Kanye West sent some members of the crypto space into a frenzy yesterday by tweeting a single word. Decentralize. We ask if celebrity endorsements are helpful to the space especially when it is unclear if the celebrity in question even understands the technology.
The self-titled “greatest living rockstar” didn’t say any more on the subject and the tweet was one of many in a seemingly never-ending stream of consciousness. However, that didn’t stop the tweet from going viral and inviting all manner of speculation from crypto enthusiasts as they wondered if Kanye would pledge his allegiance to Bitcoin, DLT, or indeed any other crypto.
Celebs jumping on the bandwagon hasn’t worked well in the past
While some would suggest that celebrities commenting on the crypto space is positive (as it draws attention from the unconverted masses), it doesn’t always appear to work out well. In fact, it seems the opposite is usually true.
Boxing legend, Floyd Mayweather, endorsed an ICO that was subsequently charged with fraudulent activity. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson also generated a great deal of hype among the community when he revealed he’d “accidentally” become a Bitcoin millionaire, only to hastily deny the claim while he filed for bankruptcy. Both celebs’ forays into the crypto consciousness caused a great deal of short-lived hype. Neither encouraged widespread adoption, but they did leave the stars and the community with egg on their faces.
I don’t want to be too critical of celebrities here. They’re people just like us crypto-enthusiasts. We all get things wrong and form opinions on matters we know little about, but when somebody has a large audience the consequences of making that opinion public are amplified. Sometimes it might be better if, as an audience, we asked: “Does this person have the first clue what they’re talking about?”
An educated crypto skeptic is more useful than an uneducated crypto enthusiast
Many of us have scoffed when an actor has used an acceptance speech to push their political world-view because it’s natural to be skeptical of opinions that may be uneducated or are at least no more educated than our own. Most crypto investors will know more about the space than the average celebrity, and so they should take these endorsements with a pinch of salt.
We’re naturally inclined to favor opinions that mirror our own, which is partially why Kanye and others’ comments create such a buzz, but if the crypto community is only an echo chamber where we congratulate each other on being “ahead of the curve,” then the critics calling it a bubble will be proved right. The reaction to celebrity endorsements simply isn’t indicative of the crypto space’s reputation for having intelligent members who research the projects they support.
We know the technology, and we have lots of well-reasoned ideas of why we think it is going to be important. We don’t need to get overexcited when a star tells us something we probably know more about. I could be wrong, but I don’t see the Kanye Wests of this world sitting down and reading a white paper, and I’ll take a central banker’s “warning” every time over the empty words of an entertainer. At least the banker has given us something to argue with, and the ability to argue shows everybody that we’re just beating our chests.
Originally published at cryptodisrupt.com
Do you think that celebrity endorsements are a good thing for crypto?
"A big celebrity promoting crypto is a common thing nowadays. ""Blockchain"", ""bitcoin"", ""cryptocurrency"" they are terms thrown around by mainstream media without in-depth explanation. They are also like us, interested in the next big thing, the next big trend.
On the other hand, crypto that supports an ecosystem that changes the relationship between fans and celebrity, have you heard of one? Check out Idol Network - the world's first fan-driven entertainment community. It even has a live app already."
