Nakamoto Project Launches $2.17 Million Bitcoin Ad Campaign in The Wall Street Journal

The Nakamoto Project has been running ads in The Wall Street Journal for the past three weeks, with plans for a total of 12 weeks. The campaign includes six full-page color ads, 24 quarter-page color ads, and six opinion pieces titled "Bitcoin Leaders." According to the Wall Street Journal's 2026 advertising rate card, the organization's ad spend is approximately $2.17 million, with full-page ads costing around $181,000 and quarter-page ads about $45,200; the cost for sponsored content is not disclosed. Founded in 2023, the Nakamoto Project is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the United States, with a board of only three members and approximately 2,000 followers on X, having posted fewer than ten times since its inception. Public tax filings reveal that the organization received only one donation in its first year of operation in 2023, totaling $275,000, while cumulative expenditures from 2023 to 2024 exceeded $204,000, with over 88% allocated to executive salaries and "contract labor," and only 6% for advertising. The organization's chairman, Colin Brown, has worked in advertising for brands like Nike and 20th Century Fox, while co-founder Troy Cross is a researcher at the Bitcoin Policy Institute. Both claim that funding comes from "generous donations from the Bitcoin community," but they have not responded to inquiries about further financial and operational details.