Has "crypto influencer" become a derogatory term? In the era of self-media, the asymmetric revenue from traffic makes "any publicity good publicity" a prominent concept

When you enter “cryptocurrency” on platforms like Threads, you might see negative comments such as “cryptocurrencies are all scams.” On one hand, cryptocurrencies have indeed been used in crimes; on the other hand, some self-media accounts using the “cryptocurrency” label are chasing traffic in unscrupulous ways, causing the public perception of the crypto industry to worsen step by step.

Chinese influencer Elizabeth was caught by netizens for forging donation receipts using Photoshop. Taiwan is no exception, with influencers who have a history of spreading rumors claiming online that they would expose “GuoGuo Fan Jiang Yan Feng,” gaining a wave of traffic and media coverage but ultimately saying nothing. The reason behind such low behavior is that, in the crypto space, traffic comes with asymmetric returns. Lying costs nothing, but there’s no ceiling to the traffic you can get. Being infamously controversial is the fastest way to get attention, which is why “infamy is still fame” has become a trend.

Popular influencer Elizabeth embroiled in fake donation scandal, still has not directly responded to the accusations

Following a major fire at Hong Kong’s Hong Fu Court, donations poured into organizations like Hong Kong Yan Chai Hospital. Crypto KOL Elizabeth also posted on Twitter on December 1, showing a screenshot of a HKD 200,000 donation, saying: “The fire is merciless, but people are compassionate.” The post has since been deleted, but many have saved copies online.

Unexpectedly, all kinds of comparison images soon appeared online. KOL Niu Yingjun matched up the fonts and stated bluntly that Elizabeth’s donation was entirely Photoshop. Other netizens’ compilations show several suspicious points in Elizabeth’s post:

The “2” in “200000” is slimmer

The alignment between “200000” and the donation hotline “187 2828” is off

Source: @CryptoNyaRu

A closer comparison shows that the forged “2” is even one pixel higher than the real “2”

Source: @CryptoNyaRu

As the fake donation scandal continued, Elizabeth said on her Telegram: “Everyone’s watching everything, I don’t want to prove myself, why should I prove myself?” She then posted a video (and deleted it) to prove she did donate, but Niu Yingjun noticed that this time the video had even Photoshopped out the “+” prefix for the international phone code.

Elizabeth then posted another video explaining that the previous donation screenshot was an edited version for information processing, admitting to the Photoshop incident. She later posted another video, stating that this donation was prompted by her conscience, grateful for the criticism as a starting point for personal growth and redemption. She never denied the previous allegations of fake donations, seemingly tacitly admitting everything.

Infamy is still fame? Who should be responsible for the chaos in self-media?

Elizabeth was previously known for controversial remarks, such as saying, “If you can’t make 30% a month with USDT, you’re useless,” and in an interview bluntly stating: “To put it simply, traffic equals money.” This fake donation incident accumulated millions of views, truly walking the talk.

In the age where everyone is their own media, “infamy is still fame” has become a trend. Traffic equals money, which is why more and more self-media operators are abandoning moral boundaries and their own reputations in pursuit of traffic, resorting to controversy and even rumors to attract attention. The reason is that these individuals can monetize traffic in various ways. Brands willing to advertise or give resources to such KOLs also bear responsibility.

Catherine from Solv Protocol pointed out, everyone knows

Traffic in this industry is asymmetric upside.

She said: Lying costs nothing, but traffic has no ceiling, and infamy spreads the fastest. Elizabeth became a top KOL, and how many little lies did she tell before without being caught? Now this incident already constitutes a crime; there’s no way she can get away with it at zero cost and continue to deceive people in the industry. I hope to see her pay a criminal price for this.

(Threads influencer spreads rumor: FSC asked LINE to delete crypto groups, debunked as fake news by legislators and exchanges)

There are similar cases in Taiwan’s crypto community, with people chasing trending topics, such as claiming to expose “GuoGuo Fan Jiang Yan Feng,” but in the end saying nothing of substance. At the time, this sparked public outrage on Threads, with many saying, “These crypto accounts are just here to scam followers,” further damaging the public image of the crypto community.

This article “Has Crypto KOL Become a Dirty Word? In the Self-Media Era, Asymmetric Returns on Traffic Make ‘Infamy is Still Fame’ a Trend” first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.