Hello, and welcome to the cesspool that is Crypto Twitter, which we affectionately call “CT” for short - not to be confused with TC, which means “twitter crush.” If you’re here, that can mean one thing: you’ve recently invested in or become interested in investing in bitcoin and/or other cryptocurrencies, and someone told you that twitter is a great place to learn about it. Am I right?
WRONG!
Okay, so not wrong entirely, but incomplete. Twitter can be a great source of information about crypto, but this place is also filled with a bunch of people who use technical jargon to seem like they know what they’re talking about when actually they’re just parroting something they heard someone else say. Never take anything you read for face value. Yes, that includes anything you read from me. Everyone has an agenda. Everyone has bags they want to sell to you. Some of those bags could make you rich beyond your wildest dreams, and others well, if you buy them, you’ll either end up selling them at a loss, or you’ll be here trying to offload them on a bunch of suckers in the next cycle
Helping you navigate these murky waters is one of my goals with this article
So who am I to be writing this guide?
People ask me questions about crypto twitter all the time. Everything from what does such-and-such expression or abbreviation mean to why does everyone keep posting “new to ct, who are the must follows?”
They ask me because I’m kind, patient, and I’m really good at explaining things in a way people with little to no technical or background knowledge can understand. I’m a cryptocurrency journalist who talks about things that a lot of other crypto journalists don’t. I’m here to make money as much as anyone else, but I’m also a sociologist, and my real interest is in studying people’s behaviors in groups. So while I may not have been actively tweeting for long, I’ve been observing this community for years. That means I’m ideally suited to explain how this place works. It also just so happens that I’m the only person who volunteered for this task and was willing to do it for free
Why would I do that?
It’s not really out of the goodness of my heart, though I do have a big one, and I genuinely care about everyone I interact with. But really, I do this with the hopes that those with fat crypto stacks will see my work, think it’s good, and donate, or better yet – employ me (donations accepted here and in many cryptos at cointr.ee/nrdgrl007)
So now that we got that out of the way, there’s some background information that you need to know before you can even begin to make sense of the swamp that is CT
Let’s talk about what happened in 2017
2017 was the height of crypto’s last huge bull run. In that year, the price of bitcoin went from $900 to about $19k (over 2000% return). ETH went from $8 to $1400 (17,400%), and XRP went from $0.006 to $3 (49,900%) - everything else followed. People were euphoric. They quit their jobs (often without securing the money they would need to live on). They thought they were the smartest people who had ever lived, the dollar was done for good, and the crypto utopia they’d been dreaming of was finally upon us. And I know because I was one of those people
I was one of those people who refused to sell her bags despite being up over 10,000% in under a year. It was greed and euphoria, combined with real fear that the dollar would never recover. Little did I know, the US economy was about to rebound, and bear markets can last for longer than I ever could have anticipated, but smart money knew, and they got out. This sent cryptos crashing back down. By the following December, Bitcoin had crashed to $3200, ETH to under $90, and XRP into the $0.35 range
I’ve previously written about the collective trauma that this crash caused (many believe the crash was spurred by the division in bitcoin), but bitcoin’s hard fork was only an accelerator, and bitcoin cash became a scape goat. The real trauma, in my opinion, came from a rapid loss of wealth. Individual crypto groups dealt with their loss by becoming increasingly tribal (as a defense mechanism and as a means for survival), but crypto’s community members without money got mean. We blamed each other for the fall instead of looking at ourselves and realizing that we were all a part of the problem
Many people had convinced friends and family to buy in at the all time highs, meaning that for the last few years, a lot of people have been isolated from those they love. As everyone must realize after this year, isolation leads the human mind into some deep, dark places. Now imagine being isolated behind a computer after losing massive amounts of money, friends, family, and often relationships – talking to people – most of whom they’ve never met in real life – over twitter for years. Are you beginning to see how that can get toxic fast?
So knowing that, just understand that a lot of people haven’t broken even yet, and they’re bitter. Even some of those who have recovered are still scarred from that experience. So just know that if/when someone on CT is impatient or mean to you, it’s not about you. That’s the number one, top piece of advice I can give to anyone who is new to CT: Don't take things personally
Maximalism, Tribalism, and Collectivism
Due to the massive divides that 2018’s bear market widened, people separated into groups or tribes of like-minded individuals. This tribalism is often thought of as a negative, but throughout human history we know that collectivism has been essential for our species’ survival
There’s a line from a show that I love called The Good Place. I often reference this show as low-key about blockchain. A neuroscientist says to her friend (and subject in her study)
"As humans evolved, the first big problem we had to overcome was me versus us - learning to sacrifice a little bit of individual freedom for the good of the group... The next problem to overcome was us versus them - trying to see other groups, different from ours, as equals. That one we're still struggling with. That's why we have racism and nationalism, and why fans of Stone Cold Steve Austin hate fans of The Rock... What's interesting about you is, I don't think you ever got past the 'me versus us' stage... The brainy bunch os basically the first group that became a part of your self-identity, and now that it's breaking up, you're feeling this new kind of loss, and you're scared of going back to being alone."
After spending several years here and talking with many of the early pioneers, I suspect this is what has happened in the cryptosphere. Having been isolated from friends and family and in some cases impoverished, people have formed deep emotional bonds with those who shared their circumstances, and since payment groupings have become transactional communities, crypto enthusiasts have defined themselves (and those with whom they associate) by the coins and/or tokens they transact in
This could explain why tribal crypto groups fear change, are reluctant to accept outsiders, and lack trust for anyone who does things differently than them. For this reason, it’s important to understand that each tribe’s culture is slightly different, and that just because one gets along with some members of a tribe, doesn’t mean they’ll belong to the whole. This is why some groups insist that anything other than their coin or token is a scam, but unless you are trying to embed yourself into a specific tribe, adopting group think will not serve you on crypto twitter. Unfortunately, you’ll win fewer allies as an independent thinker who is not afraid to go against the grain than you would if you just went along with what everyone else wanted you to say
But are you here to make friends? Or are you here to make money?
You might think you can answer “both!” And you’re right, you can, but ultimately, for the reasons described above, you will need to prioritize one over the other. That’s because there are multiple different kinds of accounts that participate in CT. Some accounts share only news and information. Some accounts post charts and encourage people to follow their trades. Others use twitter as a venting mechanism where they blow off steam with friends, and still others – like me – do a little bit of everything. You will have to decide whether the primary function of twitter for you is educational, entertainment, or for becoming active in your larger, worldwide crypto community. Whatever choice you make should be reflected in the accounts you follow
You should also account for what triggers, upsets, and/or distracts you so that you don’t lose focus and waste time thinking about it. I realize that could sound crazy, but you might be surprised by how many people report that conflicts on social media negatively impact their real lives. Don’t let that happen to you
It’s all fun and games tho
While I think it’s valuable to have some insight into the subconscious collective social dynamics underlying CT, it might be more productive to just think of this entire space as one big ongoing joke. As my friend and CT favorite @gratefulRiver reminded me:
“’Shit posting’ = bullying. You need thick skin and not take shit personally to enjoy CT. Many people find that intimidating.”
And she’s absolutely right. A lot of the cartoon avis and anons here will say things with the sole intent of triggering those with whom they’re interacting. If you let them get a rise out of you, it will never stop. That’s harder to remember when you’re in the thick of it than you might want to believe. Don’t trust me, verify! But proceed with caution
So with that, let’s move on to the culture of CT
In reality, CT doesn’t share one culture. This is a niche sub-twitter that has many genres within it. Let’s call the genres “sects”. Examples of sects include: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple/XRP, Link, Cardano, Binance, trader, multicoiner, etc. Within sects, there are cliques, and even within cliques, individual members may have differing practices or views. BUT to simplify things, I’m going to draw some broad generalizations about CT as a whole
Contrarians
Most people who are on CT think of themselves as “free-thinkers.” Be prepared to see a lot of posts about “sheeple” and “red pills.” Be equally as prepared to realize later that many of the people who claim to be “woke” are fast asleep and are echoing buzz words they’ve heard others say
Gender
It’s worthwhile to note that while the female population of CT is growing rapidly, women are still outnumbered in this space by a wide margin. I say this matters not because I think something needs to be done to rectify it, but because knowing about the imbalance enables deeper understanding of why things are the way they are. It’s important to know about the gender disparity because that factor highlights the amount of ego that’s involved, which you might otherwise fail to account for. This should also indicate shared characteristics of the few female contributors here
It should come as no surprise then that a majority of the women who are here, are fine with being in the minority. In fact, many of them prefer it that way because they’re alpha females. If you are a girl or woman who has recently or will soon embark upon a journey into CT, be aware that many will hate you just because you’re female. Also, because women fight dirty, expect that some people will hate you just because a girl they like does. Do not take this personally. Just keep moving along and working toward your goals
Another useful observation pertaining to the gender issue is that due to the massive imbalance, accounts that are perceived to belong to women get a lot more attention than those belonging to men. Thus, if you don’t want to draw attention to yourself, you might want to conceal any and all identifying information, but if you do want to draw attention to yourself, well, I just told you how to do it. Be advised: due to the extensive collective trauma, there is no winning here. No matter what you do, you will be criticized, so just remember your goals and make decisions with them in mind
Personally, I welcome all newcomers regardless of gender, but as a woman myself, I’m thrilled to see more females entering this space because that means we are finally at a stage where this life-changing opportunity to increase wealth is being marketed to us. I'm all for a future with more female-controlled wealth
Sex
A lot people who are new to CT are surprised to learn that we tweet about sex… like a lot! It’s important to know that at its core, crypto twitter is still home to a bunch of degenerates who really got into crypto because we’re too lazy to want to work regular 9-5 jobs, so we look for shortcuts. People who don’t work regular jobs for regular employers are less inhibited about what they say on the internet. Crypto has also long since appealed to sex workers or adult industry professionals because of the discreet payment options. Hence, the frequent sex or sexual innuendo tweets you’ll find here
Of course, it isn’t universally true that everyone on CT posts about sex. CT is also home to many autists and asexual people who have little to no interest in carnal exploration. Further, a growing number of incels who lose their minds when a woman posts anything remotely suggestive do congregate here as well. Do people also get mad when men post sexual innuendos or shirtless bathroom selfies? Hahaha, I’ll leave that one for you to figure out, and refer you back to the section on gender
OMG, Is this article ever going to end?
Yes, it is. I’m wrapping things up now in fact. I could continue going on about the culture of CT and frequently asked questions like:
“why do I get called a simp when NrdGrl wins my $10 giveaway, but I’m not called a simp when CryptoVince wins my $50 giveaway?”
and
“why do so many people ask us to shill them our favorite altcoins?”
but I think that’s enough for today so let me just wrap up by saying that CT can be whatever you want it to be. You can have a wide range of experiences. You can learn a lot, or you can learn absolutely nothing. It's up to you. So join a tribe or 10, or sit and watch on the sidelines like a fly in the wall, and know that if you ever have any questions, there are people like me who are happy to do their best and try to help you understand
I really loved writing this piece. This was fun. I’d love to turn this into an independent blog series, where I write out FAQ’s, glossary for commonly used expressions and abbreviations, maybe even do a column where people write in with questions about CT, and I respond (maybe)? So if that’s something you’d be interested in reading, please let me know
As always, I accept donations, here or at cointr.ee/nrdgrl007. I’m also looking for work and I excel at freelance creative tasks (like writing and creative advertising), so if you think you could use someone like me on your team, get in touch. Follow me on social media so you never miss a beat, I’m @NrdGrl007. Thanks for taking the time to read this
Lastly, the original form of the graphic I used for the header of this article was created by my friend @_MrAnderson__ and you can view the whole thing or purchase the NFT from his rarible shop, right here
