For stars, it was a way to show they knew about the latest investing trend, even if that was a questionable distinction. For crypto bros, it was a way to join the same club as celebrities, who, even if they weren’t the coolest, definitely had more social cachet than them. And for people from Wall Street, it was a way to do both—though it also gave off a try-hard vibe. “It’s a way to signal you are a Web3 native person. You are one of the cool kids,” one ex–Goldman Sachs banker told a reporter, sounding very much like he wasn’t.
