Top 10 most influential crypto tweets of 2023

Here are the most influential tweets of 2023 that shook the crypto markets, from the SEC nightmare to a promising Bitcoin bull market.
Daniel Ramirez-Escudero
Posted by Daniel Ramirez-Escudero December 27, 2023 10 Mins Read
Here are the most influential tweets of 2023 that shook the crypto markets, from the SEC nightmare to a promising Bitcoin bull market.

2023 dragged some of the rotten apples from the bear market, which brought negative repercussions for the public image of the crypto industry. Fortunately, the market has shifted into what some may call a proper bull market as the halving ticks closer.

This article reviews the 10 most influential tweets from the crypto community in 2023.

SEC charges Kraken for unregistered staking: Stake or steak?

United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler kicked off 2023 by suing crypto exchange Kraken in an attempt to put some pressure on the crypto industry.

The SEC charged Kraken with failing to register their crypto asset staking-as-a-service program. Kraken agreed to pay a $30 million fine and remove its staking services from the U.S. market.

Gensler provided a video explanation worthy of being a crypto meme. As if speaking to a five-year-old, he clarified he was talking about “S-T-A-K-E, not S-T-E-A-K.”

The relevance of this case was that it went beyond simply Kraken and its products, as it sparked doubt among crypto users and companies surrounding the legality of staking in the United States.

While uncertainty and negative sentiment abounded amid the news, the SEC still hadn’t published clear guidelines for this kind of product for crypto-related services.

By the end of the year, the SEC upped the ante by alleging that Kraken operated as an unregistered exchange and adding that it mixed customer assets with its own. Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell expressed his disbelief, calling the SEC “masochists” who seemed not to be content with the prior $30 million fine. The lawsuit is ongoing, though there are signs of a possible SEC defeat.

Do Kwon: Catch me if you can

The fall of Luna and stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) was the catalyst for the last bear market.

The collapse of the stablecoin occurred in mid-2022, ditching retail victims around the globe and affecting many companies, such as Three Arrows, Voyager, Celsius, Digital Currency Group and many others.

Shortly after, the Republic of Korea authorities required Luna’s creator, Do Kwon, to explain what happened at Congress. The telephone rang, but the voicemail kicked in. Kwon was on the run to become the most wanted crypto fugitive in history.

As in the film Catch Me If You Can, several different crime organizations attempted to follow his trail in what seemed an impossible feat to catch him. Finally, the rundown was over on March 23, when the minister of the Interior of Montenegro announced the arrest of Kwon as he was allegedly using falsified travel documents. 

Kwon had been able to dodge authorities from South Korea, Singapore, Dubai, Interpol and several national forces from the Balcan territories. The fate of the Terraform Labs co-founder is to remain this Christmas in a cell in Montenegro, waiting for his possible extradition to the United States or South Korea; both outcomes seem dim for the Korean.

Cobie’s private encrypted tweet: the power of Crypto Twitter

Cobie is a prominent pseudonymous figure on Crypto Twitter. His podcast, UpOnly, has provided many epic moments in crypto, such as when entrepreneur Martin Shkreli told Kwon in a livestream that “jail is not that bad.”

Cobie connects with the sentiment of the crypto community; therefore, his tweets are heavily analyzed and influential.

On one occasion, more than $50 million was lost in liquidation as Binance’s BNB (BNB) and Bitcoin (BTC) prices plunged momentarily. A media storm ensued after Cobie tweeted a hash prediction. 

A hash prediction is a message encrypted by the SHA256 hash. The encryption should output an illegible string. Hashes are one-way functions that can be created but not reversed (without brute forcing). Therefore, this tool is perfect for proving a prediction made to the public without revealing the message. When the moment comes, the owner can decrypt it to show it to the public.

Deleted tweet of Cobie’s Twitter account. Source: X

Unfortunately for Cobie, somebody was able to crack the post and spread the word. The encrypted message was “Interpol Red Notice for CZ,” which is the diminutive of Changpeng Zhao, founder and former CEO of Binance.

Hours later, Patrick Hillmann, former chief strategy officer of Binance, tried to calm the waters but ultimately ended up adding more fuel to the fire.

Hillmann offered two explanations for the decrypted message. The second option opened the door for an open case of law enforcement against Binance.

Cobie eventually told the public what may have happened, resulting in him narrowing down his circle of trust:

Cobie's explanation on what may have happened. Source: X

This particular case demonstrated the volatility and power of Crypto Twitter over the crypto market.

Coinbase ready to confront SEC in court

The SEC was determined to be considered the most influential entity in the crypto market of the year 2023.

On June 6, the SEC charged Coinbase for the unregistered sale of securities with its staking-as-a-service program. The SEC crusade against the U.S. crypto industry was in full swing. 

Coinbase knew what was coming after receiving a Wells notice months before letting it know a possible enforcement action was looming. Coinbase argued that it had often asked for clear guidelines and rules in the American crypto market. Coinbase was prepared and replied in a 40-second clip with its point of view on the matter.

Coinbase viral ad campaign. Source: YouTube

The SEC may have expected an easy victory with a settlement like the Kraken case. Despite the high stakes of going to court, Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, decided to take the bull by the horns and fight the SEC charges in court.

Coinbase is the most regulated crypto company in the U.S. market, as it is publicly traded in the open market with its stock, COIN. Armstrong’s stance is essential for the company and the entire crypto industry.

BlackRock spot Bitcoin ETF: The catalyst for the new crypto bull market

The most bullish news hit headlines in the middle of 2023. The largest asset manager in the world, BlackRock, filed for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Additionally, Coinbase was selected as the custodian of the ETF.

Screenshot of iShares Bitcoin Trust filing. Source: Eric Balchunas’ Twitter account

BlackRock has a strong track record regarding ETF proposals. The ETF success rate of BlackRock is 575 to 1. For investors, when BlackRock presented its spot Bitcoin ETF to the SEC, it meant the question had changed from “if” to “when” a spot Bitcoin ETF would be approved.

Retail and particularly institutional investors, who may have been hesitant to enter the crypto market directly due to compliance and regulatory impediments, could flood the crypto markets with new money. The effect would result in increased demand and, thus, a substantial rise in the price of Bitcoin.

Gold price went on a 8-year bullrun after the gold ETF was approved. Source: Tommy Moustache

Some even speculate that a similar effect occurred with gold when the first gold ETF was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, surging 250% on an eight-year bull run.

SEC surrenders the Ripple case

The SEC ignited 2020 with a serious case against Ripple and its co-founder, Chris Larsen, and CEO, Brad Garlinghouse.

The Ripple vs. SEC case revolves around allegations that Ripple Labs conducted an unregistered securities offering by selling its XRP (XRP) cryptocurrency. The Ripple case was paramount for the crypto market because if XRP ended up being considered a security, many other tokens could be placed in the same basket.

The case notoriously impacted Ripple and its native token. Garlinghouse was thrown temporally into the shadows and plunged the price of XRP, dethroning the legendary pole position of its currency in the top 5 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

After almost two years of fighting, Ripple gained small victories here and there. But on Oct. 19, the SEC dismissed the case against Garlinghouse and Larsen. For Stuart Alderoty, chief legal officer of Ripple, this was a clear surrender of the SEC.

The XRP army celebrated the latest win. It was perceived as a bullish event for the crypto markets. As per Ripple, the case had demonstrated that “XRP is not, in and of itself a security.”

Sam Bankman-Fried is sentenced to 115 years in jail

The awaited moment arrived on Nov. 3, when U.S. Attorney Damian Williams called Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried’s crimes “a multibillion-dollar scheme designed to make him the king of crypto” and one of the biggest financial frauds in U.S. history.

In 2022, SBF was considered one of the year’s most influential people. One year later, he is regarded as a white-collar criminal.

Recent: SBF was almost extorted for ‘protection’ in Brooklyn jail, recalls ex-inmate

Many celebrities, politicians and investors fell under his spell using his effective altruism philosophy and connections. SBF became the impersonator of the crypto hype. His marketing team and personal ego pushed him to place himself as the hero of the crypto industry.

Sam Bankman-Fried's Nas Daily deleted video. Source: YouTube

The soap opera created by SBF’s rise and downfall came to an end. Crypto needed to close this chapter once and for all to evolve. The crypto industry could finally exhale a collective sigh of relief, hoping the ordeal would bring an end to the bear market.

BlackRock spot Ether ETF on the go

Months after the BlackRock spot Bitcoin ETF, the world’s largest fund filed its spot Ether ETF.

The BlackRock spot Ether ETF was in the queue with five other firms that filled the petition: VanEck, ARK 21Shares, Invesco, Grayscale and Hashdex.

The price of Ether (ETH) rose immediately after the news spread. With the new proposal from BlackRock, the intentions of dominating the future spot in the ETF crypto arena are clear. 

Changpeng Zhao steps down from Binance

One of the most surprising events of the year may be Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, founder and former CEO of Binance, stepping down from the company he built from the ground up. At the moment of his exit, Binance was the most dominant cryptocurrency exchange in the world in terms of volume activity.

Binance and CZ faced strong accusations from several U.S. authorities of intentionally violating Anti-Money Laundering (AML) policies with U.S. clients. A case was levied against Binance as, according to the regulator, Binance had failed to register as a securities exchange and operated illegally in the United States.

After Binance reviewed the case, a boom ensued. The U.S. Justice Department settled with Binance to pay $4.3 billion in fines in exchange for being able to operate in the U.S. in a compliant manner. As part of the agreement, CZ would face the possibility of criminal charges as part of an investigation into “alleged money laundering, bank fraud and sanctions violations.”

CZ said he would take an extended break and announced Richard Teng as the new global CEO of Binance.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Rostin Behnam told CNBC in December that CZ will eventually end up in jail. Before the lawsuit, this was challenging, as he lived in the United Arab Emirates, a country with no extradition agreement with the United States. Now, this could happen, as when he pleaded guilty, he had to enter the U.S., and a judge prohibited him from leaving the country.

El Salvador Bitcoin investments turn green

El Salvador has cemented itself in the history of cryptocurrencies as being the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. The decision of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele shocked the world. June 9, 2021, will be marked forever as a milestone for any maximalist.

Bukele announced the adoption of BTC as one of the national currencies at the tail end of the last bull market. Since then, the Latin American state has been buying Bitcoin with public funds.

As the bear market kicked in, Bukele gained detractors in the national and international spheres, who deemed his policies irresponsible. Bad press and pressure from different organizations became the norm; meanwhile, Bukele doubled down and said El Salvador would be buying 1 BTC per day.

The winds began to shift in favor of Bukele’s plan. El Salvador dismissed insolvency rumors by paying off the investors holding the Eurobond due on Jan. 24, 2023, a total of $800 million plus interest. Bukele roared against legacy media as, in his opinion, they were prosecuting him for creating a false narrative.

After over two years, Bukele’s bet finally paid off. In December 2023, El Salvador’s investment in Bitcoin not only recovered its original fiat value but was also profitable.

2023 may have seemed like a bitter, sour year at times, but it has laid the groundwork for a bullish scenario for 2024. There’ll be many more influential tweets to follow up on.

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