When Sh*t Shine Like a Diamonds

A Must-Know for Sustained Profitability in Crypto Space

Gm my frens,

Today, I'm diving into something crucial but not talked about enough in the crypto scene. There's a shiny side that everyone loves, but sometimes, it's just a facade. You've seen it before: big names are picking up some coins as if it's the next Bitcoin x Ethereum x Solana killer. And here's the catch: a lot of it is just paid noise. Let’s peel back the layers.

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Paid partnerships dressed up as organic growth

Ever notice how some assets get hyped by big-name influencers? Most often these are paid partnerships. While there's nothing inherently wrong with getting the word out, the issue arises when this paid hype is mistaken for genuine protocol support.

The Illusion of Community

Real community growth is organic and breeds long-term sustainability for a protocol. However, when growth is fueled by throwing cash at influencers, that support lasts only as long as the payments do. This leads to a temporary community, filled with individuals more interested in gambling on a quick win than in the actual value or fundamentals of the project.

Many times protocols pay marketing agencies in addition to influencers to supply fake followers, community supporters, chat participants. Try to focus on it sometime, it can be seen very often nowadays.

Spotting the Red Flags

• Overwhelming Engagement: Thousands of likes on every post? It might look impressive, but it's often just the work of paid marketing agencies creating. Sometimes it is so obvious to the eye that one wonders why they have chosen this path so aggressively.

• Prioritizing Marketing Over Product: If a protocol spends more on “marketing” than on developing their product, it’s a red flag. Especially if their marketing consists of giving tokens to influencers for videos and selling tokens to sponsor big events. On top of that, they keep mentioning the price of their tokens over and over again.

• Unsustainable Spending: Projects that grow only by grabbing attention, especially from those looking for a quick gamble, are on shaky ground. Once the paid influencers and the initial buzz fade away, those who did their homework (DYOR) and looked beyond the surface start to pull back, leading to a potential crash.

The Hype Train and the Bull Market

In a bull market, it's easy to get carried away by the excitement of mentions from influencers with thousands to millions of followers. Remember, because it's almost certain that if these influencers are bullish, it's only because they got paid to be bullish. The high probability is that they just paid them in a governance token, which the moment the hype starts to die down, they'll swap and make another x3 in a secure token like $ETH or $PENDLE rather than lose everything. Easy money for them, they know the value of 8 hours of work on their promotional video, but many people don't know the value of the 365 days of work they invest in a token that they hold up to zero.

Do Your Own Research, DYOR brother

Before jumping in, take the time to really understand what you're investing in. Listen to podcasts or AMAs with the team. Gauge their passion and their approach to product development versus how much they focus on the price. Often, protocols that constantly tout their price and have an ego-driven approach are the ones to watch out for.

Barking up

Not all marketing is bad, and not all protocols that market more aggressively are doomed to fail. The key is finding those that balance marketing with strong product development, growing mainly organically because they offer real value.

Knowing the difference, understanding the game, and when to play your cards — that's the art.

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Not financial or tax advice. This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as tax or financial advice.