Kim Kardashian’s BitClout account, which she does not control — because it was scraped off Twitter without her permission. Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer. Photo: Getty Images When BitClout arrived on the internet last month, it befuddled much of the cryptocurrency world.
The draw for those taking possession of their profiles at BitClout is about 10 percent of their own coins. But the question of what that virtual money is and what it’s worth is still an open one: BitClout accepts bitcoin — more than $225 million has flowed in so far — but it doesn’t have a mechanism yet for taking it out, creating a kind of crypto roach motel.
A Princeton alum, Al-Naji interned at D.E. Shaw, the quant hedge fund, and later worked at Google. In 2018, at age 26, he raised $133 million for his first start-up, Basis, which launched a cryptocurrency whose price it intended to govern through an “algorithmic central bank.” Less than eight months later, Al-Naji abruptly shut Basis down, citing tightening U.S. securities regulations, and returned the remaining funds to some investors.
It’s an audacious theory anyway. But unlike stock in a company, which generally entitles holders to certain voting and other rights, BitClout’s tokens aren’t actually attached to any real-world assets or claims. If you own an Elon Musk token, you don’t actually own any share of his personal fortune or future earnings.
Investors say Al-Naji’s decision to conceal his identity never came up in their meetings, but the Satoshi shtick has irked many who don’t care for the idea of their own profile pics being tied to a cryptocurrency scheme. “It is cowardly and stupid to think that you can put everyone else’s name on this except your own,” says Prestwich, whose coin’s market value approached $14,000 before his profile was taken down.
jenwieczner Can't wait for this TwoBit nonsense to crash and burn.
jenwieczner Thx for shouting out bitclout!! 🤟🏽💎🙌
When BitClout arrived on the internet in March, it befuddled much of the cryptocurrency world