Leviathan News is a digital media platform specializing in cryptocurrency and decentralized finance (DeFi) news. ^[1]

Overview

Leviathan News operates as a dedicated news source for the cryptocurrency and DeFi sectors, with a particular focus on delivering timely updates, analysis, and interviews with industry figures. Managed by Samuel McCulloch, the platform maintains a multi-channel approach to content distribution, with its primary website serving as a hub for news articles, while also maintaining an active presence on social media platforms. This strategy allows Leviathan to reach audiences across different platforms with varying content formats. ^[2]

Content Strategy

Livestream Programming

A cornerstone of Leviathan News' content strategy is its regular livestream series, which features interviews and discussions with prominent figures in the cryptocurrency and DeFi space. These livestreams, often branded as "Llama Party" or "Leviathan Livestream," cover a wide range of topics relevant to the crypto community.

Notable livestream episodes have included:

• Interviews with executives from projects like Frax, Superstate, and Liquity
• Discussions with industry analysts and commentators such as CrediBULL Crypto
• Conversations with legal experts on regulatory matters affecting the crypto space
• Coverage of major industry events like ETHDenver

The frequency of these livestreams is weekly or bi-weekly, suggesting a consistent content schedule that audiences can anticipate.

News Reporting

Beyond livestreams, Leviathan News publishes breaking news and analysis on developments in the cryptocurrency and DeFi sectors. Their reporting covers:

• Market movements and significant transactions
• Protocol updates and governance decisions
• New partnerships and integrations between projects
• Regulatory developments affecting the industry ^[2]

Token and Community Engagement

In February 2025, Leviathan News launched its own token called $SQUID. The token is a part of a broader strategy to engage with the community and create new opportunities for audience participation. ^[3]

The platform has implemented several token-related initiatives, including auctions for guest spots on livestreams and a "SQUID PASS" for exclusive access. A key component of its tokenomics is the monthly "SQUID Drop," an airdrop that distributes rewards to community members who contribute to the platform. For example, the August 2025 drop allocated 1,000,000 SQUID to contributors across various categories, including news reporting, software development, social engagement, and DAO participation. The allocation of these rewards is determined through a decentralized governance process where SQUID holders vote on Snapshot proposals to assign weights to each category. ^[4]

This tokenization approach aligns with broader trends in Web3 media, where tokens serve as both community engagement tools and potential revenue streams.

Million Squid Society

To further facilitate networking and governance discussions among its most significant stakeholders, Leviathan News launched the "Million Squid Society." This is a token-gated Telegram group exclusively for holders of over one million SQUID tokens or the equivalent value in LP tokens. Members can gain access by interacting with a dedicated Telegram bot and using the /squid command to verify their holdings. ^[8]

Governance and Operations

Leviathan News functions as a media decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), where the community of $SQUID token holders governs its operational budget and strategic decisions. The official launch of the SQUID DAO via its governance portal on Snapshot was accelerated in response to lending market events in mid-2025. This structure allows for a transparent and community-driven approach to managing the platform's finances. The DAO is designed to be highly decentralized, with no single address holding more than 25% of the voting power and a minimum of six addresses required to form a majority. ^[8]

The DAO's primary responsibilities include controlling the monthly SQUID emissions, set at a rate of 1,000,000 per month, and managing any spending from its treasury. Voting power is calculated based on a combination of a user's raw SQUID holdings and SQUID provided as liquidity (LP) in protocols like Curve and Convex. To simplify calculations, voting power is denominated by the LP token price rather than the SQUID token price. ^[8]

Proposals and Voting Process

To encourage broad community participation, the DAO maintains a low threshold for creating new governance proposals. Votes are conducted on the Snapshot platform, open for a three-day period, and begin immediately upon submission. To safeguard against potential governance attacks, the results of successful votes are executed by a 2-of-4 multisignature wallet. ^[8]

Each month, budget proposals are submitted to the DAO for a vote. These proposals outline the allocation of SQUID tokens to fund various operational needs, such as contributor rewards, development costs, and content creation expenses. For instance, the July 2025 budget proposal included line items for news contribution, development, livestreams like the "Sam Show" and "Llama Party," and DAO governance participation. A proposal in August 2025, for example, focused on news allocation. ^{[5] [9]} Token holders vote on these proposals via the Snapshot platform, collectively deciding how funds are distributed across the organization. This model empowers the community to directly influence the platform's priorities and resource allocation. ^{[5] [6]}

Community Discussion

While a dedicated governance forum was not available at the DAO's launch due to time and budget constraints, the long-term plan is to host all proposal discussions on the main Leviathan News website. In the interim, the community uses the "Squid Cave" social channel on Telegram as the primary venue for discussing active proposals. Additionally, comment sections on Substack articles, such as the one announcing the SQUID DAO, serve as makeshift forums for specific proposals. ^[8]

Project Cuttle

In July 2025, Leviathan News introduced Project CUTTLE (Community Unified Token Treasury & Leviathan Emissions) to formalize and streamline its monthly SQUID distribution process. The project establishes a standardized governance framework for managing budget requests and token emissions, reinforcing the platform's commitment to decentralization and transparency. ^[7]

The core of Project CUTTLE is a unified monthly vote where SQUID holders use a weighted voting system on Snapshot to allocate funds among various budget categories. The process is designed to be efficient and open, allowing any community member to submit a budget request that, if compliant with the guidelines, is included in the vote. This system ensures that token emissions are directed toward activities that the community values most, aligning the incentives of contributors with the overall health of the SQUID ecosystem. ^{[7] [4]}

Partnerships and Collaborations

Leviathan News regularly collaborates with projects and individuals in the cryptocurrency space. These collaborations typically take the form of:

• Featured interviews on their livestream programs
• Co-hosted events and discussions
• Coverage of partner announcements and developments

Notable collaborations have included streams with representatives from:

• Curve Finance
• Frax Finance
• Coinage Media
• DeFi Dojo
• Napier Finance
• Semantic Layer.

Frax Finance Partnership

In January 2025, Leviathan News established a strategic partnership with Frax Finance following a successful governance proposal that received overwhelming community support. This partnership aims to enhance media coverage, educational content, and ecosystem analysis for the Frax community, increasing Frax's visibility within the cryptocurrency and DeFi sectors.

The partnership includes several key deliverables:

• Weekly Blog Series: "This Week in Frax" provides comprehensive updates on Frax's ecosystem developments
• Monthly Podcast: "Frax & Friends," hosted by Samuel McCulloch, features guests from the Frax ecosystem discussing innovations
• Quarterly Reports: Detailed analyses of Frax's ecosystem performance, positioning Frax as a leader in DeFi transparency
• Quarterly Podcast Analysis: Deep-dive episodes summarizing Frax's quarterly achievements
• "Frax 101" Knowledge Base: A dynamic resource on Notion including product guides and FAQs
• Exclusive PR and Media Distribution: Leviathan News serves as the exclusive publication for Frax ecosystem partners' announcements

In exchange for these services, Leviathan News receives 12,000 FXS tokens, streamed over one year to support operational costs and content creation. The partnership provides Frax with expert media coverage, enhanced community engagement, transparency, educational support, and a dedicated PR platform.