As the cryptocurrency market approaches (again) the 500 billion total market cap , the media attention is right behind it ranging from the most bearish predictions to the most extreme bulls calling for $100,000+ Bitcoin by the end of the year. On Twitter, we are blessed with the presence of so many “OGs”, legends, and proven newcomers to use as sentiment and get a feel for the state of the market. There are also people actively calling out the likes Roger Ver and Craight Wright and their questionable tactics/actions. Some of the “newer” personalities too, keep the “OGs” in check and call out questionable stuff (@edwardmorra_btc). This is why I like Twitter, but more importantly for the fact that it is the preferred platform of nearly all of the people and personalities in the “crypto space”.
Some have started to claim that CT ( CryptoTwitter) is dead now, in reality it is the influx of newer accounts and the overwhelming amount of fake scam accounts that pop under nearly every major influencer, exchange, and cryptocurrency’s feed. The reality is that the “crypto space” is and has been attracting the best scam artists in the world. From simple social engineering, phishing, & DNS hijacking, to million-dollar exit scams; the problem I see is that the general awareness for these types of things is much lower in what I am calling CryptoInstagram. This has not only led to the obvious scams but also to a very different “feel” and consensus on CryptoInstagram. First of all, it is a very meme-reposting dominated space. I’ve seen this from “Altcoin Buzz” branding themselves as a finance company and analysts talking candles, to their recent changes and those killer memes. Another problem is the masses blindly following accounts and praising them as oracles and gods in this space. Even the proudest respected personality on Twitter (most) will preach that they know enough to know how little they know. Sure, people on Twitter repost the “calls” they got right and stuff like that but it’s never to the point where nearly any bit of praise is reposted in a ritual of self-praise. The obvious example here is Cryptonary.
When I started the Cryptocurr3ncy Instagram page back in late December, I quickly identified them as one of the biggest and more influential accounts on Instagram. However, I also quickly identified, in my opinion the numerous questionable parts. Not to isolate them as others do the “look impressive lifestyle” flashing their Blockfolio, personal gains, and the gains of their followers and members. More importantly I feel like their content and brand is misguiding. One of their first videos on YouTube ended with a slogan at the time “We analyze, we value, you trade”, this was right after the generic “If you invested this XXX in 2010, you’d have XXXXXXXX today”. Among mentions of the 300% day gains in the market. In a later introductory video released via YouTube on Dec 17 2017, they claim their membership and videos gives you everything you need to succeed in cryptocurrency investing. They even go as far as to mention “BECOME UNHACKABLE” (see below). The 57 second video was clearly targeted for the Instagram audience. To the recent videos released with titles such as “Cryptocurrencies, what’s next?” and “HOW I MADE 100K FROM XRP IN A WEEK!”.
Then there’s Ripple… while as an investment it did have a great last year, Cryptonary seems more on side of an “XRP fanboy” than an emotionally unattached investor.
Really? “DECENTRALISED” in CAPS? LOL. Let’s get this straight, Ripple is mostly centralized, just because it has aspects of decentralization (trusted network of validators) does not mean it is decentralized. It is ultimately still controlled by Ripple, aka a single central authority…
Then there’s them trying to do damage control during the January correction. What I found funny is that in that particular post, the only word in all caps was “PROFIT” but also mentioned the intent to explain why the market was falling… Shouldn’t they have known the market was going to fall, and why do the members need to learn how to profit from this, when the course said “PROFITING 24/7”. Then, they had the nerve the next day to claim that the bull run would continue.
TradingView charts showing timing of Cryptonary's Jan 17 bull run "call"
Then the next day (Jan 18)
We analyze, we value, you trade. Then this on Feb 1, “I’ve experienced these situations endless times to similar extents and yet here I am, still extremely profitable and always one step ahead of the market.”
So a quick recap: Members are attracted with the possibility of lucrative gains and the portrayed knowledge they will learn to become a step ahead like Cryptonary. Right from the start they are shilled $XRP to be the salvation and told it is decentralized after praising decentralization and it’s future potential use. A couple more luring posts, Blockfolio snapshots, and self-praise. Then the market starts correcting so do some damage control, distract the followers with a face reveal, and remind everyone that you were a step ahead anyways.
Some more self-praise and the cryptocurrency market starts picking up again as we approach that 500 billion market cap and repeat the cycle for Cryptonary.
I’m not saying that Cryptonary has not made it’s members profit nor that they are a scam. What I am saying and promoting is thinking for yourself and making your own calls. If you like following calls blindly or the idea of a members group with support analyzing charts and etc, just know this: TA DOESN’T WORK. Okay, that’s a bit extreme but the point is that it’s not nearly as important as it’s made to be. The most important thing is that no one is an expert, especially in the markets of the cryptocurrencies let alone an oracle or a god. The closest thing to them are on Twitter openly posting their perfectly called targets, market bottom calls, etc but even they are wrong at times.
In conclusion, the cryptocurrency community on Instagram is growing and will continue to as the preferred platform of the millennials and the upcoming generation Z. The lack of “Crypto OGs” and others' presence on Instagram make it a platform that is more susceptible to the misguiding of new followers. Whether you're just an enthusiast or a motivated investor, the account/personalities you should admire and follow are @notsofast , @CryptoCobain, @RNR_0, @AngeloBTC, @CarpeNoctom, @Crypto_Bitlord to name a few, and they are not on Instagram. In the meantime, I hope to bring some awareness to "CryptoInstagram" and will continue to share guidance to the free information, tools, and resources that exist.