Hidden Agendas: Who Can You Trust in the Crypto World?
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In the crypto industry, there’s a constant influx of opinions. From bankers, who try to scare you, to politicians who believe they can ‘enlighten’ you. Not for me, thank you very much.
However, for someone who’s just getting into crypto for the first time, this is incredibly daunting. What do you do when everyone is trying to sell you on a different version of the truth?
Well, ‘doing your own research’ just doesn’t really cut it when you have no frame of reference to research from. If you don’t know why people are saying what they are, how can you distinguish fact from fiction? It’s impossible. And take my advice, googling cryptocurrency is a terrible place to start. You’ll just see the same regurgitated fear tactics on a loop.
So, how do you get involved with crypto, and stay above all the manipulation? Well, this article is a good place to start. I’m breaking down the major power players who will try to influence you on your crypto journey. Hint: pretty much all of them have no idea what they’re talking about.
Let’s break down their hidden agendas and look into why it doesn’t pay off to get on the traditional finance bandwagon. After this, you’re still not going to be a crypto expert, not by a mile, but you’ll be able to tell the false profits from the legitimate industry pros.
Influencers: Who’s Really Paying Their Bills?
The first type of crypto “expert”, and definitely the most common one, is the crypto influencer. Influencers may call themselves investors, analysts, or researchers… but they are really marketers or advertisers. Beware!
These people promote a new token one week, and then abandon it the next. Once they’ve got their pay cheque, that is. They’re not super dangerous. They’re just in the game for their own financial gain. However, just because they’re not trying to suppress the industry, doesn’t mean they’re doing it any favours. Most of them are probably being sponsored by a few companies in the crypto space. So, they’ll say anything that they were paid to. Advertise conflicting products. Sure, why not?
Are some of them genuinely interested in the crypto market? Sure, that’s plausible. However, I think most influencers wouldn’t be above selling a product they don’t believe in. At the end of the day, they’re just trying to earn a living.
Sure, sometimes the project marketed by a crypto influencer may actually manage to make some money for its holders. But the chance that these tokens will make you a millionaire are as low as the chance that diet pills will give you the physique of The Rock. Come on, people!
Celebrities: Are we Done With the Elon Musk Effect Yet?
This is an offshoot of influencers who promote certain coins, not because they’re getting paid to, but because they enjoy toying with the market. Unlike the average person, they’ve got a ton of money to burn. So, if the coin they’re promoting goes down, what do they really care?
They’re definitely not thinking about all the people who they mislead. Nor are they staying awake at night worrying about everyone who lost their life savings because of them.
People like Elon Musk, Mark Cuban, and Kevin O’Leary just like inserting themselves into a space they have no reason to be in. And their fans will follow them. Just look at the Dogecoin hodlers. Where is their trusted leader now?
In this regard, cryptocurrency is still the wild west. There are no regulations to stop celebrities from manipulating the market. Does it seem a bit sus that Musk was promoting Bitcoin as his company was buying it, and then suddenly threw it to the wolves? Definitely. But there are no watch dogs to stop him. So, please hear this PSA: maybe don’t take the word of an eccentric billionaire as fact?
These people might have cult-like followers, but they’re no deities. You can follow them right off a cliff if you want to, but there won’t be a crash pad for you.
Veteran Investors and Bankers: Their Advice is Worthless Here
You might have heard the term “veteran investor” or even “legendary investor” used to refer to someone. Usually, these are people who have been around for decades. They have made a name for themselves by making many successful predictions over the years. However, it’s easy to get it right a few times, when you’ve got a lifetime’s worth of data to look at.
However, there’s one big problem when it comes to listening to the opinions of renowned investment gurus. While they might know a thing or two about the stock market, they haven’t even graduated past kindergarten in their crypto education.
Simply put, all these “veteran investors” made themselves rich and famous investing in stocks or trading on forex. For this reason, they can provide you with a completely inaccurate or biased opinion. Most of their advice is like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Cryptocurrency is just so different from traditional finance that their opinion really doesn’t matter here. Definitely take their advice with a grain (or a bucket) of salt.
And don’t even get me started on executives in the banking world. They are working with a system that’s going the way of the dinosaur, and they know it. Makes sense doesn’t it? If the system your whole world is based on is going down, wouldn’t you also try to intervene and preserve it?
While bankers are surely annoying, I think that natural selection will get their industry in the end. One day, there will be museums where you can go learn about our ancient financial systems. Sounds like a snooze fest to me, but who am I to knock the education of our future generations.
Politicians: The Worst Type of Crypto “Experts”
Ah, politicians. I wish I didn’t even have to speak about them because isn’t it already public knowledge that they’ll say anything to get your love and attention? I’m not calling them the scum of the earth or anything. But we all know, it’s a very particular type of person who wants to get into politics. This is one arena where charisma will get you far, and intelligence is not a requirement for entry.
From time to time, politicians and government figures feel like they must share their “priceless” advice about the crypto industry. Usually, it’s completely misinformed nonsense, which will make you burst with laughter if you actually know anything about the fundamental basics of crypto. For that reason, they are more or less harmless to people who know anything about DeFi and cryptocurrency. However, this industry is still so young, and their words can impact vulnerable newcomers.
Politicians usually try to portray coins and altcoins as comic book villains. Since all they have to say about crypto is either intentional or accidental misinformation, you might as well save yourself some time and disregard their opinions altogether. When government leaders are completely against crypto, you really have to ask yourself why this is the case. It’s because crypto does nothing to get them more power. In fact, it takes power away from their fragile positions of ‘authority’. End of story.
Actual Crypto Experts: Yes, They Exist
Let’s be honest – most of the opinions you will find while browsing the web will not provide you with much valuable information. It’s just a sea of self-professed experts who are in it for their own gain.
But actual crypto experts exist, and you can find them if you know where to look. To find the best experts, you just need to look for people who’ve been in the crypto industry for a long time. Well, long is relative in this case.
Some original members of the crypto community have been here long enough to remember when 1 BTC was worth less than $1. Others read the Bitcoin whitepaper right after it was published. A few people founded companies with the vision to empower the masses with decentralized finance.
While these experts are rare, their knowledge and experience are invaluable. They’ve seen thousands of different tokens appear and disappear every year, so they are rarely impressed by hype and passing crypto fads. If they’re giving you advice, it’s because they genuinely believe in the power of DeFi and what it could do to liberate the people. A key indicator of one of these people: their opinions will be full of logic instead of pumped up emotional narratives.
While they rarely advertise new tokens or give financial advice, they can massively enhance your understanding of blockchain technology and the crypto ecosystem. When you truly understand blockchain and the dynamics at play in the financial world, you can become the best crypto expert there is. Just don’t expect to get there overnight.
In my next post titled “Where is Crypto Taking Off? It Might Not Be Where You Think” we will dive into what is next for the crypto ecosystem, where are we heading into the future with so many things changing, and our world finally opening back up to normalcy.
