–30.3% | first-mention position: 2.5; owned-domain citation (12/288): 4.2%; citation share: 0.5% |
| 3 | Unchained | 22.6% | 65/288 answers · 95% CI 18.1–27.7% | first-mention position: 2.7; owned-domain citation (4/288): 1.4%; citation share: 0.2% |
| 4 | Blockworks | 19.1% | 55/288 answers · 95% CI 15–24% | first-mention position: 3.3; owned-domain citation (8/288): 2.8%; citation share: 0.3% |
| 5 | The Block | 16.7% | 48/288 answers · 95% CI 12.8–21.4% | first-mention position: 2.4; owned-domain citation (28/288): 9.7%; citation share: 1.2% |
| 6 | The Pomp Podcast | 14.6% | 42/288 answers · 95% CI 11–19.1% | first-mention position: 3.5; owned-domain citation (0/288): 0%; citation share: 0% |
| 7 | Messari | 14.2% | 41/288 answers · 95% CI 10.7–18.7% | first-mention position: 1.8; owned-domain citation (7/288): 2.4%; citation share: 0.3% |
| 8 | The Defiant | 13.5% | 39/288 answers · 95% CI 10.1–18% | first-mention position: 4.4; owned-domain citation (8/288): 2.8%; citation share: 0.3% |
The four engines named the leading names at similar rates.
ChatGPT
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Same questions, different answers
CoinDesk
40.3%
Bankless
29.2%
Unchained
26.4%
The Block
23.6%
The Pomp Podcast
20.8%
Messari
19.4%
Claude
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
CoinDesk
33.3%
Bankless
29.2%
Unchained
29.2%
Blockworks
22.2%
The Block
19.4%
Empire
18.1%
Gemini
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Blockworks
33.3%
Unchained
30.6%
CoinDesk
29.2%
Bankless
29.2%
What Bitcoin Did
16.7%
The Block
15.3%
Perplexity
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
CoinDesk
29.2%
Bankless
12.5%
Messari
12.5%
The Defiant
11.1%
What Bitcoin Did
11.1%
Blockworks
9.7%
Google AI Overviews were captured through 72 U.S. desktop searches and scored only where an overview appeared, so five-engine figures use 288 + 72 = 360 answers.
The fifth engine
100%
Trigger rate: 72 of 72 searches
Google AI Overviews appeared on 72 of 72 searches (100%, CI 94.9–100%). The other 0 searches showed no overview. Within the 72 overviews, Bankless was named in 17 (23.6%), CoinDesk was named in 15 (20.8%), Unchained was named in 13 (18.1%), The Block was named in 7 (9.7%). youtube.com was the most-cited source, with 29 citations and an appearance in 23 of 72 overviews.
| Five-engine rank | Name | Five-engine rate | Four-engine rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CoinDesk | 30.6% | 1 |
| 2 | Bankless | 24.7% | 2 |
| 3 | Unchained | 21.7% | 3 |
| 4 | Blockworks | 16.1% | 4 |
| 5 | The Block | 15.3% | 5 |
| 6 | The Pomp Podcast | 13.1% | 6 |
| 7 | What Bitcoin Did | 11.9% | 9 |
| 8 | The Defiant | 11.7% | 8 |
| 9 | Messari | 11.4% | 7 |
| 10 | Empire | 9.2% | 10 |
Who each question surfaces first
Six questions from the set. Each tile uses that question's own four-engine answers as the denominator.
| Question | Leader | Next | AI Overview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q01 · 12 answers | Bankless 100.0% | What Bitcoin Did 100.0%; Unchained 100.0% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q02 · 12 answers | Bankless 100.0% | The Defiant 100.0%; Unchained 75.0% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q03 · 12 answers | CoinDesk 100.0% | Decrypt 100.0%; The Block 100.0% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q05 · 12 answers | The Block 8.3% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches | |
| Q06 · 12 answers | CoinDesk 8.3% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches | |
| Q08 · 12 answers | Messari 16.7% | The Block 8.3% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
The four engines produced 2,345 citations in total. podcasts.apple.com was cited most often, with 95 citations (4.1%) across 34 answers. Next came coinledger.io (64), millionpodcasts.com (59), coinbureau.com (54), eco.com (50), podcast.feedspot.com (42).
Four AI engines · share of 288 grounded answers
Most-cited domains
coinledger.io
22.2%
coinbureau.com
18.4%
eco.com
15.3%
koinly.io
13.9%
coingecko.com
12.5%
podcasts.apple.com
11.8%
tokenmetrics.com
11.5%
millionpodcasts.com
10.1%
theblock.co
9.7%
podcast.feedspot.com
9.4%
Google AI Overviews · share of 72 overviews
youtube.com
31.9%
reddit.com
9.7%
forbes.com
8.3%
investopedia.com
8.3%
podcasts.apple.com
8.3%
binance.com
6.9%
linkedin.com
5.6%
podcast.feedspot.com
5.6%
alchemy.com
4.2%
coindesk.com
4.2%
Citation share by source type
Share of all citations by the type of site cited.
| Source type | Four AI engines (of 2,345 citations) | Google AI Overviews (of 158 citations) |
|---|---|---|
| Other / unclassified | 1,379 (58.8%) | 43 (27.2%) |
| Company / brand sites | 277 (11.8%) | 26 (16.5%) |
| Directories / rankings | 156 (6.7%) | 5 (3.2%) |
| Trade / specialist press | 123 (5.2%) | 2 (1.3%) |
| Research / data providers | 111 (4.7%) | 6 (3.8%) |
| Community / social | 90 (3.8%) | 49 (31%) |
| Review / comparison publishers | 73 (3.1%) | 6 (3.8%) |
| General news / business press | 64 (2.7%) | 12 (7.6%) |
| Reference | 42 (1.8%) | 7 (4.4%) |
| Official / government | 19 (0.8%) | 1 (0.6%) |
| Institutions / trade bodies | 11 (0.5%) | 1 (0.6%) |
How can podcasts and outlets improve their AI visibility?
These steps follow from the measured results above. They describe what the engines cited in this study and are not a guarantee of results.
| Step | What this study measured |
|---|---|
| Put your facts on your own domain. | The Block's own domains were cited in 9.7% of grounded answers, CoinDesk's in 6.9% and Bankless' in 4.2%. |
| Keep your facts accurate on the sites engines cite. | The most-cited sites other than the tracked names' own were coinledger.io (in 22.2% of grounded answers), coinbureau.com (18.4%), eco.com (15.3%), koinly.io (13.9%) and coingecko.com (12.5%). Directories and rankings supplied 6.7% of citations and trade and specialist press 5.2%. |
| Check each engine separately. | Gemini named Unchained in 30.6% of answers against 4.2% on Perplexity. Gemini named Blockworks in 33.3% of answers against 9.7% on Perplexity. |
| Watch names outside the tracked list. | The Bad Crypto Podcast (19 answers), Glassnode (18 answers), Coin Bureau Podcast (17 answers) and Cointelegraph (16 answers) were named often but were not tracked. |
| Re-run the same questions every month. | Compare counts and intervals, not ranks. The 24 questions are in the appendix. |
What AI answers
Which crypto podcasts and outlets appear in these AI answers?
CoinDesk: 95/288 returned four-engine answers (33.0%; 95% interval 27.8–38.6%). The two leading intervals overlap; no sole leader is established.
Which tracked name is named first most often?
CoinDesk was the first source named in 55 of 288 answers, with an average first position of 2.4.
How often do Google AI Overviews appear for these questions?
An overview appeared on 72 of 72 searches (100%, CI 94.9–100%). Within those 72 overviews, Bankless was named most often, in 17 (23.6%).
Which sources do the engines cite?
Across 2,345 four-engine citations, podcasts.apple.com was cited most (95 citations, in 34 of 288 grounded answers), followed by coinledger.io (64 citations).
Do the four engines agree?
Largely. No tracked name differed by more than 12 points between engines.
How this study was measured
24 questions × 3 runs each × 4 AI engines = 288 answers + 72 Google searches · 72 AI Overviews
24 questions asked three times on each of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, measured November 6 to 7, 2026. United States, English; Google retrieval uses desktop results. Models: gpt-5-mini, claude-sonnet-5-5, gemini-3.6-flash only, sonar-pro. Google AI Overviews come from DataForSEO, not inferred chat answers. Appearance counts returned text, including ungrounded answers; citation rates use grounded answers. Longer overlapping names suppress shorter ones; First mention is the earliest eligible name order. Own-domain rates include declared domains and subdomains; shared parent scopes may count for multiple names and cannot be summed as unique citations.
| Engine | Model IDs called | Asked | Returned | Grounded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | gpt-5-mini | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Claude | claude-sonnet-5-5 | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Gemini | gemini-3.6-flash | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Perplexity | sonar-pro | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Google AI Overviews | DataForSEO Google SERP (live, advanced) | 72 | 72 shown | 72 |
Own-domain citations count a domain plus all its subdomains, with the same rule in every table.
Definitions
- Appearance rate: answers naming the tracked name ÷ answers returned, with Wilson 95% intervals.
- First mention: average order in which the tracked name first appears (1 = first).
- Own-domain citation: grounded answers citing the tracked name's domains ÷ grounded answers.
- Citation share: citations to the tracked name's domains ÷ all citations.
Limits
- Only 18 tracked sources are ranked; results are not an exhaustive market ranking.
- Only the tracked sources were scored. The untracked sources named most often were The Bad Crypto Podcast (19 answers), Glassnode (18 answers), Coin Bureau Podcast (17 answers) and Cointelegraph (16 answers); coins, protocols and companies were not counted.
- All 360 planned results were returned; no AI Overview lookup was excluded.
- 72 successful Google searches: 72 overviews shown; 0 without an overview. Failures are excluded, not scored as zero.
- All returned chat answers had search sources.
- No Core question names a tracked name.
- Source types use Company / brand sites only for verified official sites; other unresolved sites are Other / unclassified.
- Wilson 95% intervals are descriptive; overlapping leading intervals do not establish a sole leader. Measurements do not endorse medical, legal, financial or product claims.
- Empire and The Bell Curve are Blockworks shows; The Chopping Block is an Unchained show. Shared domains are path-scoped so a show is credited only for its own pages; Blockworks and Unchained keep their other pages. Market questions (protocols, exchanges, funds) test whether podcast sites appear among cited sources. The index counts how often names appear and makes no legal or financial claim.
- Google Shopping and unresolved google.com/goto links are excluded from cited sources; original URLs remain in the evidence.
- Appearance rates use all returned four-engine answers; own-site citation rates use grounded answers, so the two are separate measures.
- Status: Blockworks acquired Messari in June 2026; messari.io now forwards to Blockworks. Counted under its own name.
- Answers were collected through each engine's API using the model IDs listed in the methodology. The consumer ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity apps can answer differently.
Appendix: The 24 questions
Questions marked "Core question" are the original study questions, asked word for word. The others are added neutral questions.
| # | Question | Group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | What are the best crypto podcasts? | Podcasts and news | Core question |
| 02 | Which podcasts cover Ethereum and DeFi in depth? | Podcasts and news | Core question |
| 03 | What are the best sources for crypto news? | Podcasts and news | Core question |
| 04 | What are the best DeFi protocols? | Market questions | Core question |
| 05 | Which layer-2 networks are leading on Ethereum? | Market questions | Core question |
| 06 | What are the best crypto exchanges in the US? | Market questions | Core question |
| 07 | Which crypto venture funds are most active? | Market questions | Core question |
| 08 | What is the best layer-1 blockchain for developers? | Market questions | Core question |
| 09 | Which podcasts interview crypto founders? | Podcasts and news | Added question |
| 10 | Which podcasts cover Bitcoin news and analysis? | Podcasts and news | Added question |
| 11 | What are the best daily crypto news podcasts? | Podcasts and news | Added question |
| 12 | Which crypto newsletters are most widely read? | Podcasts and news | Added question |
| 13 | Which publications cover crypto regulation in the US? | Podcasts and news | Added question |
| 14 | Which podcasts cover crypto trading and markets? | Podcasts and news | Added question |
| 15 | Where can I find research reports on crypto protocols? | Podcasts and news | Added question |
| 16 | Which podcasts explain crypto for beginners? | Podcasts and news | Added question |
| 17 | What are the leading stablecoins? | Market questions | Added question |
| 18 | Which crypto wallets are most popular? | Market questions | Added question |
| 19 | What are the largest crypto companies in the US? | Market questions | Added question |
| 20 | Which blockchains have the most developer activity? | Market questions | Added question |
| 21 | What are the biggest DeFi lending platforms? | Market questions | Added question |
| 22 | Which crypto ETFs are available in the US? | Market questions | Added question |
| 23 | What are the most important crypto events and conferences? | Market questions | Added question |
| 24 | Which crypto analytics platforms do investors use? | Market questions | Added question |
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