Yat Siu, X Hall of Flame

Serial Web3 entrepreneur and angel investor Yat Siu from Animoca Manufacturers is on a mission to crack the code of how large the social ripple impact is for each consumer who follows him on X.

“Not each follower is identical,” Siu, dressed casually, tells Corridor of Flame from his fancy Hong Kong workplace over a Zoom name.

“I’d argue, as an example, that some may solely have 10,000 followers, however that impression is way deeper than 100,000 or 200,000 followers as a result of the viewers that follows you has a community impact in itself, so the nodes of the followers are extra highly effective,” the Austrian-born classical musician turned tech entrepreneur explains.

“Hypothetically, if Elon Musk have been to observe me, that might be extra helpful than the opposite 100,000 or so those that observe me, to not diminish their value, however simply to say that the implied affect and impression is greater,” he claims.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume Musk might need been tempted to change into one of many 160,000 followers Siu has gained since beginning his multi-billion greenback Web3 gaming big, Animoca Manufacturers, again in 2014.

Beginning life as a cellular gaming firm, over the previous decade Animoca has changed into one of many greatest buyers in Web3, with over 450 investments within the house, together with large names like Axie Infinity, Polygon and OpenSea.

A-listers are additionally followers of Siu’s work with NFTs and the metaverse (bear in mind them?) with notable followers together with crypto-friendly entertainer Paris Hilton and award-winning rapper MC Hammer.

“I bear in mind when MC Hammer began following me, I used to be like holy s**t that’s sort of cool.”

For Siu, an enormous pinch-me second in 2021 was when his “childhood hero,” William Shatner from Star Trek, adopted him.

Siu has an actual laid-back, informal vibe. What begins as an interview shortly turns right into a brainstorming session about tips on how to measure the worth of followers.

“It’d be unattainable for me to navigate by 160,000 followers and work it out,” he laughs.

I joke that he ought to put up an advert on his X account providing $100 to somebody who can undergo all his followers and create an Excel spreadsheet of essentially the most helpful ones.

“That’s a good suggestion…it’d be fascinating to do an evaluation,” the profitable businessman says, validating the journalist’s enterprise enter.

What led Yat Siu to X fame?

Siu’s a down-to-earth man and brushes off his massive following prefer it’s no large deal.

“It’s OK, it’s OK, it’s cheap. It isn’t within the tens of millions,” Siu laughs, which is completely comprehensible when your A-lister acquaintances like Paris Hilton have 16.4 million followers.

Siu’s content material round “elevating the house” in Web3 by instructional content material has helped drive his following over time. His involvement with the metaverse, NFTs and gaming and excessive public profile in crypto media and at conferences have additionally contributed.

What sort of X content material does Yat Siu create?

When you’re a crypto bro simply trying to observe X accounts that promise to make you wealthy, Siu in all probability isn’t your man.

However in order for you somebody who cuts by the noise and affords fascinating insights into the broader Web3 business, he’s value following.

“Once I write one thing it’s normally about macro issues, the business, traits we see, corporations we actually wish to help,” Siu explains.

“I retweet lots of stuff that I discover fascinating,” he provides.

Siu additionally dives deeper into long-form blogs and shares hyperlinks to them on his X account.

“I usually write these on Medium as properly, which I put up on Twitter, these are the extra considerate concepts when I’ve time, it could possibly be a ten minute learn,” he says.

What content material does Yat Siu like?

Siu admits he doesn’t have a “favourite account” on X. Identical to he sees followers as greater than only a quantity, he views content material the identical means — not as one thing remoted.

“I view it as a collective factor; the worth comes from measuring the heartbeat on the group,” Siu explains.

“I like varied content material starting from long-form stuff to fascinating and informative. I soak up every part,” he says.

Nevertheless, as a fellow long-form author, Siu admits he enjoys BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes’s “enjoyable and insightful stuff concerning the markets.”

Crypto predictions from Yat Siu

So, with worth predictions off the desk, Siu’s prediction challenges the crypto crowd by suggesting that Donald Trump’s primary rival won’t be unhealthy for crypto in spite of everything.

“I’m not detrimental on Harris for crypto, I feel she can be extra measured and cautious, however I don’t assume she can be in opposition to it, no less than thus far it doesn’t appear that means,” he says.

“Folks on Twitter are like oh she isn’t mentioning something on crypto in her campaigns, she should be unhealthy. No. Omitting one thing doesn’t imply you might be in opposition to it both,” Siu explains.

That mentioned, with all of the pro-crypto feedback Trump’s been making in 2024, Siu can’t deny that Trump may find yourself pushing crypto ahead sooner.

“If Trump wins, I feel it’s truthful to say that crypto would have a way more bullish run than if Harris wins,” Siu says.

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Ciaran Lyons

Ciaran Lyons is an Australian crypto journalist. He is additionally a standup comic and has been a radio and TV presenter on Triple J, SBS and The Undertaking.