Hall of Flame – Cointelegraph Magazine
2023.08.04 09:39
Lea Thompson — aka Girl Gone Crypto — declares that she will not put her 225,000 Twitter followers to sleep with the same old boring “breaking” news tweets about crypto.
She explains that using “breaking” to share news that everyone knows is pretty lame.
“It is kind of generic. It is easy engagement, and there is not any personality or anything interesting about it.”
BREAKING: literally everything
— Girl Gone Crypto (@girlgone_crypto) November 9, 2022
“By the time I’d have posted the news, five other accounts would have probably posted about it,” Thompson says.
Instead, Thompson likes to put a spin on the latest news, dish out some interesting commentary, or crack jokes to give her followers something different from the rest of the pack.
It’s this quirky mindset that has made her a crypto sensation on Twitter, and it all began with her ukulele playing.
Back in 2017, Thompson hopped on the Steemit bandwagon, a popular blogging platform at the time. She started posting videos of her playing ukulele covers and getting paid in Steemit’s crypto token, STEEM, whenever her stuff got upvoted.
Although Thompson was raking in crypto for strumming out ukulele covers, she admits she wasn’t “even that good.”
Oddly, her ukulele crypto side hustle brought about unexpected invitations to speak at various crypto events.
“‘We think your story about earning crypto playing ukulele is really cool; we want you to come share it at our conference,’ so I ended traveling all over the world and meeting so many cool people working in the industry. It was such a fun experience.”
Thompson admits she was quite surprised considering she wasn’t even making crypto content. However, it was a turning point for her as she realized that the corporate life in marketing and sales wasn’t her true calling.
Just left my corporate job in the tech industry to go full-time crypto!! 😍
Got myself a little gift for finally being my own boss. ☕️ pic.twitter.com/ev2LoWp9fj
— Girl Gone Crypto (@girlgone_crypto) January 13, 2021
Thompson ditched her job and made a bullish career move by going all-in on crypto: “In 2019, I decided to launch a crypto channel. At that point, I’d been using crypto, learning about crypto, launching some social channels, and what I’ve been doing ever since.”
Thompson says her family is proud of her but is totally clueless about what she does and what it’s all about. Her mom believes she works directly for Bitcoin, the company, which Thompson finds “pretty cute.”
Me thinking I did a good job explaining the #BitcoinHalving to my mom.
Mom: Wow, so they are deleting half of the bitcoins? This must be a hard time for you… I know how much you like them.
— Girl Gone Crypto (@girlgone_crypto) May 6, 2020
What led to Twitter fame?
Thompson’s way of getting almost half a million followers is kind of funny because she didn’t even try to go viral.
“People get caught up on the idea of going viral, and, yes, of course, that is really exciting when that happens and absolutely helps your account grow — it’s not a necessary ingredient,” she says.
As the old saying goes, Thompson believes that just showing up every day is the way to success.
“I would attribute my growth on Twitter not to random viral moments: I have had a few, but not that many. I just showed up consistently every day for a long time, which is a much more sustainable way to grow.”
“People try too hard on trying to put out that viral tweet, versus playing the long, consistent game,” she says.
Her approach seems to have paid off as she counts MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor, Gemini’s Tyler Winklevoss, and Bitcoin podcaster Peter McCormack among her 225,000 followers.
People who stick around during a bear market are a different breed. If you’re reading this, then you should be proud of yourself.
— Girl Gone Crypto (@girlgone_crypto) August 15, 2022
What type of Twitter content?
Thompson says that her content is “short, snappy, funny and entertaining.” She takes this approach because when she entered the space in 2019, all the content was super serious and filled with complicated stuff.
“When I first came into the crypto space, the content was very technical, very heavy and long form. If you wanted to find information you had to watch a 45-minute livestream.”
While many crypto influencers try to jump the news cycle with their tweets by writing “breaking,” Thompson prefers to take a moment and find an original angle in the recent events.
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“I’ll try to think of some really interesting commentary or a funny take or a spin on it, not sharing the actual news — that is pretty boring, to be honest,” she says.
Who needs sex when you can just get fcked by Luna?
— Girl Gone Crypto (@girlgone_crypto) May 18, 2022
When she is not smashing out crypto content, Thompson is all about staying active and averages around 25,000 steps per day. The adrenaline rush from all the activity keeps her mind buzzing with spontaneous ideas for crypto content, which she quickly jots down on her phone.
She says that her happy-go-lucky vibes she puts out on Crypto Twitter mean she doesn’t get into the beefs like many in the crypto community.
“My Twitter beefs would be a pretty lean burger,” she jokes, declaring she has no juicy stores and that the burger pun “is intended.”
“I try to stay out of any personal fueds or Twitter drama, stay on my own thing.”
What type of content do you enjoy?
Thompson approaches her Twitter feed as if it were a buffet. She follows a wide range of notable names in the industry from Bitcoin maxis Saylor and McCormack to technical wizards Messari’s Ryan Selkis and Ivan on Tech.
“I would say my [Twitter] feed is a real mix. Some people I follow for news updates; other people I follow really good in-depth analysis of things that are happening in the crypto space or general financial markets,” Thompson says.
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Similar to her brand of content, she likes to follow crypto influencers who bring a lighthearted and humorous approach to their content.
“I have people that are really funny or interesting that are happening in the industry,” she says.
She explains that she loves memes, which stems from the fact that Crypto Twitter often bombards users with technical jargon. So, the occasional dog or cat meme brings a refreshing break to her feed.
Jim Cramer urges people to “cash out on crypto while they can”
Finally a piece of bullish news 🤣
— Girl Gone Crypto (@girlgone_crypto) November 14, 2022
Predictions?
Thompson is cautious about making any price predictions in the crazy world of crypto.
“If I find a crystal ball, I’ll be sure to let you know,” she laughs.
However, every now and then, you will catch her dropping subtle tweets that reveal her bullish feelings for Bitcoin’s future price.
5 years from now… you won’t care if you bought #Bitcoin at 10k or 15k.
— Girl Gone Crypto (@girlgone_crypto) November 15, 2020
She admits she is optimistic about Bitcoin’s future, particularly with all the ongoing talks discussing Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs):
“If we finally see the approvals for these spot Bitcoin ETFS, it will be nothing but good news. It will allow ease of entry for more investors in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Whether it has a major price impact immediately or not, I think in terms of adoption, it’s a big step forward.”
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Ciaran Lyons
Ciaran Lyons is an Australian crypto journalist. He’s also a standup comedian and has been a radio and TV presenter on Triple J, SBS and The Project.
