Home What is “shilling” in cryptos and why does it degrade the ecosystem?

What is “shilling” in crypto and why is it degrading the ecosystem?

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9 min read

What is called "crypto shilling" is the act of indirectly or covertly advertising a given project by making it appear that the project will bring in big money.

Very often, the person who is going to "shill" a project will make sure to create FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). Crypto shilling makes you believe that you should invest now because the price will soon go up. We are mainly talking about the return on investment that you will have.

Behind the crypto shilling, we very often find developers of a project, investors or influencers paid by a company. In fact, companies have accomplices and promoters whom they pay to spread the word about the project on the networks.

Even if very generally, people who shill do it out of personal interest, we can also find convinced enthusiasts (very often, victims of shilling without knowing it) who talk about a project, without trying to convince other people to invest.

Crypto shilling is the art of making people believe that what glitters is real gold.

However, it is important to make a distinction between term DeFi of the "shilling". We will see in this article some subtleties on this notion. We will also see why this can be detrimental for the wholeecosystem.

What exactly is the crypto shilling?

The crypto shilling is easily recognizable because it lacks fundamentals. We will insist on the fact that the project will increase in value. That's all. That’s all that’s put forward. Sometimes a good crypto shilling can make it seem like objective research. However, it is often too laudatory, too misleading for it to be true.

It is rare that a project has only advantages for example. However, the crypto shilling will "hide" the disadvantages or the black points of the project and only highlight the positive points. The shilling does not hesitate to exaggerate the features either. This is part of the shilling process.

In short, the purpose of the shilling is not to encourage you to do research. The goal is to make you buy. The goal is to indirectly believe that you will miss an opportunity to become rich. The crypto shilling pushes you towards purchase and imminent purchase. The less you think, the better.

Crypto shilling is part of the culture of the cryptosphere

It should be remembered that the shilling has always been part of crypto culture. Initially, it was the convinced bitcoiners who shouted "Bitcoin, to the moon". It had become a reference expression which implied that the price of bitcoin was going to reach new heights.

Initially, we can say that the crypto shilling was therefore very soft compared to what we see today. There were no affiliate links, but rather an idea to defend: That of blockchain (mainly).

However, over time, as thebitcoin ecosystem and cryptocurrency has grown, companies have jumped at the opportunity to turn the shilling to their advantage.

Then, we had a significant event and it was marked by the tweets ofElon Musk on the dogecoin. Until then, doge was a crypto that came from a joke and it was notorious. The Tesla boss' tweet was enough to cause the token to climb by more than 50% in less than 24 hours. We can even say that Elon Musk is the pioneer of crypto shilling. (Read our article on the subject: Elon Musk accused of being the WORST crypto influencer there is.)

elon musk doge — Source: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1284291528328790016

The monetary power of influence in the literal sense was revealed. We realized that a tweet from an influential person can raise the price of a cryptocurrency and even a shitcoin.

Thus, it is especially with the rise of NFTs that the crypto shilling has reached records. We have seen crypto shilling in every direction, shamelessly and without limits. For what? The financial value of an NFT is fundamentally defined by its community. The more solid and united it is around the project, the more expensive it can be. In fact, project leaders highlight (and seek out and recruit) big shillers to talk about the project on social networks.

The role of influencers is then central for crypto projects because they will easily shill, to the extent that they have precisely “influence”. The ultimate grail of our consumerist era.

Why does the shilling work so much?

If the crypto shilling works so well, this is explained by the insurance of the shillers. We tend to only believe what others tell us. In the field of cryptocurrencies, there is also an element that makes the shilling work very well.

The field of cryptocurrencies is relatively complex to understand; It's even worse for a beginner. So, when a person speaks confidently about a project; we tend to think that he has superior knowledge, that he knows something that we do not know.

And this is where crypto shilling will rob you. It's when you think that a person on social networks with many subscribers (necessarily) has legitimate knowledge on the subject that you will succumb to the lure of shilling.

Crypto shilling works because we are deep followers. We don’t like to think and we like to trust others. Better yet, we like to follow those who have influence. After all, if they have influence, they must have something, right? That’s what we naturally say when we see a large number of followers. It’s all about psychology with influence. In fact, by our “influenceable” nature, we are easily influenced. QED, we agree.

Recognize crypto shilling easily

There are two fundamental things to know about the shilling that we owe it to ourselves – out of ethics (oh yeah) – to talk to you about right away:

A project that needs the shilling is often a lost cause. Bitcoin didn’t need to shill in the first place. Do you think that Apple for example needs people who will shill their products for you to buy them. You like the product because of its performance (or perhaps also the branding of course) and that's why you buy it. Understand that a good project doesn't need a shilling to make it work.
The shilling is not sustainable. At the time, it will go high because people in general in cryptocurrencies are fooled and led by their emotions. So it works. Prices are thus artificially inflated. What happens next? Well, then it's the big crash. It goes as low as it goes. For what? Because it relies on wind, precisely. Because the hype can't last forever. After a while, people realize that there is nothing solid. They withdraw and the project collapses.
The shilling hides the emptiness of a project. When you have a good project, you don't need to make shillings. Ethereum doesn't need to shill, there are real fundamentals. In fact, when we make shillings, very often, it's because we have nothing else to show for it. Just words on the networks.
Shilling can hurt a project: Having growth in a project that has just started can do a lot of harm. In this case, we have the example of StepN which was super boosted by lots of videos and influencers. Result: Overdose, disruption of the business model and ultimate decline in interest over time. Sometimes, understand that shilling can nip healthy projects in the bud. This is why it is harmful.
The shilling is widely used by of people in scams and shitcoins or to prepare for a future sale of the token (pump and dump).

So, if you want to know if a project is valued solely (or greatly) thanks to its army of shillers, nothing could be simpler. You just need to do your own research DYER. Make a crypto fundamental analysis and read the articles you find about the project.

Keep a cool head if you invest in cryptocurrencies like a thoughtful person.

The crypto influencer and the shiller

It’s very often crypto influencers who do the best shilling work. This goes without saying because they have an audience that follows them. It's much easier for them. Some even make it the heart of their job: advertising.

Be careful though: not all influencers are shiller and not all shillers are influencers.

For example, when Kylian Mbappé becomes the muse for sorare, then, it amounts to advertising and lending one's image. When an influencer tells you about a project in which he has invested and in which he believes, it is not shilling. He's definitely done the research and is sharing it. This is very different from baseless shilling.

When an influencer writes messages like “This project is going to go far! This project is the bomb!” or other complimentary remarks, then that’s shilling. If they immediately start talking about “x10” or “x100!!! with emojis,” beware. Where it gets sneaky is when you don’t tell your audience that you received a check to do so.

The case of disguised advertising, giveaways and sponsors

Likewise, an influencer who does a giveaway for example by giving all the arguments why he appreciates the project without saying that it is a partnership, that is dangerous shilling. The influencer who is not transparent and who does not explain that he was literally paid to say good things about the project can make a shill for his community, without telling them.

Some people are even paid in dollars and will promote a project without even purchasing the project token themselves. They only make you believe. They don't talk about the project again a few days later and move on to something else, to a project to do another promotion. This is a one-off taste, during the promotion period. If the token increases in value, holders will take advantage of this to resell it.

Lire: Friend.Tech app wants to enrich influencers rather than investors

Why is crypto shilling hurting the ecosystem?

This is a very harmful practice for theecosystem in its entirety. It also sheds light on projects that are not worth it. So, good projects that deserve attention don't get any attention and mediocre projects get attention.

This can even lead to pyramids ofsocial engagement according to this very common diagram:

A recognized influencer is going to talk about a project x (he was paid to promote it)
The influencers who follow him will talk about the same project because they follow the supreme guru
Subscribers are then convinced that they are getting a good deal and buy token x
The token x is increasing in value, which is generating some enthusiasm
More and more people are buying and talking about project x (to show off their “knowledge” and “good deals”).
The network will then burst into flames and many shill messages will appear.
The vicious circle is launched.

This is a phenomenon that you will be able to observe very quickly as soon as you get used to it. You'll see, sometimes, it's obvious.

A big influencer alone can start the song.

Avoiding crypto shilling to make good investments

What we want to tell you in this article is that you have to be careful with the shilling because it will lead you to invest in bogus projects. Basically, if you follow the shillers, you will do nothing but waste time and money. Nothing else, and we are very serious.

So read them "coinfessions" of those who lost money with cryptos. Many of them were influenced by small-scale projects.

Follow serious projects, which do not need to make excessive shilling to emerge. Look at the facts and activities of the network or project. Don't pay attention to the advertisements behind it. Focus on the essentials of a project:

The ultimate goal and its usefulness
The business model and its tokenomics (T, market cap etc.)
the team behind
the activities and applications that are developed
etc

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Note: There is no financial advice in this or any other article on this site. This is information of which you are the sole judge and master. Be responsible with your investments and only invest as much as you are willing to lose.

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