justin sun

The 35 Most Influential Bitcoiners Dominating Crypto Twitter by Follower Count

10/03/2020 by Idelto Editor

Twitter has become home to cryptocurrency influencers who use it for evangelism, spreading news, shilling coins, and shaming certain projects. Of course, the more followers a crypto thought leader has on Twitter, the greater their reach and influence. The following is a look at the top crypto Twitter (CT) influencers in 2020 and the number of followers these people have obtained in order to remain a member of crypto’s social media elite.

Also read: SEC Karate-Chops Steven Seagal Over Promoting Cryptocurrency Touted as the Next Gen Bitcoin

Crypto Twitter’s Top Luminaries

News.Bitcoin.com has compiled a list of 35 individuals who leverage the Twitter social media platform to create a buzz about cryptocurrency and blockchain solutions. During the last few years, Twitter has outpaced forums like bitcointalk.org and Reddit, and most community members regularly flock to Twitter now. Newcomers to the crypto Twitter scene will swiftly find out who the top CT personalities are and the platform itself recommends these individuals nearly every day. The following 35 personalities have a lot of Twitter reach.

The following list represents people within the crypto and blockchain industry with at least 100,000 followers. Our list is also compiled of people who use their real identity and we removed anonymous influencers from the list for now. News.Bitcoin.com plans to follow up with a second study that includes CT influencers who don’t use their real identity. Crypto’s current Twitter elite with 100,000 followers or more are individuals who have significant reach, which is the number of impressions or engagement a tweet holds.

Heavyweight Mega-CT Influencers – 800,000 to 2 Million

The top of the list belongs to crypto influencers who have 800,000 Twitter followers or more. The amount of reach and engagement is much higher than anyone on this list and these people get thousands of likes and retweets per day. The top crypto Twitter personality is Tron founder Justin Sun who has a whopping 2 million followers. Interestingly, Sun only joined Twitter in August 2017, but since then he’s managed to gather a couple million followers.

The former antivirus tycoon and now crypto evangelist John McAfee follows behind Sun. McAfee joined Twitter in November 2012, and over the last eight years has amassed 1 million followers. The often candid McAfee has been a crypto proponent for years now speaking at crypto conferences but more recently McAfee has allegedly been living on the run from U.S. law enforcement. Vitalik Buterin, one of the founding members of Ethereum, has 892.7K followers and joined Twitter in 2011. Not too far behind Buterin is Litecoin’s creator Charlie Lee. LTC’s creator has gathered 831.3K followers since 2008 and both Buterin and Lee are very involved with the crypto community’s discussions.

Mid-Sized Mega CT Influencers – 300,000 to 800,000

There’s a bunch more mid-weight CT influencers than the thought-leader heavyweights on Twitter. They may not get as much engagement as the top dogs mentioned above but they still carry significant reach. Behind Charlie Lee is Naval Ravikant otherwise known as the ‘Angel Philosopher.’ Naval has been sharing insights on Twitter about cryptocurrency and blockchain and has gained 776.3K followers. The American entrepreneur and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen has written extensively about Bitcoin and his firm Andreessen Horowitz has invested in numerous blockchain startups. Andreessen joined Twitter in 2007 and has 735.9K followers. Another popular venture capitalist on Twitter is Fred Wilson who has 662.7K followers since registering in 2007. Wilson is the cofounder of VC firm Union Square Ventures and he’s a big believer in cryptocurrency and blockchain solutions.

Bitcoin.com’s executive chairman Roger Ver follows behind Wilson with 597K Twitter followers. Ver is well known for wholeheartedly believing in bitcoin during the early days and for investing in popular companies in the crypto industry including Blockchain.com, Purse.io, Bitpay, Kraken, Shapeshift, and Safello. Silicon Valley venture capitalist and Andreessen Horowitz partner Chris Dixon has 574.2K followers and he once said bitcoin might reach $100,000 per coin. Andreas Antonopoulos has 507.4K followers on Twitter and joined the platform in 2013. Antonopoulos is a well known bitcoin evangelist who speaks at events and has written books like “Mastering Bitcoin,” “The Internet of Money 1 & 2,” and “Mastering Ethereum.” Behind Antonopoulos is Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) who currently has around 490.1K followers.

Twitter accounts between 300,000 to 400,000 belong to crypto influencers such as Shapeshift founder Erik Voorhees (362.9K followers), popular bitcoin chart analyst Peter Brandt (327.6K), Coinbase cofounder Brian Armstrong (323.6K) and Morgan Creek Digital cofounder Anthony ‘Pomp’ Pompliano (313.4K).

Lightweight Mega CT Influencers – 100,000 to 250,000

The author who wrote about concepts like smart contracts well before they existed, Nick Szabo, carries 243.4K followers since joining Twitter in 2014. Techcrunch and Arrington XRP Capital founder Michael Arrington has around 239.6K followers to date. The RT talk show host Max Keiser has about 227.7K and Bitcoin Core developer Jameson Lopp has 216.1K followers. Behind Lopp is Luke Martin (215.1K) from the Youtube show Venturecoinist.tv, Tuur Demeester (204.4K) of Adamant Capital, Barry Silbert (200.6K) of Digital Currency Group (DCG) and Grayscale Investments, crypto trader Tone Vays (197K), Blockstream’s Adam Back (187.7K), Civic founder Vinny Lingham (170.1K), former Bitinstant CEO Charlie Shrem (167K), and former Bitcoin Core developer Gavin Andresen (154.6K).

So far that covers 27 lightweight, mid-sized, and heavyweight CT mega influencers who capture a lot of engagement and impressions. There’s a number of people between the 100,000 to 150,000 follower count and a lot more below 100K. Other notable lightweight CT luminaries include former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan (149.5K), Blocktower Capital’s Ari Paul (139.3K), Galaxy Digital’s Michael Novogratz (135.5K), crypto analyst, charter, and Adaptive Capital partner Willy Woo (124.6K), Placeholder VC partner Chris Burniske (121.6K), crypto journalist and host of Unchainedpodcast.com Laura Shin (116.8K), Consensys founder Joseph Lubin (112.8K), and Crypto Trader show host Ran Neuner (111K).

Will the Next Big Name in Crypto Be Artificial?

There are definitely a few others who make it into the lightweight list including Bitmain’s cofounder Jihan Wu (110.1K), Lightning Labs’ Elizabeth Stark (102.6K), crypto-journalist Joseph Young (100.4K), Coinshares’ Meltem Demirors (98.9K) and the Keiser Report cohost Stacy Herbert (95K). Most of the influential women on Twitter have accounts with 100,000 followers or less. Unchainedpodcast.com Laura Shin and Lightning Labs executive Elizabeth Stark have numbers just above the 100K threshold.

Some of the top female CT accounts within or close to the 100K follower range. From left to right: Laura Shin (116.8K), Elizabeth Stark (102.6K), Meltem Demirors (98.9K), and Stacy Herbert (95K).

The top 35 crypto Twitter elite list shows a number of people who have been involved in the crypto scene for over 5-6 years while others have only been around for a few. Some of the newer folks on the CT scene have been accused of paying for engagement, using bots and buying followers to grow their reach.

Just recently The Block analyst Larry Cermak explained how he discovered a crypto industry executive from Okex was allegedly paying $0.50 for comments and retweets. “That’s how they want to make him ‘the next BIG name in crypto,’” Cermak wrote on March 4. During the second week of February, Anthony ‘Pomp’ Pompliano from Morgan Creek Digital was suspended from Twitter and a slew of community members accused him of faking his reach.

“Did Pomp get suspended because of the follow/unfollow bot he was using to juice his follower count?” tweeted Pierre Rochard.

What do you think about the heavyweight, mid-sized, and lightweight Twitter influencers with the most followers? What do you think about those accused of paying for engagement, using bots and buying followers? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Twitter, Fair Use, Individual photos from Google images and Twitter, Wiki Commons, Youtube and CNBC’s Squawkbox.

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Is Twitter Helping Justin Sun and Other Cryptocurrency Celebrities Defraud?

08/03/2020 by Idelto Editor

A site as hugely influential as Twitter should ideally take a balanced and responsible approach when suggesting blue check accounts and other popular influencers to follow in the crypto space. Fact is, this couldn’t be further from the reality: Twitter seems to constantly promote the same narrow selection of accounts to follow, some of whom are arguably massive scammers trying desperately to pump their own bags. This begs the question: is Twitter actively helping favored accounts while stifling the reach of others?

Also read: Bitcoin History: When DDoS Attacks Made BTC’s Price Drop

The Same, Tired Selection

One might imagine that figures as controversial as Tron founder Justin Sun — who is recently under fire for what many view as the hostile takeover of crypto blogging platform Steemit — might be handled with care by social media platforms like Twitter. Especially after numerous allegations of scamming, false claims, buying followers, and shameless promo after shameless promo.

Whether it be suspiciously claiming to be CEO of a Chinese language homophone of “ripple” when Ripple company officials themselves deny connection, big talk of partnerships that don’t materialize, or riding the back of tragedy and sickness to promote the copy-pasta-whitepapered clone coin TRX, Sun is no stranger to suspicious cringe shilling and criticism.

Why, after all this, does Twitter continue to promote Sun like the second coming of Satoshi in its follow suggestions? For that matter, it stands to ask why other questionable influencers are made so prominent on the site as well, when they seem to be doing little more than advertising for their own crypto products, many of which have yet to be tested or vetted fully for viability.

Twitter’s restrictive official stance on business ads for crypto can be found here. Not that there is anything wrong with pushing one’s product, but when other accounts can be easily shadowbanned and suspended for seeming lesser allegations, eyebrows do begin to raise.

Kobe, was great to have met you in niTROn 2019. Mtg you was one of my life’s greatest honor & privilege, I’ll forever remember us on stage discussing the future of blockchain. We’ll have a moment of silence in your honor during niTROn 2020. R.I.P. pic.twitter.com/oMqU9ZpkKh

— Justin Sun (@justinsuntron) January 26, 2020

Twitter’s Algorithms and Follow Suggestions

Twitter has come under scrutiny for its algorithms previously, with CEO Jack Dorsey stating before U.S. lawmakers in 2018 that they had been used by the company “unfairly,” but that the issue had been rectified.

A BBC report detailed that users of the platform began to notice relevant tweets were no longer appearing in searches. Dorsey stated that myriad signals were used to choose “what to show, down-rank and filter” and that although the company doesn’t shadowban accounts based on politics, some mistakes were made and accounts had been treated in an unfair manner.

As for follow suggestions, Twitter lists multiple factors that supposedly go in to determining what a given user sees, including contact uploads, user location, Twitter activity and interactions, and info from third-party websites.

This all sounds well and good, but why are some accounts suspended or ejected from the platform, while others who seem guilty of mis-informational and spammy abuses, continue to thrive? Even though crypto ads are strictly regulated on the site, influencers like Sun, CZ of Binance, and others seem to be able to weave through this net, shilling their own crypto products to millions of followers with impunity. While many crypto users of libertarian bent might wish to make Twitter much more deregulated, decentralized and “Wild West,” if you will (author included), the seeming lack of consistency is strange.

Sitting at the Popular Kids’ Table With Jack

It’s a bit presumptive on its face to say that all of this is happening because of money and unofficial alliances, but let’s be honest: this is probably happening because of money and unofficial alliances. A site becoming huge does not make it exempt from the natural consequences of human nature; if anything, the problem is exacerbated.

Even employees of a small town gas station, for example, will conspire to stiff a new guy out of the best shift when he’s not there. One can only imagine how things get at the major-leagues level of multi-billion dollar empires. To assume conspiracy doesn’t happen at this tier would be naive, to say the least. This is social media. More engagement translates into more revenue, and more “extreme” and enticing posts related to arguments about politics and getting rich quick with crypto stimulate engagement.

Former Twitter software engineer Abhinav Vadrevu on shadow banning: “they just think that no one is engaging with their content, when in reality, no one is seeing it” #ShadowBan — WATCH THE FULL VIDEO: https://t.co/ev3bmCVGMQ pic.twitter.com/CxytLgRGsD

— Project Veritas (@Project_Veritas) January 11, 2018

Besides, former Twitter employees have admitted such conspiracy goes on, even if it has been somewhat heavily spun by so-called conservative media. Controversial activist James O’Keefe presented video in 2018 of a former Twitter engineer saying:

One strategy is to shadow ban so that you have ultimate control. The idea of a shadow ban is that you ban someone but they don’t know they’ve been banned, because they keep posting, but no one sees their content … I don’t know if Twitter does this anymore.

While left-leaning media tried to downplay O’Keefe’s hidden video, it nonetheless is troubling.

Nobody’s Business but Twitter’s

Principled bitcoiners don’t want the government to leverage legislative force on ol’ Jack or Justin, and shape Twitter into a perfectly boring and “fair” Communistic platform where there can be no bias. After all, it’s a business, at the end of the day, and the business can do as it pleases. Besides, whether someone is a scammer or not is often debatable. It’s no secret there are alliances and bitter divisions in the crypto world with each camp calling the other shitcoin peddlers. In fact, such divisions are obvious to the point of Dorsey himself helping to perpetuate them:

It’s really no surprise then that some in the Bitcoin Cash community suspect targeted censorship as well. When a BTC maximalist is CEO, of a company whose former employees say shadowbanning was practiced, and accounts seem to be deleted, shadowed, or axed at random, it’s awful hard not to start connecting dots. The controversy surrounding reports of the @Bitcoin handle being sold last year to a BTC maximalist also fueled this fire, as the sale of accounts is prohibited by Twitter’s Terms of Service.

I finally reached out to Jack on Twitter to ask why Sun and others seem so universally pushed on his platform’s users, but at the time of writing haven’t gotten a response. Until there is more clarity, it looks like the garish glare of Sun and his ilk will go on trying to blindside folks, but it’s doubtful Twitter denizens will go elsewhere to interact. After all, no one can deny it’s entertaining, and that means sure success for any social media platform.

What are your thoughts on Twitter and prominent crypto influencers like Justin Sun? Are some given preferential treatment? Let us know in the comments section below.

Op-ed disclaimer: This is an Op-ed article. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the Op-ed article. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the content. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any information in this Op-ed article.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Reuters, fair use.

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Tron’s Steemit Acquisition Exposes Delegated-Proof-of-Stake Centralization

03/03/2020 by Idelto Editor

Tron's Acquisition of Steemit Exposes Delegated-Proof-of-Stake Centralization

The Steemit community is mired in controversy over the recent Tron takeover that managed to change the Steem blockchain’s governance. Steem witnesses attempted to soft fork the blockchain on February 24 to remove the powerful voting power Tron and Steemit hold. However, the soft fork wasn’t able to prevent the Tron takeover and Steemit community members are blaming Tron founder Justin Sun and three popular exchanges for gaming the outcome.

Also Read: Ethereum vs Tron: Comparing Data, Defi and Stablecoins from Both Chains After Viral Tweet

Tron’s Steemit Takeover Becomes Contentious

Steemit has always claimed to be a “decentralized blogging platform” but its decentralization and use of delegated-proof-of-stake (DPoS) have been controversial. Centralization concerns heightened after Steemit was sold to Tron. On February 14, former Steemit CEO Ned Scott tweeted: “Steemitans and Twitterers, after four beautiful years, I have sold Steemit to [Justin Sun].” Following the Steemit sale, a number of Steemitans were very upset with the decision and believed the acquisition would ruin the project.

The controversy prompted members of the Steemit community to invoke a soft fork that would reduce the voting power of the company Steemit Inc. and the Tron Foundation. However, the soft fork did not go as planned and on Monday, March 2, Steemit community members accused Poloniex, Binance, and Huobi of creating a “hostile takeover.” Reports detail that Steemit and Tron reversed the soft fork by leveraging over 42 million steem power (SP).

Your stake in Steem on centralized exchanges was just used to take over the Steem Blockchain https://t.co/AFn0LvEkUC

— Luke Stokes (@lukestokes) March 2, 2020

The reversal and the move to utilize 42 million SP caught the attention of the entire cryptocurrency community. Tron founder Justin Sun called the group of people who attempted to soft fork the Steemit chain “hackers.” “[Steemit] has successfully defeated the hackers [and] all funds are super SAFU. Steem Network and [the] Steemit community is now stronger than ever since we united [and] solved the difficulties,” Sun wrote. “On February 22, some malicious hackers froze 65 million steem legally owned by Steemit, the core steem developers,” Sun tweeted. “When we found out, the hackers already hijacked steem [and] threatened to nullify the existing steem. We had a difficult choice.”

Following the reversal and the statements from Justin Sun, Ethereum developer Vitalik Buterin commented on the DPOS incident. “Apparently Steem DPOS got taken over by big exchanges voting with depositors’ funds,” Buterin tweeted. “Seems like the first big instance of a “de facto bribe attack” on coin voting (the bribe being [exchanges] giving [holders] convenience and taking their votes).” The incident has started a debate about the vulnerabilities of the DPoS system and proof-of-stake systems in general. “The exact same thing occurs on EOS,” Youtube show host Colin Talks Crypto responded to Buterin’s tweet. “Just not as an extreme to an extent. This is why governance is important to nail down in DPOS — so a few huge exchanges don’t own your entire blockchain.”

Should an Exchange Use Customer Stakes to Vote on Governance?

Bitcoin Core Developer Jorge Timón also replied to Buterin’s criticism on Twitter and said that “DPOS is plutocracy voting.” “Not your keys, not your coins — This is not an attack, this is simply how [DPOS] works. [POW] is superior to both DPOS and ‘regular’ POS. POS is simply a bad replacement for [proof-of-work] — Eventually, you’ll have to accept this fact,” Timón stressed. Meanwhile, other crypto community members on social media discussed whether it was right to use customer stakes held on an exchange to leverage governance rights with a blockchain voting scheme. “The depositor may have a “balance” at the exchange, but do not have rights on that blockchain,” Bitcoin proponent Bob Loukas wrote on Twitter. Loukas added:

They exchanged that right for a paper guarantee, all for the purpose of speculation. If they had cared about the stake, they would have demanded that within their paper exchange.

“Na man, fork me? No, fork you.” #tron #steemit @justinsuntron pic.twitter.com/PEdPeE82Tj

— John Paul Faour (@olejpf) March 3, 2020

Steem Power Withdrawal Restrictions, Steem Developers Remove Apps, and Leaders Abruptly Resign

Despite the community outrage, what’s done is done and a recent blog post written by “the Tron folks and Steemit Inc. together” notes that the attempted soft fork was “maliciously structured.” “For the next 4-6 weeks, the Steemit team will be using the voting rights to resume the order of the community while having an open channel for meeting community members and Witnesses,” the post explains. The announcement also highlighted that Tron and Steemit wholeheartedly believe the soft fork attempt was “criminal and illegal.” “After the 4-6 weeks period, the Steemit team will give the governance back to the community when it’s back in order and mutual agreement,” the blog post states.

Members of the Steemit community are also upset because powered-up SP cannot be withdrawn for 13 weeks. Tron and Steemit also stressed that a hard fork would be taking place in order to change the power-down waiting period. The blog post notes it wants the “Steem blockchain running in parallel with Tron” and the team plan on providing more “rewards to witnesses.” In addition to this promise, the blog post claimed Steemit could acquire “more users” thanks to Tron’s “thriving ecosystem” and “active 15 million user community.” The post also added that the Steemit community would notice more development and developers from Tron contributing to the Steem network.

Still, the blog post doesn’t seem to be swaying the greater Steemit community and a few software engineers are removing their Steem apps from the ecosystem. Further, well known Steemitans like Andrew Levine have abruptly resigned from their governance duties.

What do you think about the recent incident with the Tron community and Steemit community? Do you think DPoS, or POS in general, can be gamed easily by exchanges? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Images credits: Shutterstock, Archive.org, Steemit, Twitter, Fair Use, Wiki Commons, Steemit and Tron logos,

The post Tron’s Steemit Acquisition Exposes Delegated-Proof-of-Stake Centralization appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Warren Buffett Slates Bitcoin, Denies Owning Crypto Gifted by Justin Sun

24/02/2020 by Idelto Editor

“I don’t have any bitcoin. I don’t own any cryptocurrency, I never will … You can’t do anything with it except sell it to somebody else.” So claimed Warren Buffet in an interview this week on CNBC. Over the course of the two-minute segment, the billionaire investor tore into bitcoin’s value proposition, and obliquely threw shade on $4.6 million lunch guest Justin Sun.

Also read: How to Anonymously Buy Bitcoin Online and in Person

Buffet Gives Bitcoin Both Barrels

In an interview with CNBC, Warren Buffet has insisted that “bitcoin has been used to move money illegally” and that “cryptocurrencies basically have no value, they don’t produce anything.” Summoning palpable contempt, Buffett added, “You can look at your little ledger item for the next 20 years and it says you’ve got X of this cryptocurrency or that; it doesn’t reproduce; it doesn’t deliver; it can’t mail you a check, it can’t do anything. And what you hope is that somebody else comes along and pays you more money for it later on. But then that person’s got the problem. But in terms of value [assigned to cryptocurrencies], zero.”

Buffett then gave a visibly awkward laugh in response to hearing of Sun’s claim that he owned bitcoin, saying, “I don’t have any bitcoin. I don’t own any cryptocurrency, I never will … You can’t do anything with it except sell it to somebody else.”

The only economic contribution of bitcoin is a fall in demand for suitcases because bitcoin makes it easier move money illegally, says Warren Buffett #btc #bitcoin #AskWarren pic.twitter.com/dyBTbyPRhk

— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) February 24, 2020

As ever, crypto Twitter was on hand to provide thought-provoking nuggets: “Warren’s life fortune is dependent on the USD maintaining value. Have to take his opinion with a grain of salt in this area”; “He has obviously never seen or used a dapp”; “People like Warren Buffett want you to save less, not more. They want you to invest in their stocks or consume their products. This is why Buffett hates bitcoin.”

Breaking Down Buffet’s Bitcoin Indictment

Crypto might not be able to “mail you a check” as Buffet notes, but it can be collateralized for loans, spent at an increasing number of online and brick-and-mortar venues, used to power growing ecosystems such as open finance, and utilized as a compelling store of value given its unquestionable status as sound money. It was, by some distance, the best-performing asset of the last decade.

Besides, the criticism that you “can’t do anything with it except sell it somebody else” could easily be leveled at gold, a commodity which shares more than a few similarities with bitcoin, the most important being that you can’t arbitrarily pump more gold into the market and dilute its purchasing power. It could also be leveled against stocks.

A Meeting of Minds

It was last June that Tron mouthpiece Justin Sun decided spending over $4 million to have dinner with Berkshire Hathaway CEO Buffett was a smart use of funds. In fairness, though the lunch was the prize, the millions went to San Francisco-based non-profit GLIDE Foundation whose beneficiaries include individuals from economically deprived communities. Even if it was an expensive publicity stunt, Sun was doing a good turn in the process and he made a point of mentioning that Bittorrent and Tron’s U.S. headquarters were located in the same city as GLIDE.

In the event, Sun’s long-mooted sit-down with investment doyen Warren Buffett was one of the most talked-about events (or nonevents) in crypto last year: the entrepreneurial upstart meets the billionaire Oracle of Omaha. After forking out $4.57 million at a charity auction to break bread with Buffett, Sun had to cancel citing kidney stones, before the dinner finally occurred in late January.

Given the seven-month delay, people were understandably eager to hear about the nature of the 3.5 hour discussion. Sun shed plenty of light on Twitter, saying “Amazing dinner w/ @WarrenBuffett finally! Thx for your support & advice on how to take Tron to the next level! Loved our talk on Bitcoin, Tesla & Tron! Glad to support @GLIDEsf as well! C U at #BRK2020 & our reunion meal in 2030!”

Sun also mentioned the price of the meal ($515.05), stated that the insights he received were “priceless,” and that he had sent Buffett his first bitcoin, which was stored in a Samsung Galaxy Fold Sun had brought along as a gift. The Tron CEO even noted that the BTC price had risen 16% in the time since he made the donation, and that Buffett was “impressed by the speed of #TRON.”

Long Bitcoin, Short Suitcases!

Wait till Buffett hears that Wells Fargo, one of the companies he has a minority stake in, knowingly helped the Sinaloa drug cartel launder millions of dollars… pic.twitter.com/Z7DGHlh9AU

— Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) February 24, 2020

After all the buildup, the takeaway seems to be that Buffett’s crypto-skeptic stance remains unchanged. Prompting the octogenarian to perform an ideological 180 always did seem a trifle ambitious. Buffett’s denial that he received bitcoin from Sun is a little more perplexing, though. Either someone’s lying, or one of Buffett’s aides took receipt of the crypto Buffett was gifted, allowing both parties to claim vindication on a technicality.

Do you think Warren Buffet is wrong about bitcoin? Do you think he ever received bitcoin from Justin Sun? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Did you know you can verify any unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with our Bitcoin Block Explorer tool? Simply complete a Bitcoin address search to view it on the blockchain. Plus, visit our Bitcoin Charts to see what’s happening in the industry.

The post Warren Buffett Slates Bitcoin, Denies Owning Crypto Gifted by Justin Sun appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Steemit for Sale: Popular Crypto Blogging Platform Sold to Tron, Community Reacts

16/02/2020 by Idelto Editor

Steemit for Sale: Popular Crypto Blogging Platform Sold by Former CEO to Tron, Community Reacts

Crypto blogging platform Steemit is undergoing a big change, migrating from its own Steem blockchain to the Tron network. The struggling crypto blogging platform launched in 2016 and made waves when big name libertarian users began to make thousands of dollars per post. The platform’s heyday was short-lived, however, and after the departure of co-founder Dan Larimer of EOS fame, attempts to rebrand, and layoffs, it has finally ended up in the care of crypto mogul Justin Sun, founder of the Tron platform.

Also Read: Ethereum vs Tron: Comparing Data, Defi and Stablecoins from Both Chains After Viral Tweet

Steemit Sold to Tron Founder

The once highly popular social media hub for anarchists, libertarians, and crypto heads in general — not to mention all sorts of other demographics like photographers and lifestyle bloggers — is moving operations to the Tron network according to a press release issued on Valentine’s Day.

“Steemit Inc., the largest decentralized blockchain-based social media and blogging platform, announced a strategic partnership with TRON Foundation,” the release states. “TRON and Steemit’s development teams will immediately begin working together to bring Steemit and other Steem blockchain-based DApps to TRON blockchain and its community of over 20 million users, products, and services.”

Former Steemit CEO and co-founder Ned Scott tweeted:

Steemitans and Twitterers, after four beautiful years, I have sold Steemit to @justinsuntron. AMA tomorrow at 9am PT.

The Ask Me Anything video finds Tron founder Justin Sun in discussion with Scott, elaborating on the details and implications of the deal. In explaining why he sold the company, Scott stated he is “moving on for personal reasons” and that “there’s a couple other companies that I’m working on behind the scenes privately.” This is notable since one of the common criticisms of Steemit historically has been the project-hopping of leaders, with Bitshares creator Dan Larimer, who helped Scott create Steemit, leaving the project in 2017 to work on EOS development.

Steem Community Reacts to Sun’s Latest Acquisition

Tron founder Justin Sun has gained a reputation in the crypto space for making big moves financially, acquiring Bittorrent in 2018 and blockchain based streaming platform Dlive last year. Dlive was originally built on the Steem blockchain and was popular with users on the Steemit platform before migrating to the Lino network prior to Tron migration. In recent news, Sun was also able to finally have his postponed lunch meeting with multi-billionaire Warren Buffet after spending $4.57 million to do so.

Sun’s big moves are not impressing everyone, though, and some Steemians are very concerned with how the steem token will be migrated, and what the new “tron steem” platform might look like. Sun’s announcement post on Steemit, which has garnered over $150 in steem at press time, has elicited lots of questions from community members. One user commented:

I am here for Steem, not Tron. I have zero interest in anything Tron offers, and moving Steem to Tron’s network is something that’ll happen without me as a result.

Another details that “the community is very worried about what the next steps are and there is a lot of talk about a fork away from Tron within the Steem community as many members presently see this as a hostile take over by Tron and not a mutually beneficial partnership.” Veteran steem whale @berniesanders lashed out in trademark fashion as well, with an incendiary comment on the post:

Regarding the concerns about currency migration, Sun stated in the Feb. 16 AMA with Ned Scott:

I don’t think we have a plan for immediately like token swap, so I think we will keep both steem and the tron tokens separate and run separately … there is no token swap for right now … I just want to talk with the team and found out the best solution to integrate eventually for steem, Steemit, and Tron.

That may sound well and good, but for the dedicated bloggers who came to Steemit seeking a real decentralized social media and fell in love with the chain and platform, the official press release is clear: “Together, TRON Foundation and Steemit Inc. will look to create further value for their users and to augment their advancements in decentralized technologies,” it states, “including moving old STEEM token to a new TRON based STEEM token.”

Some are not so pessimistic, hoping the sale could bring steem a long overdue shot in the arm of recognition in the crypto space and beyond. As for Scott, he states in the press release, “From launching the platform in 2016 on a shoestring budget with an idealistic team to today, I’ve enjoyed the development of the platform and the growth of its user base — now I’m excited to see a strategic partner attempt to bring it to new heights.”

What are your thoughts on the sale of Steemit to Justin Sun and the upcoming migration to the Tron network? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Piotr Swat, fair use.

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