Attention and incentives · 7 Jun 2025
But I’m not here to chase clout. I’m not tweeting daily hype, pretending every day is altcoin season, or replying “GM” just to stay visible.
Commentary & rants1 min
Read the publication
MASTR · 2024–2026
KOLs & promotion · 7
Private deals, paid visibility, manufactured credibility and the audience on the other side.
165 · Selected publications · 7/7
Sahil Arora and celebrity token launches
The original investigation into celebrity token launches associated with Sahil Arora and their promotional model.
Original articles7 min
An Open Letter to Those Who Still Believe in a Better Web3: 🫵
After one year of building and showing up daily, we’re still here. Stronger than ever - and more convinced that Web3 needs real solutions, not just narratives.
Commentary & rants3 min
Decentralisation, rules and the incentives to vet projects
Decentralisation, rules and the incentives to vet projects. Dated original source, with context and links.
Commentary & rants1 min
X payouts and the reward for low-effort engagement
X payouts and the reward for low-effort engagement. Dated original source, with context and links.
Commentary & rants1 min
The anti-scam label can itself become marketing
The anti-scam label can itself become marketing. Dated original source, with context and links.
Commentary & rants1 min
Got a moment to read a slightly longer tweet? Please do it here and now. 🔥
Almost 20k followers now — maybe 2,000 of them bots from a spam attack back in 2024. The rest? Earned the hard way. Day by day, consistently present, alert, and engaged. In an environment where anyone with a Telegram bot suddenly calls…
Commentary & rants3 min
Protect. Expose. Educate. Repeat. 🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 A damn long tweet;
They play the same game: fake money, fake volume, fake hype, fake news— then they vanish with your money.
Commentary & rants2 min
Coordinated posting and the appearance of organic attention
Coordinated posting and the appearance of organic attention. Dated original source, with context and links.
Commentary & rants1 min
TOLY: asking for the claimed endorsement’s original source
TOLY: asking for the claimed endorsement’s original source. Dated original source, with context and links.
Commentary & rants1 min
The ZACHXBT token controversy: the January 2025 account
Amid the frenzy of meme tokens, $TRUMP and $MELANIA were launched, igniting a wave of excitement and speculation. The community joked that with the "scam family" entering crypto, @ZachXBT would have plenty of new material to investigate.…
Research & analysis2 min
Ardizor: MASTR’s investigation of an influencer network
The original article mapping MASTR’s allegations and observations about the Ardizor-associated promotion network.
Original articles4 min
Ardizor: the December 2024 account-network investigation
Here is a list of accounts associated with the #Ardizor Scam Group, along with explanations of who they are and how they are involved:
Research & analysis4 min
Doginaldogs-linked token promotions: MASTR’s 2024 notes
A few of the doginaldogs #token scams: $DOGI $FIWB $Musk $POX $SHIRO (to an extent, as it was bundled with Doginaldogs-related promotions)
Research & analysis2 min
Paid promotion · 26 Dec 2024
@DaoKwonDo: Role: Highlighted as a primary promoter of Doginaldogs. This account has been accused of engaging in scam activities, particularly rug pulls, where they allegedly collected presale funds and then withdrew, leaving investors…
Research & analysis3 min
At $MASTR, we don’t pay #KOL's to shill or create fake hype.
A truly great project doesn’t need to give away supply to force a narrative—good ideas attract the right people naturally.
Commentary & rants2 min
HAWK and the incentives behind influencer tokens
The $HAWK token disaster is the blueprint for everything wrong in #crypto. Haliey Welch @HalieyWelchX allegedly took viral fame, pumped a meme coin, and crashed it from $500M to $60M in 20 minutes. When 96% of the token supply is held at…
Commentary & rants1 min
Attention budgets, supply control and small projects
Attention budgets, supply control and small projects. Dated original source, with context and links.
Commentary & rants1 min
Promotion, manipulation and the dark side of crypto
A published critique of promotional incentives, short-lived launches and the losses borne by later participants.
Original articles4 min
Influencer hype and conflicts of interest
How paid promotion, financial stakes and selective success stories change an influencer’s incentives.
Original articles4 min
Paid promotion and market integrity: the September 2024 commentary
It’s truly sad how things have deteriorated in the crypto space recently! I’ve seen numerous tweets about the practices of KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) and how these influencers promote projects that eventually end up as rug pulls. The…
Commentary & rants2 min