How TCB Verifies What It Publishes
Crypto moves fast. Misinformation moves faster. Before any claim appears on The Central Bulletin, it passes through a structured verification process. Here is exactly what that looks like.
Pre-Publication Checklist
Required for Every Article
- Primary source identified. Every factual claim traces to an original document, official announcement, verified on-chain transaction, or credentialed named source.
- Price and market data timestamped. Every price figure includes the date and time it was measured and the source. We never report market data without this context.
- Protocol names and metrics verified. Token names, contract addresses, TVL figures, and protocol mechanics are checked against official documentation or recognised data aggregators (DefiLlama, DeFi Pulse, CoinGecko).
- Regulatory claims sourced to official text. Statements about laws, rulings, or regulatory guidance cite the specific document, agency, and publication date.
- Claims from social media independently verified. A tweet or post is never the sole source for a factual claim. We verify all social media claims through primary documentation or on-the-record sources.
- Statistics from recognisable institutions. We cite data from known organisations (IMF, BIS, Electric Capital, Chainalysis, Glassnode) rather than anonymous reports or unverifiable infographics.
Trusted Primary Sources
Where We Go First
On-Chain Data
Etherscan, Solscan, BscScan, Dune Analytics, Nansen, Glassnode — verified blockchain explorers and analytics platforms for transaction-level facts.
DeFi & Market Data
DefiLlama (TVL), CoinGecko (prices), CoinMarketCap (market cap), Farside Investors (ETF flows), mempool.space (Bitcoin mining).
Regulatory & Legal
SEC.gov, CFTC.gov, FCA register, EUR-Lex, Official Journal of the EU, Congress.gov — primary regulatory text only, not summaries.
Protocol Documentation
Official GitHub repositories, whitepapers, governance forums (Snapshot, Tally, Commonwealth), and audit reports from firms (Certik, Trail of Bits, Halborn).
Research & Reports
Electric Capital Developer Report, Chainalysis, a16z State of Crypto, BIS working papers, Messari research — named, institutional sources with disclosed methodology.
Named On-Record Sources
Statements attributed to named individuals with verified credentials and roles. Anonymous sources used only with editorial director approval and documented rationale.
AI & Automated Content Policy
Disclosure
- Every factual claim generated by AI must be independently verified against a primary source before publication. AI output is treated as a first draft, not as a source.
- AI cannot verify on-chain data, regulatory documents, or named source quotes. These are checked manually by a human editor every time.
- Articles where AI substantially contributed to content are labelled with a disclosure note.
- TCB’s proprietary data products (ETF Absorption Index, Miner Stress Score, DeFi Pulse) are computed directly from raw API data by TCB scripts — not generated by any AI model.
When We Cannot Verify
Our Approach
When a claim cannot be independently verified before deadline, we take one of three approaches:
- We wait. If the information is not time-critical and we cannot verify it, we hold the story until verification is possible.
- We label it clearly. If we report an unverified claim because of news value, it is clearly attributed to its source and labelled as unconfirmed (“According to unverified reports…”, “TCB could not independently verify…”).
- We omit it. If a claim cannot be verified and is not central to the story, we leave it out entirely.
Help Us Get It Right
Readers with direct knowledge of events, on-chain data, or regulatory developments are welcome to tip our editorial team. Every credible lead is investigated.
TCB Editorial Trust Center