Downward Angle Icon An icon in the shape of a downward angle. Nick O'Neill jokes about being a crypto guy, but he's serious about it. Nick O'Neill / Twitter Entrepreneur Nick O'Neill went viral for his series of X posts bragging about the wealth he earned in cryptocurrencies. Most of the posts are jokes. O'Neal is truly a friend of cryptocurrencies, but he's also making fun of them. Broth and hustle culture in general. Some of his X users seem to get the joke. Others don't. Mr. O'Neill said his brief period of fame helped him make money.
Like many people, Nick O'Neill was hit by the cryptocurrency bug during the pandemic. Unlike many other people, he still figures it out. O'Neal runs The Nifty, which is part NFT-related content company and part NFT minting and trading company.
Until last week, you probably had never heard of O'Neal or his company. But then he stumbled into a bit of viral fame. A joke post he made showing off his cryptocurrency skills The buzz spread, fueled in part by people who didn't realize he was joking.
So O'Neill made another post. respond to those who respond firstand people creating “community notes” on Twitter started it. fact-check his less serious claimsand he answered them.
Everything has been going on for several days now. “Choose the rich” is O’Neill’s catchphrase, and while it’s mostly a joke, it’s very similar to what people are actually saying on crypto Twitter.
My hunch is that O'Neill's window will probably close soon. Cryptoculture starts out pretty close to caricature. There's not much room for expansion.
But even if that were the case, O'Neal wouldn't complain. He says the publicity he's generated has led to his new sponsorship deal and more than $100,000 in NFT sales in recent days. (That claim is true, he says, but I haven't verified it myself.)
I first met O'Neal all the way back in 2007, when he founded AllFacebook, a blog dedicated to the startups trying to displace MySpace as the top social network. At the time, I was working for Silicon Alley Insider, which later became his website you are reading now.
I spoke to him on the phone this week. Below are edited excerpts from the chat.
Peter Kafka: How did this start? Did you expect it to go viral?
Nick O'Neill: My team flew to Miami to do an offsite. One day we decided to rent a boat and get the team together for a few drinks. There were people posting things like this meme that said, “This is who you're dealing with.” And I decided to do the same thing. please post our photo. When it started to take off, we spontaneously video —
Peter Kafka: Wait. When you post your first photo, it should be funny, right?
Nick O'Neill: Yes. It could not have been designed to incite so many people, and the deep hatred poured in. I thought, “Okay, this might be a good sign.”
Peter Kafka: But NFTs are serious things that you believe in. That's no joke.
Nick O'Neill: No kidding. This is a legitimate business that we are actively growing.
Peter Kafka: But are you kidding when you act like a fellow Web 3/NFT/hustler?
Nick O'Neill: This is one of the most important characters that I do in my video content.where did we do it I dressed up as a soldier and walked through Washington Square Park as “Sergeant Solana.” So I asked people if they wanted $1 or Solana, and literally no one wanted Solana, even though it was worth $100 at the time.
Peter Kafka: But we're not satirizing NFTs or blockchain or Web3. you are a believer. 2024.
Nick O'Neill: We believe that. What we're satirising is people like the Dan Bilzerians of the world who have the personality, “I'm rich. You're not. So I'm better than you.” And people really hate it.
But some people really hate crypto people for some reason. Probably because they think it's a scam. Or lost money. We've all lost money at some point. If you're involved in cryptocurrencies, you've probably had your money stolen at least once.
I can't speak for everyone's feelings as to why people get so emotional. But there are many people who look like that.
Peter Kafka: You create this piece that's a little sincere, but mostly a joke, and it appeals to people who don't think it's a joke. And your answer is, “Let’s make more?”
Nick O'Neill: 100%.posted our video helicopter — Of course, I own it because I own multiple helicopters — and we lean into the characters.
Peter Kafka: Fact-checking your wealth on Twitter community notes annoys me. Do you think the people writing the community notes get the joke, or are they the most serious?
Nick O'Neill/X
Nick O'Neill: At first I thought they were serious about it. However, I increasingly believe that there are people in the cryptocurrency community who enjoy it and want to contribute.
Once these notes started happening, it only became more viral. “Oh, this guy thinks he's fooling people. But we're seeing the truth.”
So there are two inside jokes happening in parallel. There are people who think they can see through it and realize that I'm just a fake. And some people understand it to be satire.
Peter Kafka: I wasn't sure if you were satirizing cryptocurrencies, crypto culture, or Twitter/X culture. And it looks like a mixture of all the above. But again, you are a believer too.
Nick O'Neill: 100%. Literally 90% of my net worth is in cryptocurrencies.
Peter Kafka: You were just on. dave portnoy show, in letters. How far can this go?
Nick O'Neill: Well, our job is to run an entertainment business. I wish I could predict how far it would go. I don't know.
This is an opportunity to expand the reach of my personal brand as well as the company as a whole. Therefore, we are going to do everything we can to effectively get you a nearly free promotion.