Is NFT really a game controlled by the "KOL conspiracy group"?

Written by: wale.swoosh

Compiled by: Luffy, Foresight News

Have you heard of the conspiracy theory that NFTs are a game controlled by a group of KOLs?

You may have come across terms like "KOL conspiracy group" or "WAGMI conspiracy group" at some point. They are often used to imply a mysterious force controlling the fate of NFTs. But does it really exist?

Let's first look at two examples:

Art Gobblers

Art Gobblers is one of the most controversial NFTs of 2022 and is often considered the best example of how the NFT conspiracy group operates.

A free-mint NFT that trades on the secondary market for over 15 ETH. The issue is that it has been accused of false trading and promotion.

Art Gobblers was the first NFT project that truly made the Blur market famous for its trading volume. It boosted Blur's daily trading volume from under $2 million to $17 million. Notably, both Art Gobblers and Blur have investors from Paradigm.

Blur also has some well-known KOL supporters, some of whom made significant profits from the minting of Art Gobblers.

Additionally, some marketing copy was already popular before the minting of Art Gobblers, and it was spread by some KOLs considered to be part of the "conspiracy group."

Accusations state: "Art Gobblers is a trap woven by the WAGMI conspiracy group to offload to its fans."

Opepen edition

Recent discussions about the "WAGMI conspiracy group" mainly revolve around the Opepen edition.

After Threadguy changed his PFP to Opepen and earned over $100,000 through the TG open edition, many KOLs also changed their PFPs to Opepen.

Other Web3 companies in the market also joined the trend. Within hours, the floor price of the Opepen edition rose by about 0.3 ETH.

Accusations state: "This is a collusive pump and dump, with the WAGMI conspiracy group profiting from it."

Does the conspiracy group really exist?

The two examples above provide some indirect evidence, but do they really prove the existence of the WAGMI conspiracy group? We need to discern carefully.

The minting of Art Gobblers is indeed strange, but few profitable KOLs discuss this project on Twitter. A "conspiracy group" would require a large number of influential KOLs colluding with each other.

As for the Opepen edition, it did dominate the scene and was everywhere on crypto Twitter. However, the key question is intent.

A conspiracy group implies a clear common intent (usually financial goals). For example, pumping Opepen to sell their holdings.

Often, these explanations are much more mundane than some people want you to believe.

When something becomes popular on NFT Twitter and KOLs join in, they are usually doing so for engagement rather than participating in a manipulated conspiracy.

However, this does not mean conspiracies do not happen. As a KOL, you have a responsibility. "What if fans buy this project just because I tweeted about it?" This trade-off is not always easy.

Let me give a personal example:

Remember FatZukis? This meme went viral on NFT Twitter earlier this month.

I also downplayed it in a humorous tweet:

Even if I never owned a FatZuki, received no payment, and did not tag the FatZuki account, is it my fault if someone buys FatZuki because of my tweet and loses money?

I don't think so, but I also understand other perspectives. There are indeed KOLs who promote obvious junk NFTs daily and profit from them.

I won't name names, but they do exist. To be fair, some of them at least label their ads with "#AD," which is a good start.

Yes, having a large following and influence in the NFT space is advantageous.

On one hand, KOLs easily get whitelist spots; on the other hand, KOLs can draw attention to small projects to facilitate collaborations with other companies.

But this is no different from the real world.

So, we conclude:

• KOLs have a clear advantage over ordinary people.
• Unethical KOLs do exist.
• KOL activities can trigger a chain reaction.

But this is still not enough to prove the existence of the "WAGMI conspiracy group," and NFTs are not "manipulated" because of it.