BTS ARMY Cryptocurrency Giveaway Exposure 2021
| Event | |
|---|---|
| Event: | February 2021 Spring Cleaning, ARMY Cyrptocurrency Drama, Giveway Scam Exposed, Cyrptogate |
| Participants: | BTS ARMY Cryptocurrency Giveaway Exposure 2021 |
| Date(s): | February 2021 |
| Type: | |
| Fandom: | ARMY (BTS) |
| URL: | |
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The BTS ARMY Cryptocurrency Giveaway Exposure 2021 refers to an incident in early February 2021 where the fandom ARMY (BTS) became aware of multiple large fan accounts being involved in giveaways tied with cryptocurrency accounts. These cryptocurrency accounts would ask for followers and likes in exchange for money, albums, or other BTS merchandise in deals with the large fan accounts. These cryptocurrency accounts were tied to scams, illegal market manipulation, and NFTs that at the time had been relatively new in concept.
The accounts at the center of this conflict were jeonbubbles, taebokkiii, btsaeso, and BTS_History613 with other accounts such as taehyungjd_, kthjjktwt, and glosstannies also being involved.
The infiltration of cryptocurrency accounts into ARMYs' space on Twitter came as early as August 2020 where Mr. Beast, a YouTuber, hosted a giveaway event that pitted ARMYs against the fanbses of popular YouTubers such as DreamWasTaken and Corpse Husband. This exposure and media visibility made ARMYs a vulnerable target for individuals seeking to use the fandom for monetary gain.
Timeline
The Mr. Beast Tweet
BTS_History0613
Cryptocurrency Accounts
Prior to February 2021
Prior to February 2021, cryptocurrency and NFT accounts had become a nuisance for Art Twitter that create mainly digital art and animations. Many people within the art community on Twitter were already discussing issues with cryptocurrency and NFT accounts trying to exploit their space for personal gain whether that was by tokenizing (creating digital tokens to be sold of users' tweets and art) posts or other means.
February 2021
After February 2021
ARMY Reactions
Tumblr
Amino
YouTube
On March 16, 2021, the YouTube channel bby gang media uploaded a video titled When BTS stans fought crypto scammers narrated and written by Elliot Sang. This video was an exploration of scammers on ARMY Twitter and Twitter in general.
Media Reactions
On February 22, 2021, the article "A 'crypto' scam is brewing on Twitter, and social media at large" by Shephali Bhatt & Ashwin Manikandan was published in The Economic Times. The synopsis for the article is "Cryptocurrency handles on Twitter are gaining followers unscrupulously by targeting fan communities with dubious giveaway contests."[1]
The BTS fans also noted that quite a few cryptocurrency accounts were being tagged in ARMY giveaways or rewards provided to users selected at random, including albums or merchandise worth $25 to $250 on average—a common practice among K-pop fanclub. They figured that certain ARMY giveaway hosts were asking them to also follow cryptocurrency handles, without providing any guidance on its potential risks.It soon became obvious that targeting the youth had been a masterstroke as the crypto community itself is dominated by Gen Z and millennials.
Crypto could really use the credibility of a huge following comprising young and active users - far more valuable than easily-bought bot accounts, especially in an environment where digital currency is in a legal grey area across the world.
An ET investigation revealed that a bunch of these cryptocurrency accounts in India and abroad had been able to penetrate genuine Twitte handles or influence the influencers within communities like Gaming community and K-pop fandom to divert their followers to their accounts.
Twitter quickly moved to block crypto accounts on the grounds that they had been using inauthentic means to inflate their followers and amplify content.
The shadowy crypto accounts had missed a trick, though.Little did they know that BTS fans adhere to an unwritten commandment: “Thou shalt not make money off BTS.”
“I’ve noticed this common wariness among hardcore ARMY that people are always out to take advantage of ARMY clout and make a quick buck. It’s amazing how strict they are about discouraging this,” said an ARMY fan from Hyderabad who is in her 40s.
In June last year, when BTS donated $1 million to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, its loyal fan club matched that within a day and donated to the cause.
“Our BLM donation made news everywhere. Maybe these crypto guys got greedy and thought it would be easy to make a quick buck out of us,” said another Indian-Canadian ARMY fan in her late 30s.
In fact, last week, 34 of the most prominent ARMY fanbase from around the world got together on Twitter to warn gullible ARMY members against these sponsored crypto giveaways, even urging caution with self-funded and ARMY-funded giveaways as well. They also requested members to unfollow and block suspicious accounts.
“We have never nor will we ever partner with/participate in/promote/or host sponsored giveaways,” they said in a statement.
Over the past two years, there has been a steady traction towards a flourishing crypto community in India, even though it is still not the most mature or advanced cryptocurrency market in the world like the United States, Russia or Japan.Recently, the Supreme Court overturned a banking ban on trading crypto assets, triggering a massive influx of new sign-ups and trading activities. But the government is mulling a ban on both the trading and holding of all forms of cryptocurrency.
“We firmly believe that the government will sooner than later move towards regulation of cryptocurrency in India rather than banning it altogether,” said Nischal Shetty, founder of leading Indian cryptocurrency exchange Wazir X and part of popular cryptocurrency campaign #IndiaWantsCrypto.
“We want to ensure that when the regulators come, it’s a cleaner ecosystem than a dirty one to govern and supervise.”