Trust Me...The Crypto Genius
A fictional account of how the "new J.P. Morgan" was using other people’s investments to build his own brand and live a lavish lifestyle.
Expertise is just a knowledge gap.
I know more than you [about cryptocurrency] so therefore I’m more of an expert. America has built hierarchies and kept them in place to remind people daily who the experts are. People who got into a fancy college at the age of 18 somehow are deemed smarter than most for the rest of their lives.
Harvard was founded in 1630.
Literacy rates were incredibly lower than they are today. Knowledge was physical in book form and required storage. Today knowledge surrounds us, just a click away.
Literacy rates were incredibly lower than they are today. Knowledge was physical in book form and required storage. Today knowledge surrounds us, just a click away.
I attended one of the top universities in the country - MIT. Expert Cred #1
That university’s brand helped me stand out. Gave me credibility in the eyes of politicians and journalists. Journalists who have to survive by getting more clicks and views. What were the ratings, a certain former president often asked?
All during the limitless content era.
An explosion of content that is easily exploitable. Look at Elizabeth Holmes. She fooled all the experts, the smartest people in the world, top university alma maters like me. Holmes claimed she was revolutionizing blood tests. People believed she was all because Holmes had a huge brand.
A brand so big experts wanted to invest in her and sit on her board.
Some did so to be relevant again. All those old-timers who made important decisions on behalf of their country who still wanted to be a part of something. I get that. Once you’re important, it’s hard not to be.
So, Holmes created and exploited a knowledge gap. Where she knew more than everyone else on the planet about blood tests. She was treated as if she invented a miracle that no one had ever seen. That’s what the magazine covers said. Hailed as the next Steve Jobs simply because the magazines need to oversell the headline hoping you’ll buy or click to keep them relevant.
Follow the breadcrumbs.
That’s what I did.
I knew the playbook, exploiting a knowledge gap. In my case a brand new, wildly speculative digital currency. Crypto uses new words like blockchain and cryptography. New words most won’t understand. Expert Cred #2
Cool, but complex, words that caught on, first buzzing on social media channels and online forums.
Before I knew it my name was buzzing. People even started referring to me with only three letters. Funny thing is, it’s relatively easy to build your own buzz online if you are willing to spend a little money. I did. Expert Cred #3
Adam Neumann from WeWork was the same. The hype built his brand and transformed the idea of work. For a while. Until he crashed and burned. Like Holmes did.
It’s a pattern. Pay to build your brand. Everyone wants to be around you. Proximity is power.
Adam Neumann’s hype was built around the idea he was changing office life forever. A brand so powerful it attracted the attention of one of the world’s richest men. Neumann referred to him as a Jedi. If so, Neumann is like Emperor Palpatine with his ability to hide the truth.
This same Jedi gave me $100 million.
I gave some of his funds to several media organizations. Not out of some moral principle to protect journalism and keep them online. But, to protect me. Pay them and they won’t investigate me. Not only that but they will write puff pieces on me and compare me to financial tycoons.
In my case, after throwing in a few million I was the next J.P. Morgan. Expert Cred #4
See the pattern. In some cases your money is used to not only build my brand but to buy access to American politicians. I’m often asked why I donated $27 million to campaigns. Easy.
$27 million buys you a lot of access.
Enough access to have one California Congresswoman blow me a kiss in public. She loves me. And she’s the chairwoman of the committee that is investigating me. That’s worth $27 million. Easy. Expert Cred #5
I’ve talked with former presidents, partnered with a seven-time Super Bowl winning quarterback and his soon to be supermodel ex-wife, and testified about cryptocurrencies as an expert to Congress. #6, #7, and #8
Forbes Magazine quoted me on their cover as saying, ‘I got involved in crypto without any idea what crypto was.’
Follow the breadcrumbs. I was leaving you a clue. I only got involved in crypto four years ago. As I was digging in I realized no one really has any idea of what crypto is or what it could be. It’s wildly speculative.
And exploitative.
So I took advantage. Just like Neumann. He fooled one of the smartest people in the world. I fooled him, too. We were nothing but a house of cards. A manifested vision built on millions of dollars in ‘free press.’
Turns out, media companies are as easy to exploit as the politicians, even when you don’t pay them. Media personalities and their companies love sit-down interviews with big brands. People pay attention to the media we are featured in because we are trending in a trendy world.
Come to think of it, that’s what made Trump, well - Trump.
Trump was always trending on TV and on a famous shock-jock’s radio show. He said crazy, yet interesting things all the time. And people tuned in. They watched. Wanting more and more. Even now, he still controls the conversation on most news media outlets and has for the past seven years.
Follow the breadcrumbs.
We are leaving you clues everywhere. Lessons to learn. When information is everywhere there aren’t enough filters to catch us all. Sadly. I have lived a billionaire's life that other people paid for. Because there aren’t enough filters.
I’m still rich.
I own several houses and condos. For now. I’m sure they are coming for it all. But, I’m here until then. Matter of fact, I’m trying to raise $8 billion to pay you all back. Including the Jedi. Doubtful he’s going to help me reach my fundraising goal.
Perhaps jail is in my future.
Holmes is going. She’ll be there for 11 years. She’ll probably be out in six. Another exploitation. Another one I’m attempting to mirror.
What benefits will I get from $27 million in campaign contributions in 2022 and $5 million for the ‘big guy’ in 2020? I’m about to find out. You? Not so much. Much of what will be done will be kept secret.
Secrets create a knowledge gap.
So you never really know what’s really going on in the halls of power, where big brands like us build our brands and give us access to shape future legislation. Legislation that will benefit me.
Told you, knowledge gaps are ripe for exploitation.
You’d know that, except it’s only available to the experts in the room.