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3 Cringe-Worthy April Fools’ Day Jokes in the Cryptosphere

Last Updated March 4, 2021 2:43 PM
Nicole Grinstead
Last Updated March 4, 2021 2:43 PM

It’s April 1st, and the crypto space is again rife with April Fool’s jokes that could impact some coins’ trading values.

Earlier today, CCN.com reported on some of 2019’s best pranks and one instance of a joke crypto rallying 20 percent. But could April Fools’ Day pranks have greater impact on crypto investors than the jokesters realize? Historically, blockchain’s community of  nerds  have embraced the annual prankster tradition with a variety of tweets, blog posts, and articles.

April Fools Day Jokes Could Cause Detriment

While every good trader knows the importance of planning the trade, trading the plan, and keeping emotions out of it, that’s often much easier said than done. Especially when it concerns your money. Below are 3 of the most cringe-worthy crypto April Fool’s Day jokes that could have actually impacted daily trades.

3. OneCoin Dethroned Ethereum as Second Largest Crypto

April Fool's Day comes once a year
Another year, another April Fools’ Day.. | Source: Shutterstock

On April 1, 2017, CoinDesk  reported radical news that could have shaken the crypto ecosystem into a panic had readers not read the article in its entirety. CoinDesk claimed that a federal judge ruled that OneCoin was a legitimate and legal cryptocurrency. As such, the judge ordered coinmarketcap to list OneCoin. Thus, the article proclaimed, OneCoin would overtake Ethereum’s second place position on the hierarchy of cryptocurrencies by market cap. Beyond that, this federal order would have demonstrated heavy government involvement in what was supposed to be a decentralized space. Each of these news proclamations may have been enough to emotionally motivate some investors to throw out their trading plans. But the article’s final line provides redemption:

“Unprecedented price volatility is far from being expected in the next couple of days across major cryptocurrencies because this is just a huge joke!”

2. Ethereum Adopts North Korean Socialism

north korea, lazarus group, bitcoin, crypto
When Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin joked about Ethereum adopting a kind-of North Korean socialism in 2017, the market reacted. | Source: Shutterstock

On the eve of April Fools, 2017, Ethereum co-creator and spokesperson Vitalik Buterin posted a startling announcement on the Ethereum blog . Buterin’s post begins ordinarily enough. The computer developer and whizz-kid relayed excitement over the protocol’s progress and prospect at being ready for mainstream adoption. However, as Buterin continued, the joke became increasingly apparent. Although Buterin never explicitly stated that this was only some April Foolery, his closing line made the joke very clear.

“Finally, last but not least, DevCon3 has been moved to Pyongyang.”

Discerning readers quickly caught on to Buterin’s joke. However, that didn’t stop the price of Ethereum from radically swinging by nearly ten percent on those days according to historical data from coinmarketcap.com. 

Perhaps that radical shift was due to unrelated news and data in the markets, or maybe it’s because so many people only read the headlines , pass judgment, and then move on. Unfortunately, when it comes to money, cryptocurrency, and clickbait,  it’s exceedingly important that traders judge articles by more than just their headlines.

1. SEC Approves Bitcoin ETF

Beware of click bait articles on April Fools’ Day and beyond. | Image from Shutterstock

This morning, Finance Magnates  dropped a proverbial bomb in seemingly breaking news about the SEC approving two Bitcoin ETFs. Although there are multiple contact clues indicating that it’s a joke, the text’s serious tone caught many readers off-guard. The article is currently the top result when Google returns a search for the term Bitcoin. Additionally, within one hour of publication, BTC’s price surged by over 0.5 percent.

Bitcoin is highly volatile, and it is unknown whether or not the April Fool’s joke caused the uptick. Nonetheless, it is certainly possible that the article led some novice traders to make a hasty decision and quickly buy. Also possible, albeit unlikely, is that headlines like this one could prompt trading bots to go on buying sprees.

April Fools Jokes Occur More than Once a Year

With April Fool’s Day now coming to its yearly end, investors cannot just sit back, relax, and read the headlines. Rampant pranks and runaway headlines abound within the cryptosphere year round. Outside of April Fool’s Day, journalists have falsely reported on everything from Vitalik’s death to the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto. While it may take hours or even days to decipher truth from lies in crypto headlines, having a solid trading plan and sticking to it is a trader’s best bet for protecting crypto assets in this highly volatile and emotionally manipulative space.