Leaked Data Reveals Twitter Shills' Alleged Profits

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A spreadsheet circulating the web has revealed the prices that Twitter influencers reportedly charge to promote crypto projects.

Shills May Collect Thousands In Profits

The list, published Monday by ZachXBT, names 114 individuals who are said to “shill” cryptocurrency and blockchain projects.

In an interview with Vice, ZachXBT said that the data in the list was collected from a marketing firm, but did not identify that firm.

The list is headed by names such as NHL player Zach Boychuk, MLB star Steve Ascher, Bollywood actress Nikita Sachdev, British rapper ZUBY, actress Lindsay Lohan, and various crypto celebrities.

It also calculates that the 114 named individuals are collectively charging $80,000 per tweet and $40,000 per retweet.

On the low end, some individuals were said to charge $120 per tweet and $10 per retweet. On the high end, Lindsay Lohan was reported to charge $25,000 per tweet and $20,000 per retweet.

ZachXBT drew specific attention to Lohan’s promotion of the BNB Chain-based project MetaNetflix. That project saw its price fall to zero in December after the celebrity’s promotional tweet.

Disclosure, Not Promotion, Is the Issue

Despite the leak, it is unclear how much dishonest activity actually takes place among the listed accounts, as some accounts make it clear that they promote projects for money.

According to ZachXBT, the issue is not that Twitter accounts promote projects for pay, but that they do not disclose that fact. “Not everyone on the list does undisclosed shills but the vast majority of names I see on there do,” ZachXBT said in a follow-up tweet.

The promotion of scams is also an issue. Vice’s Jason Koebler contacted several listed accounts to ask whether they verify projects. Koebler suggests that some accounts vet projects based on first impressions, while others delete projects found to be scams later.

Meanwhile, Dapp Centre, the first name on the leaked list, has responded positively to the leak. The account’s operator wrote: “all [respect] to [ZachXBT] for bringing transparency and accountability to crypto” and said that he had gained 73 followers from the leak.

Others have noted that the accounts are largely minor celebrities. However, the accounts listed have 19 million followers in total, and as such, those accounts attract a not insignificant volume of traffic.

Disclaimer: At the time of writing this author held less than $100 of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and altcoins.

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