The Wolf Den #1051 - These Untold Stories Will Shock You
Being doxxed in crypto can be scary.
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In This Issue:
These Untold Stories Will Shock You
Bitcoin Thoughts And Analysis
Altcoin Charts
Legacy Markets
You Need To Watch This
CoinDesk Compared IBIT to MSTR
Caroline Ellison Gets 2 Years In Prison
TrustToken Wasn’t Trustworthy
Will The Next Rate Cut Send Bitcoin To The Moon? | Macro Monday
These Untold Stories Will Shock You
I was invited to sit on a panel with my friends Mario Nawfal and Gareth Jenkinson while in Singapore. The conversation was meant to be around “Shaping Crypto Narratives, but went in an entirely different direction. I recently posted the talk on YouTube - “The Untold Stories Of Crypto's Biggest Influencers | Mario Nawfal, Scott Melker & Cointelegraph.”
I usually don’t dive into the topics I’m about to cover as matter of principal, and it’s rare that I’m the one being interviewed. Add to that Mario Nawfa;s presence on stage, pushing me to share parts of my story I’ve never fully opened up about (and still did not), and you get the result you’re about to read.
Some of you might know bits and pieces of the hate that I have received online, but I’ve never laid out all the details in one go.
What follows is a transcript of select parts from my portion of the 30-minute interview. Mario also shares his story, and I highly recommend watching the full video if you have time. With only about 3,000 views so far, I’m sure many of you will be hearing this for the first time. Enjoy it while you can—I probably won’t be talking about this again anytime soon.
Where it begins for me is my answer to the question: “How did it all start?”
“I was DJing for about 20 years, touring the world, and built a following from my music. Then I had a child and decided I didn’t want to be on the road every weekend. Around that time, I discovered crypto and was already trading. I went to the University of Pennsylvania in the '90s, where everyone was heading to Wall Street as soon as they graduated. I went into DJing. So, I found crypto at the perfect time, and when I’m passionate about something, I go all in.
I actually alienated the original people following me on social media and cut my Twitter following in half. He doesn’t care about fame and money. Honestly, I don’t know how he’s that big because he does everything wrong, and it still works for him. It was very organic. I started tweeting at the right time, while I was trading, and people started following me for that. Then I realized 160 characters wasn’t enough — back when tweets had that limit — so I started a newsletter.
I began with a free, twice-weekly newsletter, but after a while, I got bored and decided I needed to do it five days a week. I then started writing a daily newsletter, launched a podcast, and was approached to do that right when COVID hit — literally the worst timing to start talking about crypto. My first episode came out on March 12th, and it was twice a week at first.
But because of my nature, I went all in. That got boring too, so I started a YouTube channel and began streaming every day. I was waking up at 4:00 AM — which is still generally my habit — and spent the first 8 to 10 hours of the day consistently making content. For me, it wasn’t a sudden rise like Mario described. It was more of an organic, slow grind — just showing up every single day and putting in the work.
Mario and I met and, along with Ran Neuner (our absentee cousin from Crypto Town Hall, who never shows up), we decided to team up and start the big crypto show, leveraging Mario’s audience on Spaces and our collective 3 to 4 million followers on Twitter. Very quickly, it became, I think, indisputably the largest crypto show on Twitter, and probably the largest show in crypto, period. Even in a bear market, we were getting 150,000 to 200,000 listeners per show every day.
For me, it’s been all about consistency, grinding my way to this point. It’s been incredible working with Mario and having great guests on the show. I’ve always approached things as a student rather than a teacher. A lot of people in this space are comfortable providing alpha, telling you what to do, or promoting the next 10,000x opportunity. I prefer having conversations and hoping my audience learns through the questions I ask. It feels a little strange to be on this panel instead of moderating it, but it’s a nice change of pace.”
Here’s where things got interesting. Gareth, a good friend of mine and the interviewer, began hinting at the topic of online hate, pointing out that both Mario and I have had our fair share of critics. Mario was the first to respond, and let’s just say, he ran with it full speed.
I didn’t transcribe Mario’s response because it would’ve been a lot to read, but the highlights are that our paths to success couldn’t be more different. Mario dove headfirst into global politics and breaking news, while my journey has been a slow grind from DJing to crypto. Mario has faced global, government-level challenges, cancellation attempts, and worse, while mine have been entirely within the crypto space. Both of us have dealt with our fair share of character assassins—just in different forms.
On top of that, Mario seemed to speed-run through the extremes—highs and lows—while my journey has been a slower and more drawn-out process. Mario shared that after enduring one character assassination, he’s become immune to it all. I envy that a bit, and as you’ll see in my answer, it’s not quite the same for me. This isn’t about seeking sympathy—just showing how two different people handle setbacks, attacks, and online hate. I debated sharing any of this here, but at the end of the day I am storyteller, and this is my story.
Plus, even if you’re not on social media, we all face attacks in life, so my hope is that everyone reading this can relate. Anyways, let’s get to it.
Interviewer: “Scott, you’ve had your fair share of hate online, and I’ve seen so many things shared about both of you — allegations in crypto. We see these things at face value, but I’m sorry, you have to show me facts. Show me transaction hashes, everything’s on the blockchain. Prove it to me. But okay, prove to me that these wallets belong to you — that’s the hard part.
It’s a hard thing to face up, right? Because people like ZachXBT will tweet something, and he has a huge following, leaving you to deal with the fallout. Yes, you guys are involved in this business, and I think you’re pretty open about what you do. There are many KOLs out there doing far worse things, but yeah, tell us your thoughts on that.”
Me: “I don’t think it’s particularly interesting when viewed through the lens of what Mario went through. It’s a similar tale that everyone goes through. The joke I made is that if you're not getting hate online, you're not online. People don’t realize, as you grow — and Mario learned this very fast — that you start off as someone with 20,000 followers, then 50,000, then 100,000. At first, everyone loves you for tweeting ideas, trades, and charts. But as you grow, the responses and what happens are very different when you have a larger following.
That’s why every person with a million followers eventually becomes a lame philosopher, tweeting inspirational quotes and telling people to cold plunge everyday. The risk of saying anything specific about the market or any token becomes too high — you risk moving the market. You also develop PTSD from past situations where maybe you got hate.
But I don’t think focusing on being attacked is that compelling. It’s more about how you react to it, as Mario mentioned. You eventually learn that none of it exists in the real world. Like you said, I have children and a wife. We’ve dealt with threats and had to hire security — all for doing literally nothing. Just because the market went down and we talked about things that were once worth more — as I said, they love you on the way up, but everybody hates and blames you on the way down because people don’t want to take responsibility for their actions.
We had some real-world situations at the very beginning, but you come to learn that even the people who say the worst things about you — if you walk up to their face, which I have a long history of doing, at a conference and say, “Hey, you said some bad things about me, but here I am, nice to meet you,” they shake your hand and say “I’m sorry,” every single time.
Keyboard warriors aren’t real people; you're often dealing with bots. Once you realize that, it becomes inevitable and just part of the situation. I wouldn't say you become immune to it — everyone’s human — but being a doxxed person in crypto is inherently dangerous. SIM swapped, hacked, you name it. We've been through every story, but at the end of the day, if you believe in what you're doing, you’re compelled to continue doing it, come hell or high water.
I think everything I’ve been through — and I know Mario feels the same — has actually been a net positive for me and for those who follow me. It has tailored my content to be more educational, valuable, and evergreen.
We were supposed to be talking about shaping crypto narratives, right? But I don’t want to shape crypto narratives — I want to tell the stories of people who are shaping them. I want to give them a voice and deliver the messages that are important, separating the signal from the noise in a conversation. There are brilliant people in this space who may not speak as eloquently or may be devs without a marketing team, but they are the ones building the future we believe so deeply in.
So, like I said, I think it pushes you forward to win — like, shut up the haters. I said it's fuel, but also to really find what's bullshit and what's real, and to deliver what's real to an increasingly larger audience.”
There you have it. Going through all of this has made me a better person, and in the end, it’s made the content better too. But enough about me, this newsletter was made to cover crypto, and I prefer to keep it that way. I hope you enjoyed it. That pretty much wraps up everything I wanted to cover for Token2049. My guess is the conferences will get even better if Bitcoin goes on a run, so there will be plenty more to attend while the going is good.
Bitcoin Thoughts And Analysis
$65,000. Can we break above and make a higher high? That’s what matters now.
Altcoin Charts
For those who are new here, I share SETUPS and not SIGNALS. These are ideas that I am watching - if a certain thing happens, then the trade triggers. I am not telling you what to buy or when. I am showing you how I am watching certain charts and what has to happen for me to take a trade.
This is interesting.
Total 3 represents the total market cap of crypto, excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum. As you can see, it's still about 50% below its 2021 highs, despite the addition of millions of new coins. If you’re into charting metrics like this (even though it’s not a traded asset), you can spot a potential weekly breakout forming.
As I’ve been saying, the last six months have been completely avoidable for altcoins. Nobody wanted to hear it, we lost subscribers, and I wasn’t sharing many charts. But if you’re a trader, you know that sometimes doing nothing is a valid strategy.
Now, it looks like the time to stop sitting on your hands has arrived. I’m getting bullish on altcoins—and this aligns perfectly with the halving cycle I’ve been talking about for ages.
Legacy Markets
Global stocks saw a boost as China pledged fiscal stimulus, and traders raised expectations for interest-rate cuts from major central banks. US futures climbed, with US-listed China stocks and Micron Technology surging in premarket trading due to a strong revenue forecast. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 was on track for a record close, driven by gains in luxury and mining stocks tied to China’s economy. Meanwhile, Treasury yields and the dollar edged lower as investors anticipated more dovish moves from central banks, including the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank.
Michael Brown, a strategist at Pepperstone Group, commented that the policy “put” is firmly back in place, signaling continued support for markets over the short and medium term. China’s fiscal measures this week have reignited risk appetite, sending the CSI 300 Index toward its biggest weekly gain in nearly a decade. However, concerns remain about the sustainability of the stimulus, with some analysts predicting a possible market pullback due to China's fragile economy.
In the US, traders are now pricing in a possible half-point rate cut by the Federal Reserve in November following weak consumer data. Investors are awaiting a pre-recorded speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell and jobs data later in the week for further insight into the central bank's path forward. Vanguard’s Chief Economist Joe Davis noted that the Fed is likely more concerned about growth than previously indicated.
Elsewhere, the Swiss National Bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points to curb the strength of the Swiss franc, which had seen its strongest rally in nearly a decade. Oil prices fell for a second day amid reports that Saudi Arabia is considering increasing production, and Israeli assets rallied after the US, EU, and Middle Eastern powers proposed a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The broader market remains cautiously optimistic, with central bank policies and geopolitical developments playing a key role in shaping near-term market sentiment.
Key events this week:
ECB President Christine Lagarde speaks, Thursday
US jobless claims, durable goods, revised GDP, Thursday
Fed Chair Jerome Powell gives pre-recorded remarks to the 10th annual US Treasury Market Conference, Thursday
China industrial profits, Friday
Eurozone consumer confidence, Friday
US PCE, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures rose 0.8% as of 6:08 a.m. New York time
Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1.3%
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%
The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 1%
The MSCI World Index rose 0.3%
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
The euro was little changed at $1.1141
The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3354
The Japanese yen was little changed at 144.69 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 0.5% to $63,824.27
Ether rose 1.6% to $2,621.78
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 3.77%
Germany’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 2.15%
Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 3.99%
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.6% to $68.55 a barrel
Spot gold rose 0.4% to $2,668.62 an ounce
You Need To Watch This
The recent podcast featuring Michael Saylor and Saifedean Ammous generated a lot of buzz online, so I wanted to share it here. Saifedean challenged some of Saylor’s views, leading to an engaging discussion between an economic scholar and a practitioner. The key point of disagreement was whether lending Bitcoin is truly “risk-free.” My take is simple: if your Bitcoin isn’t on your own ledger, there’s risk involved. While I’m not deeply invested in this debate, I strongly believe that “free yield” doesn’t exist. But feel free to disagree—watch the episode, it's definitely worth it!
CoinDesk Compared IBIT to MSTR
The chart above shows the YTD performance of IBIT versus MSTR.
I haven’t spent much time comparing IBIT, the ETF, to MSTR, the stock, since they are fundamentally different products. However, I can see why such a comparison makes sense. As the article points out, one reason MSTR has outperformed IBIT is due to fees—IBIT has an expense ratio of 0.25%, while MSTR has no holding cost. Another factor contributing to MSTR’s outperformance is its positive cash flow, which “provides some cushioning during Bitcoin’s drawdowns” and allows the company to acquire more Bitcoin and take on debt.
One point I hadn’t considered before is the marketing difference between MicroStrategy and IBIT. According to the article, MicroStrategy consistently ranks higher on Google Trends than IBIT. While this may not last forever—especially given BlackRock’s potential to change the narrative—MicroStrategy currently holds the visibility advantage. Ultimately, the key takeaway is that MSTR tends to outperform in a bull market and underperform in a bear market, as it’s essentially a leveraged play on Bitcoin.oin.
Caroline Ellison Gets 2 Years In Prison
It's complete BS that Caroline Ellison, SBF’s right-hand woman, is only getting two years in prison for her role in the collapse of FTX and Alameda. Whether it’s due to a plea deal or her cooperation with law enforcement, two years is shockingly light for someone who played a part in ruining the lives of an estimated million people.
Judge Lewis Kaplan reportedly praised Ellison for her extensive cooperation with prosecutors, but does that really justify just two years behind bars? Meanwhile, Ross Ulbricht is still serving a double life sentence. It raises serious questions about how justice is applied in these high-profile cases..
TrustToken Wasn’t Trustworthy?
You have to love the irony of this space—TrustToken and TrueCoin were found to be defrauding investors. Here’s some official text from the SEC press release of the case, “TrueCoin and TrustToken engaged in the unregistered offer and sale of investment contracts in the form of the crypto asset TUSD and profit-making opportunities with respect to TrueUSD on TrueFi. The complaint further alleges that TrueCoin and TrustToken falsely marketed the investment opportunity as safe and trustworthy by claiming that TUSD was fully backed by U.S. dollars or their equivalent, when in fact a substantial portion of the assets purportedly backing TUSD had been invested in a speculative and risky offshore investment fund to earn additional returns for the defendant's.” I did see claims on X that this stablecoin was backed by Justin Sun, but I couldn’t confirm that with the articles I read online.
Will The Next Rate Cut Send Bitcoin To The Moon? | Macro Monday
Join Dave Weisberger, Mike McGlone, and James Lavish as we break down what's happening in macro and crypto!
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The views and opinions expressed here are solely my own and should in no way be interpreted as financial advice. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision. I am not a financial advisor. Nothing contained in this e-mail constitutes or shall be construed as an offering of financial instruments or as investment advice or recommendations of an investment strategy or whether or not to "Buy," "Sell," or "Hold" an investment.
Great personal Melker👌