Meet Starman, a space-suit-clad crash test dummy orbiting earth in a $100,000 Tesla Roadster. Before Elon Musk helped send the price of Bitcoin and Doge into the stratosphere, he sent Starman on the back of the world's most powerful rocket.
Three years later, Musk has become the patron Saint of not only outer space, but the crypto space. He's the influencer's influencer who's effectively fused tongue-in-cheek hype with profound success. What's more, his influence is multi-directional. His Tweets about the Gamestop squeeze (Gamestonk!), Bitcoin and Doge have been encouraging for novice investors to consider participation in get-rich-quick trading opportunities. At the same time, he's made Tesla the first Fortune 500 company with Bitcoin on its balance sheet. Just last week, he announced that Tesla is now accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment. Musk leads the way in both social and, perhaps, institutional influencing for the dominant cryptocurrency (along with MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor).
Aside from Musk's very public and very bullish adoption of Bitcoin, why does he resonate with the crypto space so strong? Let's launch into the metaphor of outer space in the crypto-sphere.
Rocket emojis, voyages through the stratosphere, trips to the moon - these are they key symbols at the center of retail investors' astronomical ambitions. It readily makes sense that the owner of a rocket company that sends tangible assets into space is the cultural icon of cryptopia. Musk has a wit, charisma, and profound success that starry-eyed investors can vicariously identify with. And while one-word Twitter bios might not exactly “count” as financial advice, it sure can be read that way when taken as an endorsement from the richest man in the world.
Starman is a symbol that aptly summarizes this assemblage of influence, aspiration, and a rather passive launch into world-transcending success. He’s an anonymous crash-test - dummy wearing a space suit. He was launched into orbit in a luxury convertible by a profoundly successful technologist and businessman. There's a sense in which neophyte investors aspire to be Starman.
Investing in crypto can very well be an active, even hyperactive undertaking. Folks can passively gamble on coins or actively analyze trends. They can passively hodl or actively ride the peaks and troughs, day in and day out. Starman represents the tension between active and passive approaches to growing one’s wealth. He both represents the investor who wants to sit back and ride into astronomical gains behind the wheel of a luxury coupe. (although, in a "Lambo rather than a Roadster, as per crypto parlance), and the outcome of a go-getter with business savvy and the chops to designs disruptive technology. He's also the epitome of the absurdist humor that the crypto-space thrives on for meme hype and community cohesion.
A recently launched coin project, PiPi, is the logical conclusion of all this aspiration and imagery. The about section on the project’s website explains:
"PiPi the tree frog is on a mission to combat deforestation and to discover new habitable planets. His home was recently destroyed, which left him and his family stranded. Luckily, he was friends with Elon who immediately placed him into the Frog X program and blasted him into space. Help Pipi reach the moon and beyond."
The project blends Elon's crypto notoriety and the space metaphor with the frog meme - a less politically charged substitute for the infamous Pepe. The project mixes the passive, absurdly comical notion of blasting off into wealth with the hyperactive participation of disparate strangers coordinating action to make the project trend. Regardless of what you think about the mission of the project, the branding for it is a powerful example for how well ties the constellation of Elon, outer space, and influence together.
Starman is the mascot of crypto space. Happily so. He should prompt us to reflect on our relationship with crypto – do you want to be the dummy getting sent on a risky mission to outer space or do you want to be the savvy, successful business person that makes it possible to uplift others.
Crypto has profound potential to open opportunities for people to become self-starters, gain financial skills, and cooperate in a global community to help shape the future of the internet and finance. Do you want to be a dummy or a doer?
Want more? Read volume one of this series here.
Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor and none of this content should be used as financial advice. I will not and cannot be held liable for any actions you take as a result of anything you read here. I’m an amateur investor that writes about culture.
