It’s time for cryptocurrency enthusiasts to stop supporting identity fans

Many of the centralized cryptocurrency platforms that collapsed this year had one thing in common: a young, outspoken and cocky leader. Each achieved great influence not through great intellect or talent, but because of piles of money and large Twitter followings. And every time, misplaced confidence in one’s abilities resulted in disastrous results.

If cryptocurrency is to avoid similar disasters in the future, it’s time for our leadership to realign its priorities. We must stop worshiping personality.

Cryptocurrency theater on Twitter

Before FTX collapsed, founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) had a reputation as one of the loudest voices in the industry. He was active in the political world and often commented on events on Web3.

Related: Disaster strikes for Digital Currency Group thanks to regulators and whales

But perhaps most notable was his active participation in countless Twitter feuds and spectacles. SBF first came into the limelight after Chef Nomi abruptly left the project as SushiSwap’s successor — a drama that played out almost entirely on Twitter’s public stage. His Twitter-following antics, along with the unstoppable success image that FTX broadcasts far and wide, have earned him over a million followers.

But even as SBF’s influence grew, he couldn’t resist bad sharing, regularly interacting with other Twitter users who simply threw stones.

Indeed, SBF’s penchant for Twitter drama was instrumental in exposing FTX’s bankruptcy. It was his recent dispute with CZ that ultimately led to a run on FTX’s savings. His attention-grabbing antics passed the current test and resulted in a strangely cryptic series of tweets.

The loudest voices in the room

While SBF is the latest example of an industry figure whose highly public Twitter presence led to a highly public downfall, he’s certainly not the first. Do Kwon and Su Zu, who were at the center of monumental meltdowns earlier this year, were also popular trolls. Do Kwon sent out a series of arrogant tweets shortly before the fall of Terra, while Su Zhu’s infamously incomprehensible comments during the 2021 bull run didn’t age well either.

All the drama happening outside of our company this week. Debating who is the bigger villain in cryptocurrency:
a) Do Kwon – $58 billion loss from UST & LUNA
b) 10 billion dollars missing deposit in SBF – FTX
c) Su Zhu – $3.5 billion loss from borrowers
d) Alex Mashinsky – 2.8 billion dollars on Celsi no deposit

— Bobby Ong (@bobbyong) November 10, 2022

However, leaders of failed platforms are not the ones to blame for bragging on social media. Binance’s CZ was finally as guilty as SBF of participating in a public Twitter feud earlier this month. Barry Silbert, who was at the center of the furor over the fall of Digital Currency Group’s FTX, also gained notoriety as a shit poster.

There are more tweets that use online spectacle and trolling as a means of managing industry conversation. Think Ben Armstrong (aka “Bitboy”) and Jim Cramer, to name a few more. They have a small army. While many are purged each bear market, their successors are increasingly becoming too loud and influential powerhouses in the space to ignore.

Jim Cramer said he sold all his cryptocurrency.

Then he blamed @APompliano for “connecting” it to BlockFi.

So he…lied?

Now he’s on a crusade to blame anyone he can find for his bad decisions, even the literally made-up term “digital finance people.” https://t.co/NTojFohvFQ

— Wolf of All Streets (@scottmelker) November 18, 2022

We need to end personality cults

So what is the solution? How can we better identify this personality type and use this recognition to avoid future pain?

Related: 5 reasons 2023 will be a difficult year for global markets

Instead of focusing on building cults of personality, the crypto community should focus on platforms and leaders building products that use web3 primitives to solve problems better than anything we’ve experienced before. The cryptocurrency community needs to stop listening to the loudest voices in the room and start listening to the wiser, more experienced ones – even if they are quieter at times. Likewise, we need builders with experience creating real value for users to talk more about.

Ultimately, the answer lies with us and the people we choose to lionize as an industry. We need to learn how to identify and support developers who create transparent, secure, high-quality apps and decentralized applications, no matter how many followers they have.

This article is for general information purposes and should not and should not be construed as legal or investment advice. The views, opinions and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.